Turkey Weekly 30 – 28 April 2024
Turkey Today – 30.04.2024
DEM Party MPs applied to the Parliamentary Human Rights Investigation Commission regarding the isolation of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan. The Ministry of Justice General Directorate of Prisons and Detention Houses responded to the application and claimed that the prisoners in İmralı “equally benefit from all rights granted by law and regulations”.
The Court of Cassation has upheld the sentences of two members of the Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD), former chairperson Selçuk Kozağaçlı and Barkın Timtik.
In Yunusemre District Municipality of Manisa the former AKP administration spent 100 million Turkish liras ($3.09M) in just five hours on election night after it became apparent that the CHP candidate had won.
The Education Ministry launched the new “Education System of the Turkish Century,” for primary and secondary education. Educators’ union representatives voiced their criticisms about the curriculum’s preparation, content, and intentions.
Turkey Today – 29.04.2024
Turkey has decided to support the candidacy of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte for NATO Secretary General. President Erdoğan says he expects new NATO chief to address Turkey’s terrorism concerns.
In the murder case of Tahir Elçi, former President of Diyarbakır Bar Association, the prosecutor gave its opinion for the acquittal of the defendants.
The release of journalist Derya Ren, held in Diyarbakır Women’s Closed Prison, was postponed for 3 months on the grounds of “disciplinary punishment”.
DEM Party submitted a motion to the Parliament to declare April 28 as the “Day of Remembrance and Mourning for Those Who Lost Their Lives in Workplace Murders”.
In the investigation into the murder of former Grey Wolves Chair Sinan Ateş, an indictment was filed against 22 people for “premeditated murder”.
Turkey Today – 28.04.2024
Turkish warplanes bombed Amediye countryside of Dohuk city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Minister of Interior Ali Yerlikaya announced that 147 people were detained in 19 cities in the last week.
At Mecidiyeköy metro station in İstanbul’s Şişli district, police detained a refugee woman by beating her “naked”. Political news reporter Ekim Veyisoğlu, who was filming the police violence, was first prevented and then detained together with his friend.
In an extraordinary congress, Müsavat Dervişoğlu has been elected as the new İYİ Party chair. Dervişoğlu had received the previous chair Meral Akşener’s support in the congress, who resigned after the local election defeat.
Turkey Today – 27.04.2024
DEM Party MP Pervin Buldan has brought the “top secret” “Psychological Impact Report,” found recently in a second-hand book shop, to the attention of the parliament. Buldan requested to investigate the deaths of prolific Kurdish businesspeople in the 90s.
Three journalists who were referred to the Criminal Court of Peace with a request for arrest were sent to prison.
IHD drew attention to the condition of 82-year-old ill prisoner Makbule Özer and called for her immediate release.
Saturday Mothers gathered at Galatasaray Square in week 996. In this week’s action, the fate of Nurettin Yedigöl, who was detained in a raid on his house in İdealtepe, Istanbul on 10 April 1981 and disappeared, was asked.
Several universities known for their own history of calling police to suppress student and faculty protests, expressed their “sadness” and “concern” over reports of police brutality on U.S. campuses during pro-Palestinian protests.
Turkey Today – 26.04.2024
A military operation was launched in the rural area of Hakkari’s Yüksekova district.
During house raids carried out in Urfa DEM Party assembly member Muhsin Aydoğdu and party’s Youth Assembly member Ömer Kıstak were taken into custody.
In Şırnak’s Cizre district, police detained at least 19 people, including children, on the grounds of “making propaganda for an illegal organisation”.
A court has sentenced Ahlam Albashir, a Syrian national, to life imprisonment for her role in a 2022 bombing on Istanbul’s İstiklal Avenue that killed six people. While the case involved more than 30 other defendants, four were released from prison, while twenty others received prison sentences ranging from four years to life imprisonment.
Ismail Kaya, son of seriously ill prisoner Abdulalim Kaya, who is 93 percent disabled, stated that his father was transferred to the Forensic Medicine Institute ATK blindfolded and handcuffed.
Turkey Today – 25.04.2024
A local court has banned jailed Kurdish politician Gültan Kışanak’s book “The Purple Color of Kurdish Politics” and ruled to pull all copies off the shelves.
In Maraş’s Pazarcık district, the epicenter of the Feb. 6 earthquakes, the newly elected CHP mayor announced that the previous AKP administration had accepted invoices for 4.5 million liras in the last working hour before the local elections.
Displaced residents of the Kavaklı village in eastern Turkey began a vigil protest at the lead and zinc mine that has taken over the village since 2007, demanding an immediate stop to the operations.
After six years and 20 hearings, a court has delivered its verdict in the Çorlu train accident case, where 25 people lost their lives. The court sentenced four Turkish Railways managers to prison for causing death with “conscious negligence.”
Turkey Today – 24.04.2024
DEM Party Batman Provincial Organisation building was raided by the police.
Erdoğan’s chief adviser Oktay Saral has targeted the mayor of Seyhan district, Oya Tekin from the CHP, with a fake image depicting PKK leader Öcalan’s photo hung at a DEM Party building during Tekin’s visit. After Tekin shared the original image showing no Öcalan photo on the wall, Saral deleted his post.
The families of Aydın Kudat and Abdurrahman Güner, prisoners held in Karabük Type T Prison for 32 years, stated that their release was arbitrarily prevented and that the administration unlawfully threatened them by saying “We will not release them before the 36 years are up.”
A disciplinary investigation was opened against woman prisoners who reacted to the shoe search practice imposed in Bakırköy Women’s Closed Prison.
The second hearing of the retrial of journalist Mehmet Salih Turan on charges of “terrorist propaganda,” was held in İstanbul. The court decided to dismiss the case as the statute of limitations had expired.
CHP chair Özgür Özel has reiterated that the Workers’ Day should be celebrated in the symbolic Taksim Square on May 1, saying he “vouches” that no violent incident will occur.
Turkey Today – 23.04.2024
9 journalists were detained in police raids in Istanbul and Ankara.
Istanbul Governor Davut Gül announced that the labor unions were banned from celebrating the May 1 Workers’ Day in Taksim Square and said, “It will be celebrated in any area other than Taksim.”
A lawsuit was filed against Emine Şenyaşar, who became a symbol for those who want justice with her struggle, on the allegation of “insulting the president”.
President Erdoğan stated that he does not believe that Hamas will leave Qatar, where the group is currently based. He also noted that he has not observed any indications that Doha would want the group to leave either.
The Culture Ministry has withdrawn its support from the 43th Istanbul Film Festival after the smear campaign of pro-government newspapers and social media users against the festival over LGBTI+ themed movies.
Turkey Today – 22.04.2024
DEM Party has denounced the probes launched by the Interior Ministry into Mardin and Diyarbakır metropolitan municipalities. The party deemed the probes “cheap conspiracies” to weaken the local administrations.
The İstanbul Governor’s Office has announced a ban on a public remembrance event for the victims of the 1915 Armenian Genocide. The event, organized by the April 24 Commemoration Platform, was scheduled to take place in Kadıköy district on April 24.
In its 2024-2028 Strategic Plan, Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) considered secularization as a “risk,” against which “the efforts to strengthen moral values should be increased,” online news outlet Kısa Dalga reported.
As part of a new bill published in the Official Gazette, Culture and Tourism Ministry will cover the lighting expenses of the cemevis, Alevi houses of worship.
The first hearing of the case which involves 76 SOL Party members and BirGün reporter Asena Tunca was held in Istanbul. The court decided that the defendants whose defenses were not taken will be present at the next hearing and adjourned the hearing to September.
The first hearing of the trial, where journalist Furkan Karabay is prosecuted on charges of “insult” and “defamation” based on a complaint by Mustafa Doğan İnal, former lawyer of President Erdoğan, was held in Istanbul. Trial adjourned until November.
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Turkey Weekly 15 – 20 April 2024
Turkey Today – 20.04.2024
Şaban Vatan, the father of Rabia Naz Vatan, who died under suspicious circumstances 6 years ago, announced that President Tayyip Erdoğan filed a lawsuit against him.
Saturday Mothers gathered at Galatasaray Square in week 995 and asked for the fate of Kadir Keremoğlu, who was disappeared by JİTEM 29 years ago.
Suruç Families Initiative renewed their demand for “justice for 33 Dream Travellers” on the 105th month of the Pirsus Massacre.
President Erdoğan met with Hamas Political Bureau Chairman Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul.
Turkey Today – 19.04.2024
A Turkish airstrike targeting a vehicle in the village of Nawdarok, Sidakan district of Erbil province, resulted in the death of civilian 43-year-old Sarwar Qadir Rashko yesterday.
The Constitutional Court (AYM) has lifted the disciplinary punishments enacted by the Higher Education Council for political activity on university campuses such as congregating and posting banners without permission.
An investigation has been initiated against Süleyman Salğucak, a resident of Şırnak province who gained attention after confronting a voter transported from another city during the March 31 local polls.
Halise Aksoy, who was arrested based on the statements of confessor Umit Akbıyık, was released at the third hearing of the case. The bones of her son Agit were delivered to her by cargo in a box and who was arrested on April 28, 2023.
The CHP has invited all workers to Istanbul’s Taksim Square on May 1, supporting calls made by various labor unions to reopen the symbolic location for Labor Day celebrations.
Gülistan Sönük, the eastern Batman province’s first woman co-mayor, reiterated the importance of the co-mayorship model implemented by pro-Kurdish parties for the women’s movement in Turkey.
Turkey Today – 18.04.2024
The specialist sergeant, who was arrested on charges of sexual assault against 2 women in Şirnak, claimed that he wanted to “help” women and defended himself as “I am a respected person in my profession”.
President Erdoğan has attributed his party’s local election defeat to AKP supporters’ abstention from voting as the turnout was lower than usual with 78.11%.
A court sentenced two people who protested AKP MP Meliha Akyol’s faulty car parking by live broadcasting it to a fine of 18,000 Turkish Liras and two years imprisonment.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh will travel to Turkey at the weekend to hold talks with President Erdoğan after Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan met the Hamas leader during a visit to Doha.
Turkey Today – 17.04.2024
The 82nd hearing of the Kobani trial was held in Sincan prison. The court ruled for the continuation of the detention of 18 arrestees. The next hearing of the case was adjourned to May 16th.
The Constitutional Court has annulled a regulation that mandated a single type of uniform for prisoners accused of terrorism-related crimes when appearing outside of prison facilities.
The fifth hearing of the lawsuit filed against Bread Producers Union President Cihan Kolivar due to “publicly humiliating a section of the public based on social class differences”, “publicly humiliating the Turkish nation” and “insulting the President” was held in Istanbul. Trial adjourned until September.
President Erdoğan stated that Turkey would undertake new measures to fortify its medium-term economic program, focusing on enhancing public savings, prioritizing investments, and expediting structural reforms.
Turkey Today – 16.04.2024
DEM Party Legal Commission Co-Spokesperson Ozturk Turkdogan stated that there will be a detention review in the Kobanê Case tomorrow and said: “We will be there as if a decision will be made.”
Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek has denied allegations of a “crisis” between him and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan regarding the tight monetary policy implemented after the general elections of 2023.
The 16th hearing of the trial in which journalist Hayko Bağdat is prosecuted on charges of “insulting the president,” was held in İstanbul. The session was adjourned to address the deficiencies in the case file.
An investigation has been initiated against journalist Oktay Candemir following a complaint from Abdulahat Arvas, who was the AKP candidate for Van Metropolitan Municipality Mayor in the local elections.
Turkey Today – 15.04.2024
An absolute majority could not be achieved in the 16th round of voting for the Presidency of the Supreme Court of Appeals.
Turkish warplanes bombed the rural areas in Erbil’s Biradost region in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Emine Şenyaşar whose husband and two sons were murdered by the bodyguards and relatives of former AKP deputy Ibrahim Halil Yıldız continues the Justice Watch in front of the Ministry of Justice.
A court arrested Antalya province’s Kepez district mayor Mesut Kocagöz from the main-opposition CHP over the cable car accident that left one dead and 17 injured. CHP began to hold a “justice watch” in front of the prison.
Turkey Weekly 8 – 14 April 2024
Turkey Today – 14.04.2024
A Turkish drone attacked a house in Gelale village of Şarbajêr last night. As a result of the attack, a young man named Muhammed Saîd, who was working in Gelale village, lost his life.
Turkish warplanes bombed villages in the Metîna area of Dohuk in Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has stated on a phonecall to his Iranian counterpart Hüseyin Emir Abdullahiyan that Turkey did not want further escalation in the region following Iran’s retaliatory attack on Israel.
After MHP’s appeal to the election council regarding the Kütahya municipal election was rejected, the party’s deputy chair Feti Yıldız has called for the implementation of the electronic voting system in Turkey “to end the controversies.”
Turkey Today – 13.04.2024
MHP deputy chair Feti Yıldız threatened CHP leader Özgür Özel with death after the latter’s response to MHP leader Bahçeli. In a post, Yıldız quoted the saying “People are born at dawn and die at dusk,” while addressing Özel.
The release of Ali Şen from Edirne F Type Prison was postponed for the second time by the Administrative Observation Board. The reason given was that he refused to accept the ‘remorse’ imposition.
Political Communicator Evren Barış Yavuz was detained for sharing posts about the Ministry’s trade restrictions with Israel.
A group of three attacked a Starbucks store in Maraş as the incident became the latest in a string of attacks against the coffee chain possibly over its alleged support to Israel.
Turkey Today – 12.04.2024
The Supreme Election Council (YSK) presented Iğdır’s Tuzluca district municipality won by the main opposition CHP to the ruling AKP because CHP’s elected mayor Cemal Kurnaz “was not qualified for the elections.”
The Council of Europe has expressed concern about Turkey’s insistent noncompliance with the ECHR ruling that demands the immediate release of imprisoned philanthropist Osman Kavala, in its latest annual report.
Unidentified individuals have vandalized the grave of Medet Serhat, a distinguished Kurdish lawyer known for his advocacy of Kurdish people’s rights who was assassinated in 1994.
Turkey Today – 11.04.2024
The Supreme Election Council (YSK) has received 81 objections from political parties regarding local elections and accepted three of them during the objection period.
A lawsuit was filed against a woman named A.C., who attempted to attack the building used jointly by HDP and Green Left Party in Adana last year and said “The police sent me” to the party members who caught her, on the charge of “threatening with a weapon”.
MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli has suggested Meral Akşener not stepping down from the opposition İYİ Party leadership as she announced following the local elections defeat.
Turkey Today – 10.04.2024
The government appointed the district governor as a trustee to Urfa’s Hilvan district won by the DEM Party until the renewal of elections.
Turkish National Intelligence Organization holds art competition for children.
Ismail Tanboğa, a prisoner in Diyarbakır Type T Closed Prison diagnosed with stomach cancer , has been waiting for surgery for 3 months.
The book titled “22 Days in the Madhouse – Ill Prisoners on the Cross” written by Resul Kocatürk, who is staying in Kırıkkale Type F Closed Prison, was not given to him on the grounds that it is “objectionable”.
Turkey Today – 09.04.2024
The government has appointed Kayseri Deputy Governor Ömer Tekeş as a trustee in Central Anatolian Kayseri province’s Pınarbaşı District Municipality, which was won by the CHP. The local election board decided that elections to be renewed on June 2 following an objection from the MHP.
Şırnak Governorate announced that Gabar and Cudi Mountain regions were declared as “Special Security Zone” for 15 days.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has prioritized the examination of a second application by Osman Kavala, who has been detained since October 18, 2017, marking 2,352 days in prison.
The Trade Ministry announced that the country would impose restrictions on exports to Israel.
Turkey Today – 08.04.2024
A court has arrested seven people about the ballot paper burning incident in Urfa’s Hilvan district during the local elections, including relatives of the current mayor from the AKP.
It was reflected in the mobile phone camera footage that some documents and materials were stolen from Urfa’s Halfeti municipality under the AKP administration before the certificate of election ceremony. In the local elections DEM Party came first.
CHP’s objections to the Supreme Electoral Board for Arnavutköy, Fatih, Pendik and Ümraniye were rejected.
Meral Akşener has announced she would step down from İYİ Party leadership in the upcoming extraordinary party congress following disappointing results in the local elections.
Turkey Weekly 4 – 7 April 2024
Turkey Today – 07.04.2024
The CHP claimed that it discovered upon a recount that 3,389 of the votes in the local elections belonged to deceased individuals in Hatay. The Supreme Election Council had denied the party’s plea to hold the elections again and presented AKP with the municipal mandate.
MHP MP Hilmi Durgun, who had previously stated that he wanted to go to Gaza to fight, was the partner of the Israeli company Haifa Group in Turkey.
The police battered and detained dozens of people during the protest calling on to cut off trade with Israel. The interior minister later announced the dismissal of two police officers after the police attack.
More than 10 people were injured in a fight between YRP and AKP, which took Gite municipality with transported voters.
Turkey Today – 06.04.2024
Emine Şenyaşar’s Justice Watch in front of the Ministry of Justice continued on its 70th day.
The body of 35-year-old Uğur Yıldız was recovered from under the collapsed soil pile at the İliç Gold Mine in Turkey’s eastern Erzincan province, on the 53rd day of search operations. Bodies of eight workers remain under the tonnes of cyanide-laden soil.
The trial of 69 individuals detained and allegedly subjected to torture for participating in the Pride March held on May 20, 2022, on the campus of Boğaziçi University is nearing its conclusion. The prosecutor presented their indictment, requesting punishment for the 69 individuals for “participating in an unlawful march and refusing to disperse despite warnings,” and for two students for “resisting authorities.”
Turkey Today – 05.04.2024
Multiple district municipalities in Istanbul run by the ruling AKP have held last-minute tenders and finalized procurements worth millions of Turkish liras before handing over their offices to the CHP administrations after the local elections.
The Urfa Provincial Election Council has annulled the election in Urfa’s Halfeti district where DEM Party has won.
54 women who were beaten and detained in İstanbul’s Kadıköy district while celebrating the resistance against the election usurpation in Van yesterday were released.
9 people including DBP Party Council members were detained after the feast organised by DEM Parti Diyarbakır provincial organisation.
Lawyer Güçlü Sevimli said that considering paying money to prisoners as a crime is an “abdication of reason” and stated that the arrest of 75-year-old Hatice Yıldız due to the said allegation is against both law and conscience.
Turkey Today – 04.04.2024
Security forces have detained at least 340 people in 14 provinces regarding the protests against the government’s effort to hijack Van elections won by the DEM Party.
Stating that they will end their hunger strike ‘Freedom for Abdullah Ocalan and a political solution to the Kurdish question, political prisoners announced that they will continue their actions with “boycotts of courts, family visits and phone calls.”
Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç has accused bar associations of acting like an opposition party for “involving in different ideological activities.” Tunç claimed the associations were focusing on different things “rather than the problems of the legal profession.”
Muhammed Orhan (18), who was detained during the resistance in Wan and became trending with his smiling photo, was arrested.
With the local electoral boards’ decisions, the votes are being recounted in Istanbul’s Beykoz and Gaziosmanpaşa districts, where the CHP won by a thin margin.
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