Human Rights Foundation of Turkey Documentation Center[1][2][3][4][5]
24 February 2026 Daily Human Rights Report
(02/171) Police Intervention Against People Waving Banners in Batman…
On February 18, 2026, the police intervened the members of Furkan Movement who were hanging banners about Ramadan in Batman, using physical violence and tear gas chemical agent and detained 36 people. It is learned that 36 people were released on the same day.
(02/172) Torture and Ill-Treatment in Prison…
It is learned from the news coverage of February 24, 2026 that, 2 of 4 prisoners (Kerem Bükre and Sıtkı Güngör) who are on hunger strike and kept in Istanbul Marmara (Silivri) T Type Prison No 6, were transferred to Kocaeli Kandıra F Type Prison No 1 and the other 2 prisoners (Erol Tunç, Cemil Aksu) were transferred to Kocaeli Kandıra F Type Prison No 2 under coercion.
It is learned from the news coverage of February 24, 2026 that, 3 prisoners (Hüseyin Yeşilova, Can Tekin and Yusuf Çıtırık) who are on hunger strike in Istanbul Marmara (Silivri) T Type Prison No 6, were put in single rooms.
It is learned from the news coverage of February 24, 2026 that 3 prisoners (Eylem Taş, Havvanur İdiz and Şükran Yaren Tuncer) in Istanbul Bakırköy Women’s Prison were transferred to a prison in Istanbul Marmara Prison Campus against their will.
(02/173) Journalist and Other Person on Trial in Ankara…
The trial of the case against journalist Yıldız Tar and İbrahim Halit Elçi through an investigation against Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK) continued on February 23, 2026 at Ankara Heavy Penal Court No 21.
The indictment demands sentence for Yıldız Tar and İbrahim Halit Elçi on the charge of ‘being an illegal organisation member’.
The court decided to lift the judicial control measure of signature requirement for 2 people and to continue the judicial control measure of ban on leaving the country and adjourned the trial to June 24, 2026.
Yıldız Tar and İbrahim Halit Elçi were arrested on February 21, 2025 and released on May 30, 2025.
(02/174) LGBTI+ Activist on Trial in Ankara…
The final hearing of the lawsuit filed against LGBTI+ activist and Council of Europe (CoE) Congress of Local and Regional Authorities delegate Enes Hocaoğulları on the grounds of his speech at the CoE meeting was held on February 23, 2026 at Ankara Criminal Court of First Instance No 86. The court acquitted Enes Hocaoğulları on the charges of ‘publicly disseminating misleading information’ and ‘inciting the public to hatred and hostility’.
Enes Hocaoğulları was arrested on August 5, 2025 and released at the first hearing of the case on September 8, 2025.
(02/175) Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor and Other People on Trial in Ankara
The trial of the case against 12 people including Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, on February 23, 2026, continued at Ankara Criminal Court of First Instance No 26 on the allegations of irregularities in the 38th Ordinary Congress of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), where Özgür Özel was elected as the chairman. The indictment demands 12 people to be sentenced for ‘violating the election law’. The court adjourned the trial to April 1, 2026.
(02/176) People on Trial in Mardin
The final trial of the case against 44 people is held at Mardin Heavy Penal Court No 2 on February 23, 2026. The court sentenced 41 people (Abdurrahman Bayram, Alaattin Bulut, Arafat Sırdaş, Aslan Çelik, Ayten Kahraman, Celal Ata, Çelebi Acar, Elavettin Ablay, Feryat Tepe, Fuat Olgaç, Halil Tuğuç, Halil Doğan, Hüseyin Tekin, İbrahim Dilmeç, İbrahim Çoko, İsmail Bal, Kemal Erbey, Kemal Ece, Kemal Aytekin, Kenan Kavak, Kenan Akdoğan, Mehmet Yılmaz, Mehmet Yıldız, Mehmet Emin Aslan, Mehmet Nevroz Türk, Ömer Turğay, Ramazan Keskin, Sadiye Aksoy Sancar, Seyfettin Aydın, Seyfettin Ateş, Siraç Dinç, Süleyman Doğan, Şemseddin Dağhan, Şemsettin Dinç, Şeyhmus Sun, Şükriye Yılmaz, Veysi Erdem, Zeydan Akgül, Zeyyat Ağaoğlu, Zinar Yıldırım). The court also decided to drop the case against 2 people (Abdurrahman Bayhan and Faraç Turay) who died during the trial and sentenced 1 person (Şakir Acar) to 6 years and 3 months for ‘being an illegal organisation member’.
(02/177) Party Worker on Trial in Ankara…
The trial of the case against CHP worker Gökhan Gülyurt, on the grounds of driving his party bus into police officers who warned him to stop, is held at Ankara Penal Court of First Instance No 72 on February 23, 2026. The indictment demands sentence for Gökhan Gülyurt on the charge of ‘resisting to prevent the execution of duty in a chain’. The court adjourned the hearing to March 30, 2026.
(02/178) Proceedings Against Parliament Members…
It is learned from the news coverage of February 23, 2026 that, proceedings against 3 parliamentary members of parliament demanding lifting of their parliamentary immunity were sent to Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM).
MPs against whom proceedings have been prepared:
- CHP Chairman and Manisa MP Özgür Özel,
- CHP Group Deputy Chairman and Ankara MP Murat Emir,
- CHP Istanbul MP Yunus Emre.
(02/179) Social Media Accounts Blocked from Access…
It is learned from the news coverage of February 24, 2026 that, access to Kurdish X social media account of Mezopotamya Agency is banned.
(02/180) Detained People in Ankara and Istanbul…
On 24 February 2026, a total of 11 people, 10 people in Ankara and 1 person in Istanbul, were detained on the allegations of being a member of the current structure of the organization.
[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.