ARBITRARY DETENTION AND ARREST
Throughout the week, prosecutors ordered the detention of at least 16 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.
June 2: Can Atalay, a jailed human rights lawyer who was elected to parliament in the May 14 parliamentary elections, was not released from prison despite gaining parliamentary immunity with his seat in the legislature.
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.
May 29: The Advocates of Silenced Turkey (AST), a US-based human rights group, released a report shedding light on the Turkish government’s transnational repression and abduction of dissidents living abroad.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY AND ASSOCIATION
May 30: Gendarmes in Manisa intervened in a mine workers’ protest, detaining three labor union executives. The detainees were released the next day.
May 30: An İzmir court ruled to acquit 26 people who stood trial due to their attendance in a Newroz celebration in 2015.
May 31: The police in İstanbul intervened in demonstrations to commemorate the Gezi Park protests of 2013, detaining 59 people.
June 1: The police in Ankara intervened in a demonstration staged to commemorate a man who was killed by the police in 2013, detaining 28 people.
June 1: The police in Düzce intervened in a labor union protest, detaining six people.
June 3: The police in İstanbul intervened in a demonstration about enforced disappearances, briefly detaining 13 people.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND MEDIA
May 30: The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), the broadcasting regulator, launched an investigation into seven opposition TV stations for violating broadcasting guidelines during their coverage of the elections.
May 30: A baker in İstanbul was detained after arguing with a ruling party supporter who was celebrating the election results. Media reports indicated that his professional license was revoked and his bakery was sealed off by the authorities.
May 30: A member of the ruling party physically assaulted journalist Ali Macit who was covering news in İstanbul.
June 1: An İstanbul court ruled to acquit Ekan Bolaç, a lawyer who stood trial on charges of insulting the president by sharing cartoons on social media.
June 1: An İzmir court ruled to acquit human rights activist Eren Keskin who stood trial due to her social media commentary about an armed attack targeting the HDP.
June 2: An Ankara court ruled to block access to at least nine reports on misconduct allegations implicating the Deputy Minister of Health.
JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE & RULE OF LAW
May 30: A baker in İstanbul was detained after arguing with a ruling party supporter who was celebrating the election results. Media reports indicated that his professional license was revoked and his bakery was sealed off by the authorities.
KURDISH MINORITY
May 30: A Diyarbakır court sentenced Fethi Gümüş, the former chair of the Diyarbakır bar association, to seven years, six months in prison on terrorism-related charges due to his alleged involvement in pro-Kurdish political networks.
May 31: Zeynel Bulut, a Kurdish journalist imprisoned on terrorism-related charges, was forced to speak in Turkish by soldiers during his hospital visit.
June 1: The police in İzmir detained six members of the HDP’s youth network.
PRISON CONDITIONS
June 2: An İzmir prison reportedly denied medical care to sick inmate Muhlise Karagüzel.
June 2: An Erzurum prison denied medical treatment to partially paralyzed and sick inmate Önder Poyraz.
June 3: An Afyonkarahisar prison denied hospital referral to sick inmate Habil Emen who refused to undergo mouth searches.
TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT
May 29: The police in Hakkari physically mistreated eight people during house raids.
May 31: Zeynel Bulut, a Kurdish journalist imprisoned on terrorism-related charges, was forced to speak in Turkish by soldiers during his hospital visit.
June 1: Reports indicated that a Kırıkkale prison was denying some inmates open air activities as well as social and cultural rights. The prison administration also refused to deliver letters written by the inmates.
June 3: The Constitutional Court ruled in favor of an applicant named Eyüp Keser who claimed he had suffered torture and inhumane treatment during his detention on charges of membership in the Gülen movement in 2016. The court ordered the state to pay damages to the applicant and asked prosecutors to reinvestigate the allegations.
June 3: The guards in a Mersin prison strip-searched Azat Taş, a mentally handicapped man who was arrested as part of an investigation into a Kurdish NGO.