Turkey Weekly 1 – 8 November
Turkey Today – 08.11.2026
The Free Women’s Movement, which has called for the intensification of the struggle against violence, exploitation and discrimination, has launched its activities in many cities to mark 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
Rojin Kabaiş’s uncle, Ahmet Kabaiş, was attacked by four masked men in Istanbul. It was reported that the attackers threatened Kabaiş to make him drop the case and that they also targeted Rojin’s father, Nizamettin Kabaiş.
In Manisa, the DEM Party’s Şehzadeler District Organisation drew attention to human rights violations occurring in prisons and called for the immediate release of sick prisoners.
639,454 members cast their votes in the New Party’s leadership primary. Ensar Aytekin announced that the turnout was 81.3 per cent and that Özgür Özel had received all the valid votes.
Turkey Today – 07.11.2026
Protests in İstanbul and Ankara highlighting the cases of ill prisoners Hatice Yıldız and Evin Zapsu also stressed that Tuncer Sağlam had lost his life because he was not released from prison.
DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan said: “This process belongs to all of us. If it is to be successful – and if it is to shape all our lives, from democracy to the economy, from housing to transport, and from pensions to the minimum wage – then we must all take joint responsibility for this matter.”
Saturday Mothers gathered at Galatasaray Square in 1,128 and demanded answers about the fate of Ali Tekdağ, who was forcibly disappeared in custody 32 years ago.
The Izmir Safe and Accessible Transport Initiative has called for safety and accessibility standards for citizens with disabilities to be implemented as a matter of urgency in public transport areas.
Journalist Haşim Abak and two others, who were detained four days ago following an unfounded notice have been released under judicial supervision after giving their statements.
Turkey Today – 06.11.2026
The Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Association has reported 899 rights violations in its three-month report on prisons in the Marmara region.
The Constitutional Court ruled that Mazlum İçli’s right to a fair trial had been violated, despite evidence showing he was 140 km away from the scene of the events for Kobane, for which he had been given an aggravated prison sentence. It ordered a retrial for İçli.
At the hearing in the case in which Selahattin Demirtaş is on trial on charges of ‘insulting the Prime Minister’, his lawyers requested that the cases currently pending in Istanbul be consolidated.
bianet’s responsible managing editor Vecih Cuzdan was questioned by police in İstanbul today as part of an investigation concerning news report about the arrest of a journalist.
DEM Party MP Serhat Eren pointed out that, although the DEDAŞ electricity fault reporting line offers a Kurdish language option, the customer service representatives who answer the calls do not speak Kurdish, and stated that the scheme is merely for show.
The Human Rights Association, issuing a statement regarding the condition of the ailing prisoner Evin Zapsu, stated: “The relevant public prosecutor’s office and the prison authorities must take immediate action to ensure that her treatment continues under medical supervision and that a decision is made to postpone the execution of her sentence.”
Turkey Today – 05.11.2026
Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş said that a monitoring commission would be established within parliament in the coming days to oversee the entire process on behalf of the people’s will.
President Erdoğan stressed his “determination” regarding the process but said that work was still focused on identification and verification efforts.
An application calling for the full investigation of the murder of DEP MP Mehmet Sincar has been rejected by the Department for the Investigation of Unsolved Crimes. Sincar was murdered 1993 in Batman.
Prisoners held at Kırşehir High Security Prison have announced that they will refuse family visits between November 9 and December 9 in protest against the prison administration’s repressive practices.
Murat Maden, the superior officer who unlawfully ordered the driver of the armoured vehicle responsible for the deaths of brothers Muhammed (7) and Furkan Yıldırım (6)—who were crushed to death by the vehicle as it entered their home whilst they were asleep in Silopiya—was sentenced to two years and one month in prison; the sentence was converted to a fine.
A court has blocked access to an article by bianet editor Evrim Kepenek about allegations of a harassment and prostitution network targeting women university students in Tunceli.
Access to JINNEWS’s Turkish account on the social media platform X has been blocked in Turkey.
Turkey Today – 04.11.2026
The Mecca Agreement, signed by Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and providing for mutual defense, has been brought before Parliament’s General Assembly today, a day earlier than scheduled.
Protests were held in many cities to mark the second anniversary of the appointment of trustees to the local councils of Mardin, Batman and Halfeti in Urfa. Speakers stated: “We were elected; we will not be removed by a trustee.”
Tülay Hatimoğulları, Co-Chair of the DEM Party, visited Selahattin Demirtaş. Hatimoğulları and Seyit Aslan, Chair of the EMEP, called for the release of political prisoners and an end to the appointment of trustees.
Families who lost loved ones on the ship that sank off the coast of Kyrenia have called for a full investigation into all aspects of the accident, for those responsible to be identified, and for the search for the missing three-year-old, Asel, to continue. The families have filed a criminal complaint regarding the incident.
İstanbul prosecutors have indicted two journalists over social media posts about a concert attended by ruling party spokesperson Ömer Çelik and a suspect in a wide-ranging investment fund investigation, seeking prison sentences of up to 10 years for one and 18 years for the other.
Two students who were distributing a leaflet in Kocaeli asking ‘How can Yusuf Tekin be made to resign?’ were taken into custody.
Turkey Today – 03.11.2026
A further attack has been carried out on the cemetery on Mount Gabar in Şırnak where PKK members are buried. During the attack, gravestones were smashed and artificial flowers left at the cemetery were set alight.
The Peace Mothers, who met with Justice Minister Akın Gürlek, reiterated their request to meet with Abdullah Öcalan.
The Peace Mothers, who are continuing their visits to political parties, met with the New Path, New Party, AKP and MHP Parliamentary Group.
The Ministry of the Interior has extended the term of office of the administrator appointed to Mardin Metropolitan Municipality by a further two months. Ahmet Türk will not be able to return to his post until 4 January 2027.
The Çukurova Association for Mutual Aid and Solidarity with Families of Prisoners staged a protest outside Mersin Courthouse against human rights violations in prisons and the failure to release prisoners despite their sentences having been served.
Yasemin Sürücü, who left letters at AKP and MHP district offices calling for a halt to trade with Israel, was sentenced to one year and 15 days’ imprisonment on charges of ‘spreading misleading information to the public’. Her lawyer announced that they would lodge an appeal.
Turkey Today – 02.11.2026
The Peace Mothers Assembly, whose members traveled to Ankara from 24 Cities to demand freedom for Abdullah Öcalan and concrete steps towards the Peace Process, has begun a vigil at Kurtuluş Park.
Sezgin Tanrıkulu, MP for Diyarbakır from the New Party, visited Osman Kavala, who is being held in Silivri. Commenting on Kavala’s detention, Tanrıkulu said, “The obstacle to Osman Kavala’s freedom is not legal, but political.”
In a statement issued by the DEM Party’s Council for Democratic Local Government regarding the members elected to the Municipal Council as part of the “City Consensus”, it was stated: “Our councillors elected through the City Consensus will continue to carry out their duties under the auspices of our party.”
In the case concerning the Proton Block of Flats, which collapsed during the 6 February earthquakes in Maraş, the contractor and the structural engineer were each sentenced to 13 years and 4 months’ imprisonment, whilst two public officials were each sentenced to 6 years and 8 months’ imprisonment.
Turkey Today – 01.11.2026
Mithat Sancar, a member of the DEM Party İmralı Delegation, said: “Mr. Öcalan has moved to the newly built facility on İmralı. Mr. Öcalan’s agreement to move there calls for the process to be accelerated.”
Speakers at the opening session of the women’s conference entitled “Women Come Together to Discuss the Future” stressed that war continues to be waged on women’s bodies and permeates their everyday lives. They called for collective struggle against patriarchal violence and for a culture of peace to be rebuilt through women’s voices.
Bahçeli made statements regarding the ‘100 Provinces, 1,000 Districts’ project, which envisages changes to Turkey’s administrative structure. Highlighting the dynamics of population growth and urbanisation, Bahçeli stated that they aim to establish 19 new provinces and 78 new districts.
Umut Güner, the owner of the Dünya newspaper, has been taken into custody as part of a fund investigation being conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
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