ARBITRARY DETENTION AND ARREST
Throughout the week, prosecutors ordered the detention of at least 34 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.
April 14: Reports revealed that the authorities were denying parole to at least nine political prisoners on arbitrary grounds such as lack of remorse. Some of the prisoners have been imprisoned for 30 years.
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
April 11: Gendarmes in Şanlurfa intervened in a protest against plans to build a solar power plant, detaining three people.
April 11: An İzmir court ruled to acquit a 18-year-old person who stood trial for handing out flyers on the occasion of the International Women’s Day.
April 11: The Constitutional Court ordered the state to pay damages to a woman who was shot in the head with a tear gas canister shot by the police in a demonstration in 2013.
April 14: The police in Hakkari briefly detained 15 people due to their attendance in a demonstration.
April 15: The police in İstanbul intervened in a demonstration to raise awareness about enforced disappearance incidents of 1980s and 90s, briefly detaining 12 activists.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND MEDIA
April 10: An İstanbul prosecutor demanded a prison sentence for journalist Cengiz Çandar due to a tweet posted in 2017.
April 11: The police in Bursa detained an opposition party member for attaching stickers with political content on products in a supermarket.
April 11: The police in Tekirdağ briefly detained 10 people due to the slogans they chanted and the scarves that they carried during Newroz celebrations in March.
April 11: İzmir prosecutors demanded up to four years in prison for visual artist Berkay Kahvecioğlu on charges of insulting the president in a painting.
April 11: An İstanbul court ruled to block access to two news reports and a tweet about allegations that the president and his son were exercising a close control over the state-run broadcaster TRT.
April 11: An Ankara court ruled to acquit former NGO executive Gani Kaplan who stood trial on charges of spreading terrorist propaganda due to social media posts as well as a speech given at an event.
April 12: Reports revealed that Turkish prosecutors launched 7,600 investigations into individuals on allegations of insulting the president in 2022.
April 13: An İstanbul court sentenced musician Ali Baran to two years, six months in prison on charges of spreading terrorist propaganda on social media.
April 13: The police in Antalya detained four people due to the slogans they chanted during the Newroz celebrations in March.
April 13: An İstanbul court ruled to acquit journalist Levent Gültekin who stood trial on charges of insulting the president.
April 14: An İstanbul court sentenced journalist Merdan Yanardağ to seven months, 15 days in prison on charges of denigrating the state in an opinion column he wrote.
April 14: The police in Antalya briefly detained Kurdish journalist Dilan Akyol on terrorism-related charges.
April 14: An İstanbul court ruled to block access to at least three news reports on allegations involving pro-government journalist Hilal Kaplan.
April 14: An Ankara court issued an injunction on a fine and broadcasting ban imposed on the Halk TV channel for promoting a book written by jailed Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş.
April 15: The police in İstanbul briefly detained human rights defender Eren Keskin due to her social media posts.
April 15: Mardin prosecutors launched an investigation into Kurdish journalist Ahmet Kanbal due to news reports he published. Kanbal was summoned by the police for a questioning as part of the investigation.
April 16: An Ankara court ruled to block access to two news reports covering allegations of child abuse implicating a businessman close to the government.
JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE & RULE OF LAW
April 11: The police detained nine lawyers who recently graduated from law school over their alleged links to the Gülen movement. The operation was ordered by İstanbul prosecutors.
KURDISH MINORITY
April 11: A Mersin court handed down a terrorism-related prison sentence of seven-and-a-half years to Kurdish villager Osman Şiban who was allegedly dumped off a military helicopter and beaten by security forces in 2020.
April 11: The police in Tekirdağ briefly detained 10 people due to the slogans they chanted and the scarves that they carried during Newroz celebrations in March.
April 13: The police in Antalya detained four people due to the slogans they chanted during the Newroz celebrations in March.
April 14: The police in Antalya briefly detained Kurdish journalist Dilan Akyol on terrorism-related charges.
April 14: An Ankara court issued an injunction on a fine and broadcasting ban imposed on the Halk TV channel for promoting a book written by jailed Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş.
April 15: Mardin prosecutors launched an investigation into Kurdish journalist Ahmet Kanbal due to news reports he published. Kanbal was summoned by the police for a questioning as part of the investigation.
PRISON CONDITIONS
April 10: An inmate named Ufuk Akçekaya lost his life in an İzmir prison. The authorities announced the cause of death as suicide.
April 13: An Ağrı prison restricted visitation rights for political prisoners and denied them video calls. Reports also revealed that the prison was providing low quality meals and restricting access to hot water. Prison officials confiscated inmates’ books and written drafts.
April 14: An Adana prison denied hospital referrals to inmates who refused to undergo mouth searches.
TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT
April 10: The police in Osmaniye physically assaulted a person named Ganivar Eye over a discussion.
April 11: The police in Şırnak physically mistreated a man named Faruk İverendi during a house raid.
April 11: Reports revealed that an Ankara prison was keeping inmate Hüseyin Karaoğlan in a one-person cell and was not providing him with television or radio.
April 11: A Mersin court handed down a terrorism-related prison sentence of seven-and-a-half years to Kurdish villager Osman Şiban who was allegedly dumped off a military helicopter and beaten by security forces in 2020.
April 14: The guards in an Adana prison physically assaulted inmate Hacı Alağaş.
April 14: Reports revealed that an Ağrı prison is keeping political prisoner Alpaslan Kuytul in a one-person cell and depriving him of social and sportive contact with other inmates. The leader of a religious group, Kuytul was imprisoned following his outspoken criticism of the government.