2-8 March 2026
Arbitrary Detention and Arrest
Throughout the week, prosecutors ordered the detention of at least 325 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.
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
6 March: Turkish prosecutors indicted 11 students from Middle East Technical University for participating in protests in Ankara against the March 2025 detention of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, charging them with joining unlawful demonstrations and refusing to disperse.
8 March: Six people were detained in Istanbul after women gathered on Sıraselviler Street for the 24th Feminist Night March on International Women’s Day despite a one-day protest ban imposed by local authorities.
8 March: Turkish police briefly detained the mothers of military cadets and lieutenants serving life sentences over the 2016 coup attempt as they gathered in İstanbul to read a press statement calling for justice for their children.
Freedom of Expression and Media
2 March: Turkish prosecutors launched a criminal investigation into 168 public figures who signed a manifesto defending secularism, following a complaint by the Education Ministry alleging the text incited hatred and insulted state institutions.
6 March: An İstanbul court handed suspended prison sentences of one year, three months and 18 days to TÜSİAD chairman Orhan Turan and advisory council head Ömer Arif Aras for “publicly spreading misleading information” over speeches criticizing government policies.
7 March: Turkish prosecutors launched an investigation into pop singer Hande Yener over allegations that she joined anti-government chants during two concerts in May 2025, following a complaint filed through the Presidency’s Communication Center (CİMER).
Judicial Independence & Rule of Law
2 March: Turkish prosecutors opened an investigation into two journalists and six relatives of earthquake victims over their criticism of court-appointed experts whose reports led to the release of suspects in trials related to deadly building collapses after the 2023 earthquakes.
3 March: A Turkish court ordered the arrest of Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan from the opposition CHP on misconduct and extortion allegations linked to donations to a municipality-affiliated foundation, after which the Interior Ministry suspended him from office pending trial.
7 March: Turkey’s Council of State overturned a lower court ruling reinstating an academic dismissed for signing the 2016 “Academics for Peace” petition, refusing to follow a 2019 Constitutional Court judgment that found the dismissal violated freedom of expression.
Prison Conditions
9 March: The release of several political prisoners in Eskişehir has been delayed after prison administrative boards postponed their conditional release on grounds such as “lack of remorse” and the continuation of “organizational attitudes,” despite many having completed their parole eligibility and suffering from serious health problems.
Torture and Ill-Treatment
4 March: A seriously ill Turkish teacher imprisoned over alleged Gülen movement links was returned to prison despite doctors saying she needed emergency surgery and life-saving treatment, according to her family.
6 March: Turkish prosecutors opened an investigation after a 19-year-old detainee alleged that police officers beat and sexually assaulted him while in custody at a police station in Istanbul’s Kadıköy district.
6 March: A Turkish forensic medicine panel has again ruled that imprisoned former military officer Mehmet Gürler, who has advanced multiple sclerosis and is wheelchair-bound, is unfit to remain in prison, but authorities have not suspended his life sentence.
