15-21 June 2026
Arbitrary Detention and Arrest
Throughout the week, prosecutors ordered the detention of at least 19 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.
15 June: A Turkish court ordered the pretrial detention of Rümeysa Şanal, who was jailed with her 9-month-old infant despite informing the court of the baby’s medical condition and need for breastfeeding.
Arbitrary Depriviation of Life
18 June: A Turkish court acquitted Specialist Sgt. Hakan Alkan over the 2009 death of 18-month-old Mehmet Uytun, who was fatally struck by a tear gas canister while sitting on his home’s balcony in southeastern Turkey.
19 June: Former police officer Durmuş Zorlu, imprisoned over alleged links to the Gülen movement, died of a heart attack in İzmir’s Kırıklar Prison after being re-arrested earlier this year to serve a terrorism-related sentence.
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.
19 June: Erhan Karaal, an executive at an İstanbul municipality company and a defendant in the case against Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, was found alive after being abducted, bound and severely beaten, with prosecutors detaining eight suspects as the investigation continues.
Freedom of Assembly and Association
16 June: Private school teachers and public school teacher candidates in Turkey began a hunger strike in Ankara after police detained protesters demanding better working conditions, fair public school recruitment and the abolition of oral interviews in teacher appointments.
Freedom of Expression and Media
17 June: The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Turkey violated the rights of veteran journalist Tuncer Çetinkaya by keeping him in pretrial detention for nearly two years without sufficient justification.
19 June: A Turkish court handed activist Yunus Kılıç an 11-month suspended prison sentence for allegedly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan by chanting a slogan during a pro-Palestine rally in İstanbul.
19 June: Turkish authorities revoked the press card of journalist İsmail Arı while he was jailed, reportedly citing a criminal record that official documents show does not exist.
19 June: Turkey has blocked access to the global online petition platform Change.org under a court order.
Human Rights Defenders
17 June: Turkish authorities detained human rights defender Mehmet Acettin, co-owner of the Etkin News Agency (ETHA), on accusations of financing a terrorist organization as part of an investigation targeting left-wing media figures.
Judicial Independence & Rule of Law
16 June: The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe renewed its call for the immediate release of Selahattin Demirtaş, Figen Yüksekdağ and Osman Kavala, citing Turkey’s continued failure to implement binding judgments of the European Court of Human Rights.
17 June: Turkish police detained 15 people, including Seferihisar Deputy Mayor İbrahim Gökhan Pehlivan in İzmir, in a bribery investigation, while authorities also suspended Silivri Mayor Bora Balcıoğlu in İstanbul following his arrest in a separate corruption case.
19 June: Turkey’s parliament has received requests to lift the legislative immunity of 12 opposition lawmakers, including CHP leader Özgür Özel, amid escalating legal pressure on opposition figures.
19 June: Turkish authorities detained opposition CHP mayors Ali Ercan Akpolat in İstanbul and Mustafa Turgut in Mersin in new corruption investigations as the party faces a deepening leadership crisis following a court-imposed leadership change.
Prison Conditions
15 June: A report by the Vicdan Foundation found that nearly four in five children under 6 living with their mothers in Turkish prisons show signs of developmental delay and more than 81 percent suffer psychological harm due to prison conditions.
Refugees and Migrants
16 June: A new report by the Migrant Refugee Solidarity Network says Syrian migrant women, children and LGBTQ+ people in İstanbul face increasing barriers to healthcare, education and legal protection amid growing fears of deportation and pressure to return to Syria.
Torture and Ill-Treatment
18 June: A social media campaign is calling for the emergency release of 74-year-old critically ill prisoner Abdullah Tırpan, who is imprisoned over alleged links to the Gülen movement despite severe health conditions and warnings that his life is at imminent risk.
Transnational Repression
18 June: Berlin’s domestic intelligence agency says Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) conducts intelligence activities in the German capital, including collecting information from pro-government members of the Turkish diaspora on alleged supporters of the Gülen movement.