Human Rights Foundation of Turkey Documentation Center[1][2][3][4][5]
21 April 2026 Daily Human Rights Report
(04/148) Hunger Strike in Prison…
According to news reports on April 20, 2026, it was alleged that Gürkan Türkoğlu, an inmate who has been on a hunger strike for 266 days at the Antalya Döşemealtı Type S Closed Prison, was forcibly intervened upon at the Antalya City Hospital, where he was transferred on April 13, 2026, and that the inmate was being held in the intensive care unit with his hands shackled to the bed.
According to news reports published on April 21, 2026, it was learned that two other prisoners on hunger strike, Tahsin Sağaltıcı (267 days) and Hüseyin Özen (247 days), ended their hunger strike after their demands were met.
(04/149) Police Intervention at a Protest in Ankara…
According to news reports on April 21, 2026, it was learned that during the hunger strike and sit-in initiated by the Independent Mining Workers’ Union on April 20, 2026, in front of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources in Ankara, police did not permit blankets and bags containing medication to be brought into the protest area.
Early on the morning of April 21, 2026, police intervened and detained 110 people.
On April 20, 2026, police intervened against workers from Doruk Mining, based in Eskişehir, who were attempting to march to the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, detaining 33 people, including Independent Mining Workers’ Union General President Gökay Çakır and the union’s organizing specialist Başaran Aksu.
(04/150) Police Intervention in Protests in Istanbul and Ankara…
Regarding the suspicious death of İlayda Zorlu—whose family was being sought by police on the grounds that she had participated in protests held at the university—on April 17, 2026, in Hatay, allegedly from a bullet fired from her police officer father’s gun, 79 people were detained by police using physical violence during a protest held on April 19, 2026, in the Kadıköy district of Istanbul , two of the 79 people detained by police using physical force during a protest in the Kadıköy district—Ekin Utku Yeter and Safa Eren Bektaş—were arrested by the magistrate’s court to which they were referred on April 20, 2026. Seventy-seven people were released, five of them under judicial supervision.
(04/151) The Mayor and Others Detained in Uşak…
Of the 5 people detained on April 17, 2026, 3—including Yılmaz Tozan, the mayor of the Eşme district of Uşak—were arrested on April 21, 2026, by the magistrate’s court to which they were referred, on charges of “extortion.” Two others were released on judicial supervision.
(04/152) Individuals Detained in Antalya…
On April 21, 2026, as part of an investigation targeting the Manavgat Municipality in Antalya, 21 people were detained on charges of “bribery,” “embezzlement,” “tampering with a tender,” “extortion,” “laundering assets derived from crime,” and “forming an organization for the purpose of committing a crime.”
(04/153) The Trial of a Journalist in Istanbul…
The trial of journalist Tuğçe Yılmaz, initiated at the Istanbul Criminal Court of First Instance No. 2 over a news article titled “Armenian Youth in Turkey Speak Out: A Mourning That Has Lasted 109 Years,” continued on April 21, 2026. The indictment seeks to punish Tuğçe Yılmaz for the crime of “insulting the Turkish nation, the Republic of Turkey, and the state’s institutions and organs.” The court adjourned the hearing until October 20, 2026.
(04/154) Person on Trial in Istanbul…
The final hearing in the case filed at the Istanbul Heavy Penal Court No. 14 against Bilge Aksu was held on the grounds of articles published in the Özgür Politika newspaper and its supplement PolitikArt in Germany, as well as the royalties she received, on April 20, 2026. The court sentenced Bilge Aksu to 6 years and 3 months in prison on the charge of “being a member of an organization.”
(04/155) Individuals on Trial in Ankara…
The trial of 24 individuals charged with participating in the 2022 ODTÜ Pride March continued on April 21, 2026, at the Ankara Criminal Court of First Instance No. 30. The court adjourned the hearing until September 22, 2026.
(04/156) Individuals on Trial in Istanbul…
The trial of 21 individuals, including actor Cem Yiğit Üzümoğlu, who were charged with making a call for a boycott, was held on April 21, 2026, at the Istanbul Criminal Court of First Instance No. 39. The indictment seeks to punish the 21 individuals for the crimes of “preventing a person from engaging in ordinary economic activities by discriminating among people” and “publicly inciting the public to hatred and hostility.” The court adjourned the hearing to June 17, 2026.
(04/157) Individuals on Trial in Adana…
The trial of 6 individuals charged with participating in protests against attacks on Kurdish-populated regions in Syria began on April 20, 2026, at the Adana Heavy Penal Court No. 2. The indictment seeks to punish the six individuals for the crimes of “resisting the performance of duty,” “damaging public property,” “making organization propaganda,” “endangering traffic safety,” and “violating the Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations.” Nazar Bulut, who participated in the hearing via the Audio and Video Communication System (SEGBIS) from the prison where he is being held, had his request to present a defense in Kurdish rejected by the court on the grounds that no interpreter was available. The court ruled to continue Nazar Bulut’s detention since he was unable to present a defense, while ordering the release of the other five individuals (Devran Şimşek, Ulaş Çakmak, Ferhat Çelik, Mehmet Esen, and Umut Yağan), and adjourned the hearing to May 5, 2026.
(04/158) Person Subject to an Investigation…
According to news reports on April 21, 2026, an investigation was launched against Özgür Aybaş, President of the Tekel Dealers Platform, on the grounds of “publicly disseminating misleading information” regarding the Minister of Justice via social media posts, and it was learned that Özgür Aybaş went to the police headquarters to give a statement.
(04/160) The Trial of a Police Officer in Diyarbakır…
In the case filed against police officer H.A. at the Diyarbakır Criminal Court of First Instance No. 11, on the grounds that he caused the death of a person named Cihan Can, Criminal Court of First Instance on the grounds that he caused the death of a person named Cihan Can. Following the overturning of the 21,200 TL criminal fine imposed for the crime of “causing death by negligence” by the Diyarbakır Regional Court of Appeal, the final hearing of the retrial was held on April 20, 2026. The court sentenced the defendant police officer to 2 years and 11 months in prison for the crime of “causing death by negligence.”
Cihan Can lost his life on December 27, 2019, in Diyarbakır on Turgut Özal Boulevard after being struck by a police vehicle driven by H.A.
(04/161) Canceled Event at the University…
According to news reports on April 20, 2026, it was learned that the Taşoda Music Festival, which had been held at Boğaziçi University for 32 years, was canceled by decision of the university’s rectorate.
(04/162) Discriminatory and Phobic Statements in the President’s Speech…
The following discriminatory and phobic statements were included in the President’s speech on April 20, 2026: “Our struggle against LGBT movements, which have turned into a global despotism, has been one of the issues for which we have faced the harshest criticism. As we have sought to stem the tide of this scourge, others have seized every opportunity to advance the gender-neutralization movement.”
[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.