ARBITRARY DETENTION AND ARREST
Throughout the week, prosecutors ordered the detention of at least 22 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
10 June: Turkish police on Sunday detained 10 people at a Pride march in the central province of Eskişehir despite a ban imposed by the governor’s office on Pride Week activities in the city.
10 June: During the police intervention against the protest organised in front of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) provincial building in Bursa in support of Palestine, protesters were subjected to physical violence of the police and were detained by being handcuffed behind their backs.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND MEDIA
12 June: Uşak Banaz Civil Court of First Instance ruled that actress Ezgi Mola must pay 10 thousand TL in non-pecuniary damages for a social media post about Sergeant Musa Orhan, who was sentenced to 10 years for 'qualified sexual assault' in the case involving the alleged sexual assault and suicide of a child.
14 June: A prosecutor has requested prison sentences for six journalists who organized a protest on April 29, 2023, in support of their colleagues who were arrested in operations centered in Diyarbakır and Ankara.
13 June: The news reports on the determination that former Istanbul Security Directorate Intelligence Branch Director Özgür Taşdemir cleared the criminal file of Çalık Holding-affiliated Çalık Gayrimenkul Chairman Ahmet Taçyıldız in exchange for a "mansion with a Bosphorus view" were blocked from access with the decision of Bakırköy 1st Criminal Judgeship of Peace.
13 June: News reports on the allegation that a high-ranking official at the Ministry of Justice had a call traffic history (HTS) overlap with Ayhan Bora Kaplan, who is on trial for being the leader of a criminal organisation, were blocked from access by the Ankara 10th Criminal Judgeship of Peace on the grounds of violation of personal rights.
14 June: The news on the operation against the financial structure of the terrorist organisation DAESH was blocked from access with the decision of Bakırköy 4th Criminal Judgeship of Peace.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
14 June: Human rights lawyer Zilan Gümüş, co-chair of the İzmir branch of the Human Rights Association, has faced repeated police surveillance and harassment due to her advocacy work, prompting a press conference by multiple human rights organizations calling for an end to the intimidation and an investigation into the responsible officers.
KURDISH MINORITY
12 June: A Turkish court has arrested six politicians, former mayors and their deputies in the predominantly Kurdish province of Diyarbakır who were detained on June 8 as part of an ongoing crackdown on Kurdish politicians in the country.
PRISON CONDITIONS
15 June: The long-standing water problem in Çorum Sungurlu L Type Prison persists, with no hot or cold water supplied for two days, leaving women in 20-person wards struggling to meet their daily needs.
TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT
9 June: Women detained in Malatya, traumatized by baseless charges, had their headscarves removed for three days and were not allowed to pray or meet with their lawyers.
10 June: Fatma Özbay, an ill prisoner in Izmir Şakran Women's Prison, was not taken for routine check-ups despite having breast cancer.
11 June: 2 people who had a traffic accident in Çan district of Çanakkale were stopped by the police and were subjected to physical violence of the police.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
13 June: At a graduation ceremony held in the school garden of a high school in Kocaeli's Gebze district, some students were not allowed into the area on the grounds of 'inappropriate dress'.