Turkey Weekly 1 – 5 April 2026
Turkey Today – 05.04.2026
The ‘e-Lawyer’ scheme, introduced on the instructions of Justice Minister Akın Gürlek, who sought to restrict detainees’ right to consult with their lawyers, has been implemented.
CHP chair Özgür Özel will visit the DEM Party tomorrow to meet with Co-Chairs Tülay Hatimoğulları and Tuncer Bakırhan.
Former HDP MP Sebahat Tuncel was detained along with three others at a picnic organised in Istanbul to mark Abdullah Öcalan’s birthday. A large number of people were beaten.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has paid a visit to Syria. Fidan, who was received by HTS Foreign Minister Shaybani, is also due to hold a trilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and HTS leader Colani.
Turkey Today – 04.04.2026
Two siblings were injured as a result of a mine explosion in the rural Şabana neighborhood in Mardin’s Nusaybin district.
As part of an investigation into Bolu Municipality, the gendarmerie have launched a search of the municipal building.
Seda Baykan, imprisoned in Diyarbakır Women’s Closed Prison, has begun a hunger strike, stating that she has been subjected to systematic pressure and solitary confinement for the past four years.
Saturday Mothers gathered at Galatasaray Square in week 1097 and asked about the fate of Talat Türkoğlu, who disappeared in custody 30 years ago.
Speaking on the CHP’s call for early elections, DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan stated that this demand was understandable.
Residents in Bingöl organised a march to protest against the planned hydroelectric power plant projects on the Göynük River and called for the projects to be cancelled.
The Mesopotamia Agency’s Bluesky account has been suspended.
Turkey Today – 03.04.2026
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek issued a statement following his visit to Diyarbakır Governor Murat Zorluoğlu, calling for the process to be supported with patience.
President Erdoğan spoke on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin. During the conversation, Erdoğan stated that ‘Turkey does not condone the attacks against Iran, nor does it approve of Iran’s retaliation against countries in the region’.
DEM Party MP Newroz Uysal Aslan, who brought the violations occurring at Dumlu High-Security Prison to the attention of Parliament, stated that prisoners were being treated as criminals for carrying out cleaning duties, that they were being given spoiled milk, that access to the exercise yard was being arbitrarily restricted, and that families were subjected to numerous impositions, such as strip searches.
Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said a social media regulation would be included in a new judicial reform package, adding: “We have reached an agreement with social media platforms. Within three months, everyone will access social media using their identity.”
A rally was held in Bursa in protest of the arrest of Mustafa Bozbey, Mayor of Bursa Metropolitan Municipality.
Youth organisations protesting the arrest of environmental activist Esra Işık in Akbelen Forest called for an immediate end to the crackdown on environmental activists and demanded Esra Işık’s release.
Turkey Today – 02.04.2026
Speaker of Parliament Numan Kurtulmuş met with Deputy Speaker Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar, a member of the DEM Party’s Imrali Delegation.
The Constitutional Court has once again ruled that there has been a violation of rights in the Gezi case, following an application by Tayfun Kahraman regarding the failure to implement the previous ruling on the violation of his rights.
In a parliamentary question regarding the rulings of the ECtHR, Sezgin Tanrıkulu of the CHP asked Justice Minister Akın Gürlek: ‘How many of the rulings finding Turkey in breach of human rights, issued by the European Court of Human Rights, have been implemented within the prescribed timeframe?’
Lawyers took to the streets in numerous cities to demand the release of their colleague Musa Bendeş, who has been detained for nearly two months on charges of ‘resisting the police’ during a protest against the attacks on Rojava.
The hearing in the retrial of sociologist and writer Pınar Selek, whose fourth acquittal in the case related to the Egyptian Bazaar bombing was overturned by the Court of Cassation, was held in Istanbul. The court ruled to continue the arrest warrant issued in absentia against Selek.
The first hearing in the case against documentary filmmaker Koray Kesik on the charge of “making propaganda for an organization” due to his involvement in the 2013 documentary Bakur, was held in Batman. The court lifted the judicial control measures and the travel ban. Trial adjourned until May.
Turkey Today – 01.04.2026
In Mardin’s Nusaybin district the graves of those who lost their lives at various times during the war have been desecrated.
In a joint statement made in front of Esenyurt Town Hall, the DEM Party and the CHP said, ‘We wish to emphasise that we stand with our people in every square and in every sphere.’
Following his speech at the AKP parliamentary group meeting, President Erdoğan met with Speaker of Parliament Numan Kurtulmuş.
In an investigation conducted in Bursa, 57 people, including Bursa Metropolitan Mayor Mustafa Bozbey, have been detained on allegations of bribery and organised crime. Seven companies have had administrators appointed, and proceedings are ongoing.
Prisoners on hunger strike at Antalya High-Security Closed Prison are experiencing critical health problems. The IHD, ÇHD and ÖHD have issued a joint statement calling for the closure of cell-block prisons.
During the site inspection carried out as part of the legal proceedings against the urgent expropriation of agricultural land surrounding Akbelen Forest, villagers were not allowed onto the site.