29 September-5 October 2025
Arbitrary Detention and Arrest
Throughout the week, prosecutors ordered the detention of at least 145 people over alleged links to the Gülen movement. In October 2020, a UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) opinion said that widespread or systematic imprisonment of individuals with alleged links to the group may amount to crimes against humanity. Solidarity with OTHERS has compiled a detailed database to monitor the Gülen-linked mass detentions since a failed coup in July 2016.
3 October: Turkish authorities detained 91 people and arrested 64 of them in operations across 30 provinces as part of an ongoing crackdown on the Gülen movement, based on accusations previously deemed unfounded by the European Court of Human Rights in its Yalçınkaya judgment, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced.
3 October: An İstanbul court ordered the rearrest of television manager Ayşe Barım less than 48 hours after her release from 248 days of pretrial detention on charges of attempting to overthrow the government for allegedly encouraging clients to join the 2013 Gezi Park protests, despite her critical health condition.
Arbitrary Depriviation of Life
30 September: Former teacher Yusuf Özkan, imprisoned over alleged Gülen movement links, died of a heart attack at Konya Ereğli Prison after collapsing in his ward.
1 October: Former teacher Cafer Ongun, 51, convicted over alleged Gülen movement links, died of a heart attack in Kütahya Prison after months of illness.
Enforced Disappearances
No news has emerged of Yusuf Bilge Tunç, a former public sector worker who was sacked from his job by a decree-law during the 2016-2018 state of emergency and who was reported missing as of August 6, 2019, in what appears to be one of the latest cases in a string of suspected enforced disappearance of government critics since 2016.
Freedom of Assembly and Association
2 October: Twelve students were detained during protests in Ankara over the death of 22-year-old nursing student Kasım Bulgan, who reportedly suffered a fatal heart attack after showering in cold water due to lack of hot water in his state-run student dormitory.
Freedom of Expression and Media
2 October: A Turkish court acquitted journalist Furkan Karabay of disinformation and targeting public officials but convicted him of insulting İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek, a pro-government and notoriously hardline prosecutor known for targeting opposition figures and dissidents, sentencing him to a suspended fine while Karabay remains jailed in another case.
3 October: A Turkish court ordered journalist Fatih Altaylı to remain in pretrial detention on charges of threatening President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, more than 100 days after his arrest in June.
3 October: Turkish prosecutors have indicted pop singer Mabel Matiz on charges of obscenity over the lyrics of his song “Perperişan,” seeking up to three years in prison under Article 226 of the penal code, after the Family and Social Services Ministry claimed the song violated public morals and a court blocked access to it online.
Human Rights Defenders
3 October: Sixteen human rights organizations across Europe sent a joint letter to the Turkish Minister of Justice urging the release of lawyer and human rights defender Süleyman Yıldırım, who remains in critical condition after being denied medical care in prison, as intimidation of lawyers continues.
Judicial Independence & Rule of Law
29 September: PACE co-rapporteurs Lord David Blencathra and Stefan Schennach warned that mounting political pressure and judicial harassment against Turkey’s main opposition CHP threaten the country’s democracy, urging authorities to end politically motivated prosecutions and respect the rule of law.
1 October: The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Turkey violated the rights of two “Academics for Peace” signatories, Ali Deniz Gür and Yasin Bedir, by canceling their passports under post-coup emergency decrees, finding breaches of the rights to private life and education and ordering compensation.
1 October: Turkey opened its new legislative year with President Erdoğan addressing parliament amid a boycott by the main opposition CHP and two other parties protesting government repression and constitutional violations.
Kurdish Minority
1 October: The Turkish Football Federation fined Diyarbakır-based Amedspor 110,000 lira for displaying a Kurdish-language advertising slogan on its jerseys despite prior approval, prompting the club to denounce the penalty as unjust and discriminatory.
Torture and Ill-Treatment
3 October: Alaeddin Kaya, the 75-year-old former owner of the shuttered Zaman newspaper imprisoned for alleged Gülen links, faces a high risk of stroke and was unlawfully denied ambulance transport despite medical orders, highlighting ongoing concerns over the treatment of critically ill prisoners.
Women’s Rights
2 October: Women’s rights groups in Turkey have demanded a full investigation into a sharp rise in suspicious deaths of women, after four were found dead in two days, linking the surge to weakened protections and increased impunity following Turkey’s 2021 withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention.