ARBITRARY DETENTION AND ARREST
Throughout the week, prosecutors ordered the detention of at least 6 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 la.test cases in a string of suspected enforced disappearance of government critics since 2016.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY AND ASSOCIATION
14 August: The Şırnak Governorship announced a three-day ban on all public gatherings, events, and related activities from August 14 to 16, 2024, including inter-district travel and collective movements into the province.
15 August: Police intervened in a press statement in front of Istanbul Çağlayan Courthouse demanding the closure of Y and S-type prisons, also known as "well-type" prisons, and detained three individuals: Ayşe Lerzan Conde, Hasan Basri Yıldız, and Emir Karakum.
15 August: The Mardin Governorship announced a three-day ban on all public gatherings, including outdoor and indoor meetings, marches, press statements, hunger strikes, sit-ins, setting up stands or tents, drone activities, surveys, distribution of flyers, and similar activities, starting from August 15, 2024.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND MEDIA
12 August: Turkey has experienced a decade of hostility towards the press under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, with five journalists killed, 131 imprisoned, 77 convicted of “insulting the president” and hundreds more prosecuted for their work, according to the Reporters Without Borders (RSF)’s assessment marking the 10th anniversary of Erdogan’s presidency.
13 August: A Turkish court has arrested a woman who criticized President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for a recent ban on the Instagram social media network in a street interview in the western province of İzmir.
13 August: Bilal Erdoğan, the younger son of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has had courts block access to 237 pieces of online content about him, including news reports and social media posts.
13 August: A Turkish court has blocked access to Bianet’s Media Monitoring Report, which documents rights violations related to press freedom.
FREEDOM OF RELIGION
16 August: Alevi protesters held a march in Hacıbektaş to oppose the ongoing occupation of their sacred Hacıbektaş Dergah, expressing anger and frustration that the site has been under occupation for several days, and demanding the restoration of their religious rights and the removal of those occupying the site.
JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE & RULE OF LAW
16 August: The Turkish Parliament ignored a Constitutional Court ruling regarding Can Atalay’s parliamentary status, leading to a heated session and the rejection of opposition motions.
KURDISH MINORITY
12 August: A prison in the Turkish province of Şırnak has imposed a ban on the use of Kurdish language during phone calls between inmates and their families.
13 August: Workers at an Istanbul Airport restaurant chain were banned from listening to and speaking Kurdish, with the manager's discriminatory remarks leading to the resignation of 12 Kurdish employees.
OTHER MINORITIES
15 August: The family of bianet editor Ruken Tuncel was subjected to a racist attack in their Istanbul home, marking the second such incident by neighbors within a year, involving physical assault and hate speech labeling them as "Armenians" and "terrorists."
TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT
14 August: Mustafa Aytaç, an inmate battling cancer, has been returned to prison despite a recommendation from Turkey’s Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK) that his sentence be suspended for six months due to his deteriorating health.
15 August: Prison authorities have failed to take Şehriban Mimkara, an inmate suffering from throat cancer, to the hospital for five months.
15 August: Abdulkadir Bozkurt, a prisoner in Tekirdağ No. 2 F-Type Prison, reported being tortured, mistreated, and threatened with death by the prison warden, guards, and psychologist, stating he had been confined in a small cell, stripped, beaten, and feared for his life.
15 August: The conditional release and parole of three prisoners—Soydan Akay in Istanbul Marmara (Silivri) Prison, Ali Odabaşı in Ankara Sincan Prison, and Ünal Üneş in Erzurum H-Type Prison—were arbitrarily denied by the Prison Administration and Observation Boards.
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