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.
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
15 October: Turkish police have detained 269 people in connection to a recent demonstration in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish province of Diyarbakır where protestors demanded an end to the solitary confinement of jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan and his ultimate release from prison.
15 October: Gendarmerie intervened in a protest by villagers in Adıyaman's Yeşiltepe (Gazikale) forested area against the cutting of trees for the construction of earthquake housing, detaining six people.
16 October: During a police intervention, 37 workers and union leaders protesting for labor rights at Fernas Maden, owned by AKP MP Ferhat Nasırlıoğlu, in Ankara's Kurtuluş Park were detained on charges of "endangering public safety."
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND MEDIA
15 October: News reports and social media posts regarding allegations that four individuals, including the private secretary of the AKP-led Midyat Municipality, embezzled approximately 60 million Turkish lira, have been blocked by a decision of the Midyat Criminal Court of Peace.
15 October: Etkin Haber Ajansı (ETHA) editor Pınar Gayıp, who went to the Istanbul Fatih Kocamustafapaşa Şehit Sinan Acar Police Station to testify in an investigation related to her professional activities, was detained due to an arrest warrant issued in connection with a different investigation.
16 October: Turkey, where authorities frequently censor online content and harass individuals for their social media posts, has been ranked the lowest-scoring country in Europe for online freedoms.
16 October: İstanbul-based Açık Radyo was shut down by authorities, six months after a guest talked about the “Armenian genocide” on air.
16 October: A lawyer who filed a complaint against Turkey’s far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) claims that authorities are attempting to silence her through illegal means, including subjecting her to psychiatric evaluations. Dilek Ekmekçi, who accused MHP members of involvement in the assassination of a Grey Wolves leader, said she faced procedural violations during her arrest and the search of her home. Despite being cleared of defamation charges, she faces ongoing investigations and accusations of links to the Gülen movement, which she denies, calling them part of a smear campaign.
17 October: An Ankara court has ruled that Şebnem Korur Fincancı, a prominent expert in forensic medicine and human rights activist, pay 50,000 lira ($1,460) in non-pecuniary damages to the Turkish Defense Ministry for calling for an investigation in 2022 into the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Turkish army against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq.
FREEDOM OF RELIGION
16 October: In Istanbul's Küçükçekmece district, an individual attacked the Garip Dede Dergâhı Cemevi, a place of worship for Alevi Muslims, causing a disturbance at the site.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
18 October: It has been reported that a racist and hate-filled threat note signed by the "Turkish Revenge Brigade" was left on the personal vehicle of Lawyer Şiar Rişvanoğlu, a member of the Adana branches of the Human Rights Association (İHD) and the Contemporary Lawyers Association (ÇHD), and that the tires of his vehicle were slashed. Additionally, news reports mentioned that another paper with three crescent moons and a grey wolf symbol was placed beside the threat note.
KURDISH MINORITY
14 October: Turkey's Constitutional Court ruled that chanting pro-Kurdish slogans and singing Kurdish songs are protected under freedom of speech, ordering a retrial for Merve Nur Tekin, who was previously convicted of making terror propaganda.
16 October: Süleyman Bozkurt, the Co-Chair of the DEM Party's Darende district, was detained during a house raid in Malatya's Darende district on charges of "spreading organizational propaganda."
TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT
17 October: Habat Demir, a sick inmate held in İzmir No. 1 High-Security Prison, has not been given the medication prescribed by a doctor.
18 October: Turkish authorities have denied the release on parole of Tamer Tanrıkulu for a second time, despite his eligibility in February 2024, citing a lack of good conduct, his participation in prison protests, and refusal to accept certain prison rules.
TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION
18 October: The Kenyan government confirmed the deportation of four Turkish nationals linked to the Gülen movement, who had been abducted in Nairobi. Despite being under UN protection as refugees, Kenya repatriated them to Turkey at the request of the Turkish government, raising concerns over international law violations and the role of Turkish intelligence in the operation.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
15 October: As Turkey grapples with a wave of femicides, the body of a 21-year-old female student who went missing nearly three weeks ago has been found in eastern Turkey.
18 October: The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities (CLRAE), operating under the Council of Europe (CoE), urged Turkish authorities in a recent report to introduce a 30 percent gender quota to bolster women’s representation in local politics and election administration.
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