ARBITRARY DETENTION AND ARREST
Throughout the week, prosecutors ordered the detention of at least 82 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.
December 19: The police in Diyarbakır detained nine people for not standing up for the national anthem at the beginning of a football game in a stadium.
December 19:Vural Avar, a 85-year-old sick inmate, died in an Ankara prison.
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
December 19: The police in İstanbul and Kocaeli intervened in protests staged against an incident of police violence, detaining 109 people.
December 19: The police in İstanbul intervened in a commemoration event, briefly detaining three activists.
December 19: The Muş Governor’s Office issued a ban on all outdoor gatherings for a period of 13 days.
December 21: An İstanbul court sentenced 22 people to one year, three months in prison due to their participation in a commemoration event in 2019.
December 21: The police in Ankara intervened in a protest staged by former public sector workers summarily dismissed by decree-laws, detaining six people.
December 23: The police in İstanbul intervened in a demonstration against the detention of Kurdish politicians, detaining one activist.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND MEDIA
December 19: The police in Ankara briefly detained journalist Fatih Yaşlı.
December 19: An İstanbul court ruled to block access to at least three news reports on allegations that drugs were found in a vehicle belonging to a pro-government businessman.
December 20: Reporter Furkan Durmaz was physically assaulted while conducting a street interview in İstanbul.
December 20: An Ankara court ruled to acquit 103 retired admirals who stood trial on coup charges due to their joint statement in which they criticized government plans to build a new waterway across İstanbul.
December 21: An Ankara court handed down a suspended prison sentence of two years, nine months and 22 days to Kurdish journalist Hayri Demir on terrorism-related charges.
December 21: The police in Tunceli detained a man named Gökhan Karakuş for allegedly spreading terrorist propaganda on social media. Karakuş was arrested by a court on December 23.
December 21: An İstanbul court ordered journalist Sedef Kabaş to pay damages to the president for insulting him on a television program.
December 21: The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), the broadcasting regulator, imposed fines on TV stations Tele1, Halk TV and Fox TV due to comments aired on their political programs.
December 22:Sinan Aygül, a journalist who was arrested on December 14 due to his reporting, was released.
December 23: A Diyarbakır court ruled to block access to at least three news reports on corruption allegations implicating Rıfat Ural, the government-appointed trustee who replaced the elected Diyarbakır mayor.
December 24: An Ankara court blocked access to five tweets and a news reports on torture allegations against Abdulkadir Türkyılmaz, a police officer working at the counterterrorism branch of the Ankara police department.
FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
December 25: The Interior Ministry banned HDP MP Zeynel Özen from travelling abroad.
KURDISH MINORITY
December 19: A Hakkari court sentenced Kurdish politicians Dilek Hatipoğlu and Nurullah Çiftçi to 11 years, three months in prison on terrorism-related charges. Hatipoğlu and Çiftçi were retried after their earlier sentence was overturned by the Constitutional Court on the grounds that their right to a fair trial was violated.
December 21: An Ankara court handed down a suspended prison sentence of two years, nine months and 22 days to Kurdish journalist Hayri Demir on terrorism-related charges.
December 23: The police in nine provinces detained 14 people, including Kurdish politicians from the Democratic Regions Party (DBP).
December 23: The police in İstanbul detained six members and executives of the HDP.
December 23: The police in Muş detained four members of the HDP.
December 25: The Interior Ministry banned HDP MP Zeynel Özen from travelling abroad.
PRISON CONDITIONS
December 21: Reports revealed that an Aydın prison was holding 46 prisoners in a ward with a capacity of 10 people.
December 24: The authorities interrupted sick inmate Emin Gurban’s ongoing treatment by transferring him from a Kocaeli prison to a Konya prison against his will.
REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS
December 22: Turkish authorities decided to deport Hossein Manbari and Shugar Mohammadi, two Iranian Kurds who reportedly face execution in Iran for having taken part in protests against the government several years ago.
TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT
December 24: An Ankara court blocked access to five tweets and a news reports on torture allegations against Abdulkadir Türkyılmaz, a police officer working at the counterterrorism branch of the Ankara police department.
TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION
December 19: Sweden’s Supreme Court refused to extradite journalist Bülent Keneş to Turkey. The court said some of the charges against Keneş are not crimes in Sweden and there is a risk that the journalist would face persecution on the basis of his political beliefs. Keneş’s extradition request was specifically put forward by the Turkish president as a precondition for Turkey’s approval of Sweden’s NATO membership.
