13-19 April 2026
Arbitrary Detention and Arrest
Throughout the week, prosecutors ordered the detention of at least 71 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.
14 April: Turkish authorities detained 60 people, including civil servants and doctors, in operations across multiple provinces over alleged links to the Gülen movement.
Arbitrary Depriviation of Life
15 April: A 14-year-old student carried out a deadly school shooting in Kahramanmaraş, killing nine people and injuring 13 others after bringing five firearms into the school undetected, raising serious concerns about inadequate security measures.
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
18 April: Police raided the homes of striking Temel Conta Company workers in İzmir and detained eight worker over allegations of “disturbing the peace” linked to union activities.
Freedom of Expression and Media
14 April: A Turkish court has sentenced Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu to 11 months and 20 days in prison for allegedly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over remarks made in speeches between 2014 and 2016.
14 April: A Turkish court sentenced Kurdish journalist Hakkı Boltan to more than one year in prison in a retrial for insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over a 2016 public statement.
15 April: A Turkish court sentenced journalists Timur Soykan to 10 months in prison for violating confidentiality and Barış Pehlivan and Murat Ağırel to one year and three months each for spreading disinformation over remarks made on a 2024 television program, while acquitting Şule Aydın.
15 April: An İstanbul court sentenced veteran journalist Zafer Arapkirli to two years and six months in prison for “spreading misleading information” over social media posts.
17 April: A Turkish prosecutor has issued a detention warrant for human rights activist Salih Gergerlioğlu over social media posts about the deadly school shooting in Kahramanmaraş.
Human Rights Defenders
16 April: A Turkish court has accepted an indictment seeking up to six years in prison for environmental activist Esra Işık over her protest against a coal mine expansion project in Muğla.
Judicial Independence & Rule of Law
15 April: A Turkish court has ordered the pretrial detention of lawyer and ESP deputy co-chair Sezin Uçar on terrorism-related charges following her detention at İstanbul Airport, as part of a broader investigation targeting members of the Socialist Party of the Oppressed.
18 April: Turkish police detained Ataşehir Mayor Onursal Adıgüzel along with senior municipal officials in an investigation into alleged bribery and bid rigging, as part of a widening crackdown on opposition-run CHP municipalities.
19 April: Turkish police detained 29 people, including CHP provincial head Celalettin Çoban, in an expanded corruption probe targeting Uşak Municipality that previously led to the arrest and suspension of Mayor Özkan Yalım.
Kurdish Minority
Torture and Ill-Treatment
16 April: Lawyer Yunus Özayar has filed a criminal complaint alleging he was physically assaulted by police at a station in İstanbul after requesting access to a client’s case file.
Women’s Rights
10 April: In the long-running investigation into the 2020 disappearance of student Gülistan Doku in Tunceli, authorities have arrested multiple suspects—including the son of a former governor—bringing the number of jailed individuals to 10 amid emerging evidence and testimony suggesting possible murder and a cover-up.
