Turkey Weekly 24 – 30 June 2024
Turkey Today – 30.06.2024
The Turkish army targeted Miska, an Assyrian village in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, during its bombardment of the Metîna region. The Christian church in the village was also hit in the attack.
Labor, Peace and Democracy Forces stated that the trustee practice is an attack on every segment of society and called for “Let’s expand the united struggle. Let’s mobilize to create a world without war and exploitation.”
Istanbul Governor banned LGBTI+ Pride March in the megacity and deemed organizers as “illegal groups.” As happened in the trans march last week, it closed down transportation routes leading to Beyoğlu district and dispatched hundreds of police officers. The pride march was held at a new location.
Turkey Today – 29.06.2024
The UN Human Rights Committee asked a defense from the government within the scope of the application made for the Roboskî Massacre case.
Relatives of the disappeared and IHD members came together in Diyarbakır, Batman and Hakkari and demanded justice for Ramazan Yüce, Aydın Ay and Mehmet Sıddık Baysal.
Specialized Sergeant Gökhan Çelik, who murdered the woman he was married to yesterday in Seyhan and injured 3 people, was detained.
Batman Municipality could not find any record regarding the aid parcels worth 53 million Liras that the trustee received from the municipal budget for the AKP candidate.
Despite being acquitted four times in a case concerning the explosion in Istanbul’s Spice Bazaar in 1998, exiled sociologist Pınar Selek stood trial once again.
Turkey Today – 28.06.2024
The contractor of a building that collapsed and killed 51 of its residents during the Feb. 6 earthquakes has demanded his release from prison in the second hearing of the case, saying he had projects to complete for the state-run housing agency TOKİ.
Speaking to reporters after Friday prayers in İstanbul, President Erdoğan has expressed his openness to resuming talks with his Syrian counterpart, Bashar Assad.
While mining companies continue to work in Şırnak’s Sefine region, the region is being destroyed by detonating dynamite. The operating company belongs to former AKP MP Süleyman Bölünmez.
A group of police officers battered and tortured lawyers Bahtiyar Kandeğer and Şehnaz Altunkaya at the Istanbul police department as they wanted to visit clients. The lawyers incurred injuries and filed a complaint regarding the officers.
Turkey Today – 27.06.2024
President Erdoğan stated that Turkey stands in solidarity with Lebanon amid growing tensions with Israel and urged regional countries to also support Beirut.
Journalist Elif Akgül has been acquitted of charges related to “continuous terror organization propaganda” due to two X (Twitter) posts from 2018 and 2022.
The ninth hearing of the trial against journalist Deniz Yücel for charges of “insulting the president” and “publicly degrading the Turkish nation, the Republic of Turkey, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the Government of Turkey, and the judiciary,” was held in Istanbul. Trial adjourned until January.
The trial of students detained during a police intervention, following a complaint by Rector Naci İnci, against a tent set up to protest the appointed rectors at Boğaziçi University, was held in Istanbul. Trial adjourned until December.
Turkey Today – 26.06.2024
A court has released former HDP MP Hüda Kaya after eight months in prison under judicial control measures on the first hearing of the “second Kobane case,” where five former HDP MPs are charged for allegedly inciting the protests.
CHP MP Cevdet Akay presented a 20.5-meter-long list of names of international crime organization leaders who were wanted with red notices and had been captured in Turkey during a plenary session of the parliament.
MHP chair Devlet Bahçeli criticized the Diyarbakır Bar Association for pointing out the government’s late response to the fire in Diyarbakır and Mardin that claimed 15 lives.
The Chief Prosecutor’s Office in Urfa has accepted yet another criminal complaint against Emine Şenyaşar, who has been targeted by the government for her protest demanding justice for her family members murdered by the bodyguards of an AKP deputy.
Turkey Today – 25.06.2024
It was learned that a convoy of 40 armored vehicles belonging to Turkey was dispatched to the city of Amêdiye in the Federated Kurdistan Region.
Yeni Șafak newspaper reports that Sulaymaniyah International Airport has turned into a “logistics center” for the PKK and Turkey will strike the airport if such activities continue.
Fire disaster that killed 15 in southeast Turkey causes 700 million liras damage, expert witnesses find electricity firm at fault.
Turkey Today – 24.06.2024
DEM Party has announced that the Interior Ministry has banned the party’s many co-mayors from traveling abroad without a court order.
Family Ministry pays $1.88M to support child Quran courses despite an ongoing lawsuit.
German citizen Patrick Kraicker charged with “membership in a terror organization,” was released from a Turkish prison on Sunday after serving six years and three months. He was accused of trying to join YPG.
Turkey Weekly 17 – 23 June 2024
Turkey Today – 23.06.2024
Diyarbakır Governor’s bodyguards battered a person who was recording the villagers protesting against the governor for the electric company’s possible negligence in the fire disaster that killed 15 people.
A group chanting Islamic slogans stormed Starbucks and Burger King branches in Diyarbakır, over the chains’ alleged support of the Israeli regime. This is the latest of the string of attacks on US-affiliated businesses in Turkey.
The medical school dean of a state university in northern Turkey has removed the phrase “sexual orientation” from the Hippocratic Oath graduating students are supposed to recite, saying he would not allow “LGBT propaganda” in universities.
The Istanbul Governor’s Office has blockaded Beyoğlu and Şişli districts and closed metro stations in fear of the organization of the trans pride march.
Turkey Today – 22.06.2024
While Diyarbakır Governorship and the Ministry of Health showed the Diyarbakır-Mardin fire as “husk burning”, Vice Minister of Internal Affairs Münir Karaloğlu stated that they could not determine the cause of the fire.
DEM Party Deputy Beritan Güneş, who was one of the first to reach the fire in the area between Amed and Mêrdîn, said: “The police and soldiers had blocked the road. That’s why citizens who wanted to extinguish the fire could not reach the fire.”
A group close to the former MHP mayor of the Pınarbaşı district in Kayseri attacked CHP council member Şerafettin Bahadır, shooting him in the foot and battering him. The district recently held repeat elections where CHP reemerged victorious.
Turkey Today – 21.06.2024
A fire broke out between Diyarbakır and Mardin. The Minister of Health stated that 11 people lost their lives and 78 people were injured.
Diyarbakır Bar Association filed a criminal complaint against those responsible for the fire that broke out between Mardin and Diyarbakır.
The military operation launched in Batman’s Hasankeyf district continues. It was learned that 2 people lost their lives and two people were injured in the clashes.
6 of the May Day prisoners were released as a result of the objection made by their lawyers.
Turkey Today – 20.06.2024
The region between Şırnak’s Beytüşşebap and Uludere district was declared a “temporary security zone” for 15 days.
DEM Party Deputy Newroz Uysal Aslan, who attended the meeting of the prisoners’ relatives with the Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç, said that the Minister did not give any timetable for the solution of the problems.
Yıldırım Han, who was held in Şırnak Type T Closed Prison and was on the list of seriously ill prisoners of the Human Rights Association (IHD), was transferred to Ankara about 2 weeks ago after his condition worsened. Han died at night.
Turkey Today – 19.06.2024
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s Turkey rapporteur Stefan Schennach repeated his call to the Turkish government for the release of Selahattin Demirtaş and Osman Kavala after meetings with opposition deputies and the Kavala family.
The Turkish army has launched a military operation in Hasankeyf and Ağrı.
DEM Party Group Deputy Chair Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit visited Hakkari’s Yüksekova Municipality for the eid, stated that they will continue their struggle until Hakkari Municipality is given back to the people and said: “We will win no matter what.”
Turkey Today – 18.06.2024
Turkish fighter jets bombed a village in the Suli province and highlands in the Duhok province. There were no reported civilian casualties, but there was significant grass and tree burning.
The Interior Ministry has launched an investigation into AKP’s Ankara mayoral candidate Turgut Altınok for using public funds amounting to six million liras in his election campaign during his tenure as a district mayor before the 2024 local elections.
President Erdoğan assured the continuation of the ruling People’s Alliance. His remarks came after the recent alliance debates regarding the AKP, MHP, and CHP.
Turkey Today – 17.06.2024
President Erdoğan said that U.S. President Joe Biden has been undergoing “a test of sincerity” in his handling of Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, during an interview with reporters on his way back from the G7 Summit.
Journalist Hüseyin Aykol, who applied to become a member of the DEM Party, learned that he was made an AKP member without his knowledge.
CHP Group Deputy Chair Gökhan Günaydın has stated that they would not take any step that “would give the AKP the kiss of life” while commenting on the new constitution debates.
The TTB has warned medical school administrations against changing the text of the Hippocratic Oath during graduation ceremonies after a public university in Ankara removed the phrase “gender, sexual orientation, and ethnicity” to students’ outrage.
Turkey Weekly 10 – 15 June 2024
Turkey Today – 15.06.2024
Commenting on the recent alliance debates regarding the AKP, MHP, and CHP, President Erdoğan stated that CHP leader Özgür Özel “couldn’t stomach” his return visit to the CHP headquarters.
DEM Party Peoples and Beliefs Commission called for confrontation on the 109th anniversary of the Seyfo Massacre against Assyrians.
Saturday Mothers gathered at Galatasaray Square in week 1003 to ask for the fate of Vejdin Avcıl, father of 5 children, whose pieces of clothing were found in the cemetery 17 years after he disappeared.
Turkey Today – 14.06.2024
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reprimanded a Spanish journalist for “defending terrorists” when he asked about the ECHR rulings Turkey has ignored regarding Selahattin Demirtaş and Osman Kavala during a conference with Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez.
It was learned that many prisoners in Antalya Type S Closed Prison were sentenced to 11 days of solitary confinement each due to actions of prisoners against human rights violations.
The prisoners in Şırnak Type T Closed Prison had problems with hot water and transportation to the hospital.
A court has sentenced actress Ezgi Mola to pay a fine over “insulting” former sergeant Musa Orhan for the second time. Orhan was convicted on charges of sexually assaulting a Kurdish young woman.
İYİ Party MP Seyithan İzsiz has resigned from his party, becoming the 8th deputy to do so since the 2023 general elections.
Turkey Today – 13.06.2024
Thousands of people attended the rally against the appointment of a trustee to the Hakkari Municipality.
The acquittal verdict for all the accused police officers in the last hearing of the murdered Diyarbakır Bar Association President Tahir Elçi case was protested in Diyarbakır.
During the hearing for the building collapse that killed 40 during the Feb. 6 earthquakes, complainant Seda Fidancan stated that the building was marketed as “earthquake resistant,” and caused 12 deaths within the family.
At a graduation ceremony held in the school garden of a high school in Kocaeli’s Gebze district, some students were not allowed into the area because they were allegedly “wearing clothes that did not comply with the dress code”.
Turkey Today – 12.06.2024
A court has acquitted three police officer defendants, charged with “causing death by conscious negligence,” in the case of murdered bar head Tahir Elçi.
The Constitutional Court ruled that monitoring a lawyer-client meeting in a file was “violation of the rights to respect for private life and fair trial”.
Relatives of prisoners protesting the isolation against PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and demanding a political solution to the Kurdish question met with Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç.
One day after the meeting between President Erdoğan and CHP chair Özel MHP chair Bahçeli said it was MHP’s “sincerest wish” that a broad-based alliance between the AKP and the CHP is formed.
MHP chair Devlet Bahçeli has addressed the trustee appointment to the Hakkari municipality, attacking the DEM Party for allegedly conspiring with the PKK.
Turkey Today – 11.06.2024
President Erdoğan paid a return visit to CHP chair Özel, marking the first visit to CHP’s headquarters after 18 years.
It was revealed that the Union of Municipalities of Turkey allocated 138 of 175 vehicles to AKP municipalities.
UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor expressed her hope that the perpetrators in the Tahir Elçi case will be held accountable in court.
The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) announced that the rent aid paid to tenants whose houses were destroyed or damaged in the Feb. 6 earthquakes would be discontinued at the end of June.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed “economic issues important for Turkey” and the war in Gaza with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, a Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters.
Turkey Today – 10.06.2024
Asrın Law Firm lawyers applied to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, demanding “urgent action” regarding the situation of their client Abdullah Öcalan and 3 prisoners, whom they have not heard from for 39 months.
Thousands of people in Diyarbakır province have protested the appointment of a trustee to replace the Hakkari DEM Party mayor. Despite the police attack, the crowd broke through the police barricade.
Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality filed a criminal complaint against Yeni Şafak newspaper, which targeted the municipality and department heads.
Sincan Prison Administration and Observation Board asked to 30 years prisoner Nuriye Adet, “What do you think about Abdullah Öcalan?” and postponed her release for 6 months.
Turkey Weekly 10 – 15 June 2024
Turkey Today – 15.06.2024
Commenting on the recent alliance debates regarding the AKP, MHP, and CHP, President Erdoğan stated that CHP leader Özgür Özel “couldn’t stomach” his return visit to the CHP headquarters.
DEM Party Peoples and Beliefs Commission called for confrontation on the 109th anniversary of the Seyfo Massacre against Assyrians.
Saturday Mothers gathered at Galatasaray Square in week 1003 to ask for the fate of Vejdin Avcıl, father of 5 children, whose pieces of clothing were found in the cemetery 17 years after he disappeared.
Turkey Today – 14.06.2024
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reprimanded a Spanish journalist for “defending terrorists” when he asked about the ECHR rulings Turkey has ignored regarding Selahattin Demirtaş and Osman Kavala during a conference with Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez.
It was learned that many prisoners in Antalya Type S Closed Prison were sentenced to 11 days of solitary confinement each due to actions of prisoners against human rights violations.
The prisoners in Şırnak Type T Closed Prison had problems with hot water and transportation to the hospital.
A court has sentenced actress Ezgi Mola to pay a fine over “insulting” former sergeant Musa Orhan for the second time. Orhan was convicted on charges of sexually assaulting a Kurdish young woman.
İYİ Party MP Seyithan İzsiz has resigned from his party, becoming the 8th deputy to do so since the 2023 general elections.
Turkey Today – 13.06.2024
Thousands of people attended the rally against the appointment of a trustee to the Hakkari Municipality.
The acquittal verdict for all the accused police officers in the last hearing of the murdered Diyarbakır Bar Association President Tahir Elçi case was protested in Diyarbakır.
During the hearing for the building collapse that killed 40 during the Feb. 6 earthquakes, complainant Seda Fidancan stated that the building was marketed as “earthquake resistant,” and caused 12 deaths within the family.
At a graduation ceremony held in the school garden of a high school in Kocaeli’s Gebze district, some students were not allowed into the area because they were allegedly “wearing clothes that did not comply with the dress code”.
Turkey Today – 12.06.2024
A court has acquitted three police officer defendants, charged with “causing death by conscious negligence,” in the case of murdered bar head Tahir Elçi.
The Constitutional Court ruled that monitoring a lawyer-client meeting in a file was “violation of the rights to respect for private life and fair trial”.
Relatives of prisoners protesting the isolation against PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and demanding a political solution to the Kurdish question met with Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç.
One day after the meeting between President Erdoğan and CHP chair Özel MHP chair Bahçeli said it was MHP’s “sincerest wish” that a broad-based alliance between the AKP and the CHP is formed.
MHP chair Devlet Bahçeli has addressed the trustee appointment to the Hakkari municipality, attacking the DEM Party for allegedly conspiring with the PKK.
Turkey Today – 11.06.2024
President Erdoğan paid a return visit to CHP chair Özel, marking the first visit to CHP’s headquarters after 18 years.
It was revealed that the Union of Municipalities of Turkey allocated 138 of 175 vehicles to AKP municipalities.
UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor expressed her hope that the perpetrators in the Tahir Elçi case will be held accountable in court.
The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) announced that the rent aid paid to tenants whose houses were destroyed or damaged in the Feb. 6 earthquakes would be discontinued at the end of June.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed “economic issues important for Turkey” and the war in Gaza with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, a Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters.
Turkey Today – 10.06.2024
Asrın Law Firm lawyers applied to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, demanding “urgent action” regarding the situation of their client Abdullah Öcalan and 3 prisoners, whom they have not heard from for 39 months.
Thousands of people in Diyarbakır province have protested the appointment of a trustee to replace the Hakkari DEM Party mayor. Despite the police attack, the crowd broke through the police barricade.
Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality filed a criminal complaint against Yeni Şafak newspaper, which targeted the municipality and department heads.
Sincan Prison Administration and Observation Board asked to 30 years prisoner Nuriye Adet, “What do you think about Abdullah Öcalan?” and postponed her release for 6 months.
Turkey Weekly 01 – 02 June 2024
Turkey Today – 02.06.2024
The Justice Vigil that Emine Şenyaşar and her son Ferit (Urfa DEM Party MP) started in front of the Turkish Ministry of Justice in Ankara continues.
The final hearing of lawyer Merve Nur Doğan on “terrorism” charges was held in Diyarbakır. Doğan was sentenced to 9 years in prison.
A lawsuit was filed against the musicians and Peace Mother who participated in the March 8 event in Siirt on the grounds of “making illegal organisation propaganda” due to Kurdish songs and the expression “Kurdistan”.
Serdar Sertçelik, a suspect and secret witness in the case of Ayhan Bora Kaplan’s crime syndicate, was caught while trying to enter Hungary with a fake passport. Sertçelik was wanted on red notice after fleeing Turkey under house arrest.
Turkey Today – 01.06.2024
Yesterday, at least 8 Turkish air strikes took place in Northern Syria injuring a total of 15 people and killing four. One ambulance was damaged during the air strikes.
DEM Party Law and Human Rights Commission demanded closure of Type Y, S and high security prisons, which are described as “Well-type” and where isolation increases.
The family of Berkin Elvan, a 15-year-old Kurdish boy killed by police during the 2013 Gezi protests, will file a criminal complaint against AKP MP Osman Gökçek, who is the son of former Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek. Gökçek said “terrorists put explosives in Berkin Elvan’s pockets” during the protest, claiming that his murder came after Elvan “attacked” the police.
Saturday Mothers called in front of Galatasaray Square, which was blocked once again by barriers, to reveal the perpetrators of Mustafa, Fahri, Ramazan, Ekrem and Ali Bulut, who disappeared in 1994 in Lice district of Amed.
Tomorrow, Turkish citizens will vote in three districts and four towns in the renewal of the local elections. Meanwhile, 212 neighborhoods will elect their heads (“mukhtar”) on the same day.