27 October – 2 November 2025
Arbitrary Detention and Arrest
Throughout the week, prosecutors ordered the detention of at least 113 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.
28 October: Turkish authorities have detained or issued arrest warrants for 64 current and former Foreign Ministry employees, including senior diplomats, over alleged links to the Gülen movement, marking the latest wave in Ankara’s ongoing post-2016 purge of civil servants and diplomats.
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
27 October: The Çanakkale Governor’s Office banned all LGBTİ+-related events and demonstrations across the province for two days starting October 27, 2025, ahead of planned protests against the discriminatory provisions of Turkey’s 11th Judicial Package.
31 October: A Turkish court has accepted an indictment seeking prison sentences for 168 women’s rights activists detained during the 2024 Istanbul protest marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, amid a broader rollback of legal protections and rising violence against women following Turkey’s 2021 withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention.
31 October: Five students were detained in İzmir after protesting Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç at Ege University’s academic year opening ceremony, demanding accountability for nationalist attackers who recently assaulted students with machetes at Hacettepe University.
Freedom of Expression and Media
27 October: Reporters Without Borders has listed Turkey among countries harassing journalists over environmental reporting, citing legal action against 26 Sözcü daily reporters for exposing deforestation and mining projects linked to pro-government tycoon Mehmet Cengiz, as the country ranks 159th in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index.
28 October: Turkish theater actress Eda Saraç was arrested and jailed on charges of insulting President Erdoğan after a confrontation with police blocking her route to a theater performance during a presidential visit in Istanbul, in a case critics say reflects the government’s misuse of Article 299 to silence dissent.
Judicial Independence & Rule of Law
28 October: A Turkish prosecutor has cited İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu’s alleged use of the encrypted app Wickr Me as key evidence in a political espionage case, equating it to the ByLock app used in Gülen-linked prosecutions.
29 October: A new study by French legal scholar Thomas Hochmann warns that the European Court of Human Rights, by over-relying on subsidiarity and process-based review, risks legitimizing Turkey’s authoritarian practices, with Judge Saadet Yüksel’s opinions cited as examples of how deference to Turkish courts enables ongoing repression under the guise of legality.
29 October: Turkey ranked 118th out of 143 countries in the 2025 World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, marking one of the world’s steepest declines amid continued erosion of judicial independence, human rights, and checks on executive power.
Kurdish Minority
28 October: A high school senior in İzmir, identified as A.Y., was arrested on charges of “terrorist propaganda” after sharing a video of classmates dancing to a Kurdish song on social media, following threats to her family and a police raid.
Refugees and Migrants
28 October: Dr. Sekouba Conde, a Guinean physician married to a Turkish citizen, faces deportation from Turkey under a secret national security order based on an undisclosed intelligence report, despite having no criminal charges and living in the country legally for 14 years.
Gender Rights
30 October: Human Rights Watch has urged Turkey to withdraw its proposed 11th Judicial Package, which would criminalize LGBTQ+ identities, same-sex unions, and gender-affirming care, calling it one of the gravest human rights setbacks in decades and warning it would institutionalize state-sanctioned discrimination against sexual and gender minorities.