ARBITRARY DETENTION AND ARREST
Throughout the week, prosecutors ordered the detention of at least 43 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.
5 September: Turkish police have detained 34 people across 19 provinces over their alleged links to the Gülen movement.
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 EXPRESSION AND MEDIA
2 September: A Turkish judge on Sunday ordered the arrest of Dilek Ekmekçi, a lawyer who accused far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leaders, allies of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, of involvement in the assassination of former Grey Wolves leader Sinan Ateş.
2 September: YouTubers who produce news programs or conduct street interviews will be required to obtain a license from Turkey’s broadcasting watchdog, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK).
2 september: The news reports on Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor İsmail Uçar's report to the General Secretariat of the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors on the bribery ring in the courthouse were blocked from access by the decision of Istanbul 9th Criminal Judgeship of Peace on the grounds of violation of personal rights.
3 september: A Turkish court has handed down a suspended seven-and-a-half-month sentence to a woman for criticizing a government ban on Instagram.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
5 september: Betül Alpay, a Turkish lawyer, is facing a defamation trial after publicly claiming she was subjected to an unlawful strip-search in a prison.
KURDISH MINORITY
2 september: Following a World Peace Day press statement in Istanbul's Kadıköy district, 12 people were arrested, for "making terrorist propaganda" after police intervened due to Kurdish slogans and traditional dancing.
2 september: In Istanbul's Aksaray district, Hakim Lokman, a citizen of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, was killed and two others were injured in an alleged attack after being targeted for speaking Kurdish on the phone while dining at a restaurant.
PRISON CONDITIONS
4 september: It has been reported that prisoners at Kocaeli Kandıra F2 Prison were subjected to forced strip searches, and some inmates experienced physical violence from prison guards.
REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS
2 September: In İnegöl, Bursa, a 16-year-old boy named Efe G. attacked 23-year-old Syrian Hani K. with a knife during an argument, resulting in Hani K.'s death after being taken to the hospital.
TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT
2 September: An inmate in Istanbul’s Metris Prison who was previously a major in the Turkish military has been denied suspension of his sentence despite suffering from advanced multiple sclerosis.
4 September: The staff of an İstanbul hospital has allegedly mistreated Abdulkadir Kuday, a Kurdish inmate suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), denying him water and neglecting his personal care.
5 september: Nedime Yaklav, a prisoner at Ankara Sincan Women's Prison, had her release delayed for the fifth time on August 22, 2024, despite completing her 30-year sentence, as the Prison Administrative and Observation Board cited her "failure to demonstrate sufficient rehabilitation," extending her detention by nine months.
TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION
2 september: According to a report from the Institute for Diplomacy and Economy (instituDE), Turkey employs transnational repression by manipulating international financial systems, such as anti-money laundering regulations, to target and silence dissidents abroad, cutting off their access to essential financial services and labeling them as security risks.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
4 september: According to the We Will Stop Femicide Platform, 33 women were murdered by men, and 24 others died under suspicious circumstances in Turkey in August 2024, often due to conflicts over personal decisions, while activists criticize the government's insufficient efforts to combat gender-based violence.
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