ARBITRARY DETENTION AND ARREST
Throughout the week, prosecutors ordered the detention of at least 69 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
May 1: The police in İstanbul intervened in May Day demonstrations, detaining at least 239 people.
May 2: The police in Edirne intervened in an election event organized by the Green Left Party (YSP), detaining seven party members.
May 4: The police in İstanbul intervened in a demonstration staged to protest the murder of a Kurdish street musician, detaining two people.
May 4: The police in Ankara intervened in a leftist party’s election event, violently detaining nine people.
May 4: The police in Adana intervened in an election event held by the Green Left Party (YSP), detaining 14 people. The detainees were released the next day.
May 4: The police in İstanbul intervened in a demonstration organized by the Green Left Party (YSP), detaining 15 people.
May 6: The police in İstanbul intervened in a demonstration organized to seek justice for those who disappeared in police custody in the 1990s, detaining 24 people.
May 7: The police in İstanbul detained four people following their attendance at a rally, for wearing bracelets colored yellow, red and green – colors associated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND MEDIA
May 3: An Ankara court ruled to arrest journalists Dicle Müftüoğlu, Sedat Yılmaz, Erol Balcı, Abdurrahim Tanyeli and Ramazan Debe who were detained last week as part of widespread detentions against pro-Kurdish political networks.
May 3: The police in Tekirdağ detained two people named Emircan Bozkurt and Ömer Köker on charges of spreading terrorist propaganda on social media. The detainees were arrested by a court the next day.
May 3: The police in Şırnak detained seven people, including a 15-year-old minor, on charges of spreading terrorist propaganda.
May 3: Turkey ranked 165th among 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2023 World Press Freedom Index. The ranking represented a fall of 16 places compared to last year.
May 3: A quarterly media freedom report found that at least 195 journalists stood trial in Turkey in the first quarter of 2023. The report also said that Turkish authorities imposed censorship on at least 187 online news articles and other journalistic content.
May 3: An İstanbul court handed down a suspended prison sentence of 10 months to singer Gülşen Bayraktar Çolakoğlu on charges of inciting hatred, due to a comment she made about religious high schools.
May 4: A Bitlis court sentenced Kurdish journalist Sinan Aygül to four months, 15 days in prison over his reporting on the Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) in 2020.
May 4: An Ankara court ordered civil society leader Nasuh Mahruki to pay damages for insulting the ruling party on social media.
May 4: An İstanbul court imposed a censorship on a book authored by Ayten Öztürk, a woman who in 2018 was reportedly abducted from Lebanon by the Turkish intelligence and interrogated under torture in unofficial detention for six months. İstanbul prosecutors launched an investigation into Öztürk on charges of disseminating terrorist propaganda.
May 4: İstanbul courts ruled to block access to at least four news reports about allegations that a child was molested at a hospital owned by the Minister of Health.
May 5: A Van court sentenced journalists Ferhat Çelik and İdris Yayla to one year, three months in prison for reporting on allegations that two Kurdish villagers were tortured by soldiers in the province in 2021.
May 5: An İstanbul court sentenced journalist Bülent Mumay to one year, eight months in prison for reporting on allegations that a local municipality faced sequestration due to its debts inherited from the time when it was run by the ruling party.
May 5: An İstanbul court ruled to block access to at least three news reports on allegations that a company owned by the president’s relatives was facing sequestration due to its debts.
May 6: In separate rulings delivered by İstanbul courts, Turkish authorities blocked access to five YouTube videos and a Twitter account belonging to a man close to the president who has been making corruption allegations.
May 7: The police in İstanbul briefly detained academic Berk Esen upon his arrival from abroad, due to a tweet he posted in 2020.
May 7: The police in İstanbul briefly detained journalist Banu Acun.
JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE & RULE OF LAW
May 5: Media reports indicated that four lawyers were among those who were detained as part of the large-scale investigations carried out against pro-Kurdish political networks.
KURDISH MINORITY
May 2: The police in İstanbul detained 32 people as part of an investigation into the Kurdish political networks.
May 3: An Ankara court ruled to arrest journalists Dicle Müftüoğlu, Sedat Yılmaz, Erol Balcı, Abdurrahim Tanyeli and Ramazan Debe who were detained last week as part of widespread detentions against pro-Kurdish political networks.
May 4: Cihan Aymaz, a Kurdish street musician, was stabbed to death in İstanbul after he refused to sing a nationalist song.
May 4: A Bitlis court sentenced Kurdish journalist Sinan Aygül to four months, 15 days in prison over his reporting on the Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) in 2020.
May 5: A Van court sentenced journalists Ferhat Çelik and İdris Yayla to one year, three months in prison for reporting on allegations that two Kurdish villagers were tortured by soldiers in the province in 2021.
May 5: Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said in an interview that the practice of removing elected mayors from office in predominantly Kurdish provinces and replacing them with pro-government trustees was carried out upon instructions from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
May 7: The police in İstanbul detained four people following their attendance at a rally, for wearing bracelets colored yellow, red and green – colors associated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
PRISON CONDITIONS
May 5: A prison administration in Denizli prevented the entry of an NGO report on prison conditions in Turkey.
REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS
May 4: Media reports indicated that Turkish authorities arrested Rümeysa Som, a mother of two who was pushed back from Greece. Som attempted to flee Turkey due to a prison sentence of almost eight years handed down to her due to her alleged links to the Gülen movement.
TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT
May 4: The police in Ankara used excessive violence while detaining nine people at a leftist party’s election event. One person was reportedly injured as a result of the brutality.
May 4: The police in İstanbul physically mistreated Aydın Koçuk and Mehmet İkto who were detained during a demonstration to protest the murder of a Kurdish street musician. The victims were reportedly injured as a result of the violence.
May 6: A prison administration in Ağrı imposed a disciplinary sanction of three days of solitary confinement to Alparslan Kuytul, the leader of a religious group who was imprisoned following his outspoken criticism of the government, for saying “May God save our people from this dictatorship” during his phone call with his wife.
May 6: Gendarmes in Hatay intercepted an election vehicle of the Green Left Party (YSP) and physically mistreated those who were inside.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
May 4: Men killed 24 women and inflicted violence on at least 56 others in April, according to a monthly gender-based violence report.