Human Rights Foundation of Turkey Documentation Center[1][2][3][4][5]
19 March 2024 Daily Human Rights Report
(03/153) Torture and Other Ill-Treatment in Mardin…
On March 19, 2024, Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) member Nezir İlek who was detained in a house raid in the Mazıdağı district of Mardin, and his family members were subjected to physical violence by the police and their belongings were scattered by the police.
(03/154) Torture and Other Ill-Treatment against a Journalist Under Custody in Istanbul…
It is learned from the news coverage of March 18, 2024, that Agence France-Presse (AFP) reporter Eylül Deniz Yaşar was subjected to verbal and physical violence by the police after being detained during police intervention to the Newroz event at Yenikapı Meeting Area in Fatih district of Istanbul on March 17, 2024.
(03/155) Torture and Other Ill-Treatment in Prison…
It is learned from the news coverage of March 19, 2024, that a letter written by Grup Yorum member Betül Varan, who is kept in Istanbul Marmara (Silivri) Prison, about prisoners on hunger strike in prisons across Turkey demanding an end to the isolation of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and a democratic solution to the Kurdish issue, was censored by the prison administration.
It is learned from the news coverage of March 19, 2024, that the writings of Fehmi Arslan, who is kept in Kocaeli Kandıra F Type Prison No 1, for publication, were censored by the prison administration.
(03/156) Meeting Request with Abdullah Öcalan not Responded to…
It is learned that the appeal made on March 19, 2024, to the chief public prosecutor’s office in Bursa, by lawyers in order to visit their clients PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, Ömer Hayri Konar, Hamili Yıldırım and Veysi Aktaş in İmralı Prison was not responded by Bursa Public Prosecutor’s Office.
(03/157) March 31st Elections…
It is learned from the news coverage of March 14, 2024, that the Governorate of Elazığ did not permit the rally of Yeniden Refah Party (YRP) planned to be held in Elazığ on March 22, 2024, on the grounds of ‘lack of venue’.
It is learned from the news coverage of March 17, 2024, that anonymous person(s) wrote discriminatory expressions on election billboards of Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) in different parts of Elazığ and DEM Party banners and posters were removed in some places.
It is learned from the news coverage of March 18, 2024, that 4 members of Republican People’s Party (CHP) Izmir Çiğli Youth Branch (CHP Çiğli Youth Branch Chair Okan Er, Umut Ergün, Özgür Kızıltepe and Taner Kaplan) were detained on the grounds of graffiti on a wall with a picture of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan while hanging election posters. 4 people were referred to the criminal peace judgeship on the charges of ‘insulting the President’ and ‘damaging public property’ and were released on judicial control conditions.
It is learned from the news coverage of March 18, 2024, that an anonymous person or persons attacked AKP’s election vehicle with stones in the Dara neighborhood of the Artuklu district of Mardin and the driver of the vehicle Murat Tulga got wounded due to the attack.
It is learned from the news coverage of March 19, 2024, that on March 14, 2024, and March 18, 2024, anonymous people opened fire into the air in front of the election office of Münevver Adan, local authority candidate for Bağcılar Yavuz Selim neighborhood in Istanbul. It is reported that no one was injured in the attack and the police initiated an investigation into the attack.
(03/158) Interventions against Newroz Events…
On March 18, 2024, 2 of 70 people, including 9 children, who were detained in police intervention at the Newroz event at Yenikapı Meeting Area in the Fatih district of Istanbul on March 17, 2024, were arrested by the Criminal Peace Judgeship. 65 people were released provided that 3 of them will be on judicial control conditions. It is learned that 3 people are still undergoing statement procedures.
It is learned from the news coverage of March 18, 2024, that a child named R. T. (3, k) who attended the Newroz event at Yenikapı Meeting Area in the Fatih district of Istanbul on March 17, 2024, with his mother H. T., was subjected to physical violence of the police for wearing a yellow, red and green colored pushi.
It is learned that on March 18, 2024, a person was not allowed to attend the Newroz event in the Karlıova district of Bingöl, on the grounds of wearing HDP’s former co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş scarf.
(03/159) Political Party Member Arrested in Mardin…
On March 19, 2024, HDP member Nezir İlek was detained in a house raid in Mazıdağı district of Mardin on the grounds of a finalized prison sentence and was arrested and sent to prison.
(03/160) Party Members Detained…
On March 19, 2024, 4 members of Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP) (Hıdır Ali Kılıç, Sinem Çelebi, Birkan Polat and Ebru Yiğit) were detained in house raids in Istanbul, Izmir and Eskişehir through an investigation of Izmir Public Prosecutor’s Office. It is reported that detained people were taken to Izmir Provincial Security Directorate. The reason for detention could not be learned.
(03/161) Party Executive and Member Detained in Istanbul…
On March 19, 2024, DEM Party Gaziosmanpaşa district executive Doğu Yılmaz and party member Süleyman Turgut were detained in house raids in Istanbul. The reason for detention could not be learned.
(03/162) Political Party Members Detained in Diyarbakır…
On March 19, 2024, at least 15 people (Mert Figen, Oğuzhan Azbay, Ferhat Vural, Hebun Doğri, Canan Akan, Arda Eryılmaz, Baran Tarhan, Delil Güneşli, Berfin Subaşı, Muhammed Kahraman, Ferhat Çiçekli, Abdullah Arşimet, Eyüp Hekimoğlu, Cengiz Kazıcı and Murat Sönmez), including DEM Party Youth Assembly members, were detained in house raids in Diyarbakır. While the reason for detention is unknown, it is learned that a restriction order on files and lawyers was issued.
(03/163) People Detained in Izmir…
It is learned from the news coverage of March 19, 2024, that 4 of 9 people who were arrested in Izmir on February 27, 2024, on the grounds of ‘financing an illegal organization’ for sending money to prisoners in prison, were released by the court’s confirmation decision.
(03/164) People Detained in Istanbul…
On March 19, 2024, Murat Hot, a member of the United Workers’ Movement (BİH), and Doğu Yılmaz, a motor courier working for a food delivery company who started a protest against rights violations, were detained in house raids in Istanbul. The reason for the detentions could not be learned.
(03/165) Journalist on Trial in Diyarbakır…
It is learned from the news coverage of March 19, 2024, that Diyarbakır Heavy Penal Court No 4 sentenced journalist İsmail Eskin to 3 years and 15 days in prison for ‘making propaganda for an illegal organization through press’ on the grounds of his posts on curfews in 2015, which was approved by Penal Department No 3 of Gaziantep Regional Court of Appeals in 2017, was reversed by Penal Department No 3 of the Court of Cassation.
(03/166) Journalist on Trial in Istanbul…
The final trial of the case against journalist Ayça Söylemez, on the charge of ‘targeting people who took part in the fight against terrorism’ for her article titled “Talented judge” published in BirGün newspaper on February 18, 2020, was held at Istanbul Heavy Penal Court No 29 on March 19, 2024. The court acquitted the journalist.
(03/167) Journalist on Trial in Istanbul…
The final hearing of the case against journalist Levent Gültekin, on the grounds of “insulting the President” through his remarks in a TV show, was held at Bakırköy Penal Court of First Instance No 44 on March 19, 2024. The court sentenced the journalist to 11 months and 20 days in prison and deferred the announcement of the verdict.
(03/168) Journalist on Trial in Istanbul…
The first trial of the case against journalist Can Ataklı, for his social media posts on the deaths of soldiers in the operations of the Turkish Armed Forces in the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (IKBY), started on March 19, 2024, at the Istanbul Penal Court of First Instance No 5. The indictment demands a sentence for the journalist on the charge of ‘inciting or insulting the public to hatred and hostility’. The court ruled to lift the judicial control measures against Can Ataklı and adjourned the trial to September 10, 2024.
(03/169) Criminal Complaint against Journalists…
It is learned from the news coverage of March 18, 2024, that the Capital Markets Board (SPK) has filed a complaint on the grounds of ‘publicly disseminating misleading information’ against Yeniçağ Newspaper’s Editor-in-Chief Erdem Avşar, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Eray Erollu, Editor-in-Chief Fatih Ergin, owner Yeniçağ Gazetecilik ve Matbaacılık A.Ş. and Chair of the Board of Directors Kemal Çelik and Legal Entity Representative Ahmet Çelik, as well as the website “paradurumu.com”‘s Editor-in-Chief Burak Öztunalı, Editorial Advisor Ali Güven and owner Özlem Denizmen, on the grounds that they had reported on forecasts regarding the dollar exchange rate.
(03/170) People Detained and Arrested in Relation with the Coup Attempt…
It is learned that 3 people were detained while trying to illegally cross to Greece from Edirne on March 18, 2024.
On March 19, 2024, a person with a finalized prison sentence of 7 years and 6 months was detained in a house raid in Istanbul.
[1]The reports on the human rights violations of the Documentation Center are claims unless they are certified. The claim of violation either is certified through thoroughly investigations of HRFT Documentation Center, including by judicial verdicts, and becomes a definite data or it is not included to the annual report.
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[5] Daily Human Rights Reports are prepared on the information gathered by the Documentation Center from its own network and the following dailies and internet portals: Vatan, Milliyet, Hürriyet, Habertürk, Evrensel, Birgün, Cumhuriyet, Fırat Haber Ajansı, Jinnews, ETHA, Mezopotamya Ajansı, Yurt, Yeni Yaşam, NTV, Yeni Asya, Bianet, Halkinsesi.tv, Cnnturk, Tr724, İleri Haber, Siyasi Haber, Alınteri, Kızılbayrak, Sendika.org, Yüksekova Haber, T24, Diken, Gazete Karınca, Gazete Duvar. Haber Sol, El Cezire, BBC, Deutsche Welle, Reuters, AFP.