22-28 December 2025
Arbitrary Detention and Arrest
Throughout the week, prosecutors ordered the detention of at least 49 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.
22 December: Turkey arrested 1,601 people in 2025 and released 1,524 under judicial supervision in operations targeting alleged links to the Gülen movement, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said, despite the non-implementation by Türkiye of the European Court of Human Rights’ pilot judgment in Yalçınkaya v. Türkiye and more than 6,000 similar rulings.
23 December: Turkish authorities detained seven people in four provinces on accusations of distributing financial aid to families of individuals imprisoned or dismissed over alleged links to the Gülen movement.
Arbitrary Depriviation of Life
24 December: A neighborhood watchman fatally beat 67- year-old retired man Izzet Karataş during a traffic dispute, an incident that comes amid documented cases of alleged abuse and ill-treatment by watchmen, including findings in a 2020 report by Human Rights Watch on excessive force and impunity.
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
23 December: Police detained 27 people in İzmir during morning home raids carried out over protests and activities calling for the closure of so-called “well-type” prisons and opposing long-standing isolation practices in Turkish prisons.
28 December: A Turkish court arrested Bilge Kaan Şarbat, a Kadıköy Youth Branch executive of the Republican People’s Party, after he was detained along with 20 others during a CHP protest in Istanbul against the 2026 minimum wage, with Şarbat the only detainee placed in pretrial detention.
Freedom of Expression and Media
22 December: Turkish authorities arrested journalist Zihni Çakır after a social media post in which he criticized Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç over his December meeting with Fenerbahçe chairman Sadettin Saran, questioning the handling and public perception of a subsequent drug-related investigation.
24 December: A Turkish court ordered the blocking of 177 news reports and social media posts related to allegations involving Deputy Culture and Tourism Minister Batuhan Mumcu and his wife, citing national security and public order, according to the Freedom of Expression Association.
26 December: A Turkish court released journalist Barış Terkoglu under judicial supervision after his brief detention over a YouTube report involving a prosecutor, as authorities seized his phone.
26 December: Turkey’s broadcasting regulator Radio and Television Supreme Council imposed 99 sanctions in 2025 totaling about $5.3 million—mostly targeting critical news and political commentary on outlets such as So zcu TV, Tele 1 and Halk TV—prompting press freedom groups to denounce the penalties as politically motivated.
Judicial Independence & Rule of Law
23 December: Turkish prosecutors detained 22 officials from İstanbul’s CHP-run Şile Municipality on charges including bribery, tender rigging and abuse of office, following the earlier arrest and suspension of Mayor Özgür Kabadayı, in an investigation announced by the İstanbul Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office amid similar cases targeting opposition municipalities.
Kurdish Minority
23 December: Attackers carried out what Amedspor and political representatives described as a hate crime targeting Kurdish people by assaulting Amedspor supporters, including women and children, outside Bodrum District Stadium ahead of the Bodrumspor–Amedspor match, injuring at least one woman.
26 December: A Turkish court sentenced academic Berfin Azdal to more than six years in prison for alleged membership in a terrorist organization in a case tied to an investigation into the People’s Democratic Congress, with prosecutors citing lawful political activities as evidence.
Torture and Ill-Treatment
26 December: Turkey’s Council of Forensic Medicine ruled that jailed Beylikdüzü mayor Murat Çalık, detained in the March 19 crackdown targeting İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, can remain in prison despite serious cancer-related health risks.
