ARBITRARY DETENTION AND ARREST
Throughout the week, prosecutors ordered the detention of at least 49 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.
ARBITRARY DEPRIVATION OF LIFE
13 September: In Kocaeli's Gebze district, a motorcyclist named Kerem Uzun was fatally shot by the police after allegedly failing to comply with a stop warning. He died in the hospital following the incident.
14 September: During a drainage project at Burdur Open Prison, a landslide occurred, resulting in the death of an inmate named N.H., who was trapped under the collapsing soil.
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 September: Eight workers were hospitalized after police clashed with protesters outside a factory in Istanbul, where employees have been demonstrating for nearly two months.
14 September: Police intervened once again in a protest by Polonez factory workers in Istanbul’s Çatalca district, who had been striking for 59 days after being dismissed for joining a union. 80 workers, including Tek-Gıda-İş union official Furkan Seyhan, were detained with their hands cuffed behind their backs.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND MEDIA
12 September: During a live broadcast reporting on the suspicious murder of Narin Güran, a young girl, Halk TV reporter Ferit Demir was interrupted by security guards who demanded he stop the transmission due to the upcoming arrival of ministers.
12 September: A total of 645 news articles and social media posts regarding Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun were blocked and ordered to be removed by Istanbul's 3rd Criminal Court of Peace.
13 September: Bursa's 2nd Criminal Court of Peace issued a ruling blocking access to the domain etha53.com of the Etkin News Agency (ETHA) on the grounds of protecting national security and public order.
JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE & RULE OF LAW
12 September: A high criminal court in central Turkey has in a retrial again convicted former teacher Yüksel Yalçınkaya of terrorism due to his links to the faith-based Gülen movement, despite a landmark decision from the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) last year in his favor.
KURDISH MINORITY
10 September: Diyarbakır prosecutors have filed charges against journalist Nurcan Yalçın, seeking up to 10 years in prison on charges of financing terrorism.
11 September: PEN International has called on Turkish authorities to drop all charges against a Kurdish writer who faces more than seven years in prison on charges of disseminating terrorist propaganda due to his work.
REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS
13 September: Four Kurdish people who participated in protests following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini in Iran are facing the threat of deportation from Turkey back to Iran, where they could be executed.
TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT
11 September: İzzeddin Yenigün, suffering from intestinal and kidney disorders, was sent back to prison despite his deteriorating condition and his temporary release last year for medical reasons.
13 September: Abdülmelik Okyay, a 71-year-old Kurdish politician imprisoned for social media posts, died of a heart attack while incarcerated after his parole was delayed.
13 September: The report alleges that police officers sexually harassed women during detention by forcing them to remove their clothes and photographing them at the police station.
TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION
12 September: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has called on North Macedonia’s newly elected government to join its fight against the faith-based Gülen movement.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
10 September: More than 1.4 million women in Turkey reported being subjected to domestic violence between January 2013 and July 2024.
13 September: The İstanbul Trans Pride Committee has announced that a transgender man was fired from a McDonalds restaurant in İstanbul’s İstiklal Avenue without proper explanation. The employee was told that “you are not suitable.”
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