Human Rights Foundation of Turkey Documentation Center[1][2][3][4][5]
27-29 January 2024 Daily Human Rights Report
(01/223) Armed Attack Against a Church in Istanbul…
On January 28, 2024, 2 people carried out an armed attack against people attending the Sunday mass at Santa Maria Church in Sarıyer district of Istanbul. As a result of the attack, a person named T.C. lost his life. The Ministry of Interior announced that 2 people who carried out the attack were detained.
(01/224) Person Subjected to Torture and Ill-Treatment by Neighborhood Watchers in Izmir…
It is learned from the news coverage of January 26, 2024, that a person named Ferhat Çelik was subjected to physical and verbal violence of 4 neighborhood watchers in Aliağa district of Izmir on January 3, 2024, on the grounds of listening to Kurdish music, and after being detained and taken to Aliağa Security Directorate, he was forced to sign an informal statement; and that Ferhat Çelik was dismissed from his job after the neighborhood watchers went to his workplace and threatened the owner of the workplace.
In his statement to the press, Ferhat Çelik said the following: “The song I was listening to was Şivan Perver’s ‘Biji Kurdistan’. The guards scolded me saying, ‘Why are you listening to this music? I told them that listening to music is not a crime and that there is no ban on Kurdish music. The guards told me, ‘You cannot listen to such music in this country. I told them that in this country people can listen to Kurdish music just like they can listen to English, French and Arabic songs. 4 guards then locked me in a room of İZBAN and beat me there. After beating me, they took me to Aliağa State Hospital wearing handcuffs behind my back. The guard and the hospital police entered the examination room with me. Because I reacted to this, they handcuffed me behind my back again, put me on the ground, put me in a squad car and took me to the police station (…) There they brought me a written paper. The night chief of Aliağa Security Directorate and the guards came and verbally told me that I had to sign this paper, otherwise I would not be able to leave. But I still didn’t sign it. They released me at 3:00 a.m. When I went to the workplace the next day, the guards told the owner, ‘Ferhat Çelik is a terrorist. He cannot work here, if you allow him to work here we will deal with you. We will do everything we can, and we will not let you stay here’. Then the owner fired me and I was subjected to this unfair situation”.
(01/225) Person Subjected to Torture and Ill-Treatment by the Police in Adıyaman…
On January 27, 2024, Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reporter Mahmut Altıntaş was stopped by the police in Adıyaman and detained on the charge of ‘making propaganda for an illegal organization’. It is learned that Mahmut Altıntaş was subjected to physical violence of 5 police officers for reacting to the head bowing during his transfer to Adıyaman Courthouse, and that the police officers pressured the doctor who examined him while he was getting a medical report from the hospital documenting the physical violence.
(01/226) Torture and Ill-Treatment in Prison…
It is learned from the news coverage of January 26, 2024, that girls in Diyarbakır Women’s Prison are routinely subjected to strip searches, handcuffs are used during transfer to hospital, children are kept in wards for 11 people and they are not given sufficient amount and frequency of products for ward cleaning and personal care and the temperature of the wards is not sufficient.
It is learned from the news coverage of January 27, 2024, that 4 prisoners in Bandırma T Type Prison were transferred to Adana Kürkçüler F Type Prison against their will.
(01/227) Prevention of Right to Health in Prison…
It is learned from the news coverage of January 28, 2024, that at least 63 prisoners in Ereğli High Security Prison, Ereğli T Type Closed Prison, Aksaray T Type Closed Prison, Tarsus Women’s Closed Prison, Tarsus T Type No 1, No 2, No 3, Kayseri Bünyan T Type No 1 and No 2, Bünyan Women’s Closed Prison, Osmaniye T Type No 1 and No 2 prisons could not access to treatment due to ill-treatment and right violations they are subjected to during hospital transfers.
(01/228) Journalist Detained…
On January 28, 2024, it is learned that JINNEWS Editor-in-Chief Sofya Alağaş, who was travelling to Diyarbakır in her car, was detained on the grounds that there was a warrant for her arrest in a case file from 2011 and the warrant was not lifted, and was taken to Sinanlı Police Station in Bismil district of Diyarbakır. It is reported that journalist Alağaş was released from Bitlis Courthouse on January 29, 2024 after Istanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office sent a letter on the case.
(01/229) Journalist Detained in Adıyaman…
On January 27, 2024, Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reporter Mahmut Altıntaş was detained on the charge of ‘making propaganda for an illegal organization’ after his car was stopped by the police in Adıyaman. Mahmut Altıntaş, who went to Altınşehir Police Station to file a complaint against the police officers who used violence against him, was detained again on the grounds of ‘resisting the police’ and was released on judicial control condition by the court on January 28, 2024.
(01/230) Arrested Journalist…
Yeni Demokrasi Newspaper Reporter Ertan Çıta was released by the interim decision of the court on January 26, 2024.
Ertan Çıta was detained in house raids in Tunceli and Istanbul as part of a Tunceli-based investigation against Partizan magazine and Yeni Demokrasi newspaper and was arrested on October 5, 2023, on charges of ‘being a member of an illegal organization’ and ‘financing an illegal organization’ and sent to Elazığ High Security Prison No 1.
(01/231) Person Arrested in Şırnak…
On January 28, 2024, a person named Selamet Tetik (65, F) was detained in Cizre district of Şırnak and was sent to Şırnak T Type Prison after her 7 years and 6 months prison sentence for ‘being a member of an illegal organization’ was upheld by the Court of Cassation.
(01/232) People Detained in Istanbul…
It is learned from the news coverage of January 28, 2024, that some people from ‘Youth for Palestine’ group, who were protesting in front of a shopping mall of a company against the company’s power plants in Israel, were detained. The number and names of the detainees could not be learned.
(01/233) TTB Central Council President and HRFT Board Member on Trial…
The sentence of 2 years, 8 months and 15 days given to Prof. Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı, Chair of the Central Council of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) and member of the Board of Directors of the HRFT, in the lawsuit filed against her on the grounds of ‘making propaganda for an illegal organization’ through her statements to a news channel, was approved by the Istanbul Regional Court of Appeals Penal Department 2.
Prof. Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı was detained on October 26, 2022, arrested on October 27, 2022, and released by Istanbul Heavy Penal Court No 24 on January 11, 2023, on the grounds of her statements on a news channel about the alleged use of chemical weapons by Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) units in Zap, Metina and Avaşin regions of Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). (12/220) Person Detained in Şırnak…
(01/234) Journalist on Trial in Istanbul…
On January 26, 2024, the trial of the case against journalist Sultan Eylem Keleş, who was detained while she was following news reports on September 17, 2020, on the charges of ‘insulting a public officer’ and ‘resisting to prevent duty’ continued. The prosecutor declared the final opinion on the case and demanded a sentence for journalist Sultan Eylem Keleş and 4 co-defendants. The court adjourned the trial to May 28, 2024.
(01/235) People Fined in Muğla…
It is learned from the news coverage of January 27, 2024, that Ali Güler, Ahmet Atar, Nejla Işık, Zülfikar Yakar, Haydar Demir, Eyüp Çukur and Esra Işık, who participated in the watch for nature by life defenders and villagers against the lignite mine in Akbelen Forest in Milas district of Muğla, were fined 203,445 Turkish Liras in total.
(01/236) Interventions and Interference against March 31st Elections…
On January 28, 2024, a person named D.G. attacked CHP Provincial Office with stones in Muratpaşa district of Antalya. It is learned that material damage occurred and D.G. is detained.
It is learned from the news coverage of January 28, 2024, that a person attacked the election liaison office of Yeniden Refah Party (YRP) in Polatlı district of Ankara and the attacker was detained. Material damage occurred in the building.
(01/237) Special Security Zone in Şırnak…
Şırnak Governorate announced on January 26, 2024 that Gabar Mountain Region in central and Güçlükonak districts of Şırnak Province has been declared as a temporary special security zone for 15 days between January 26, 2024 and February 9, 2024.
(01/238) Ban of Access to Web Content…
It is learned from the news coverage of January 27, 2024, that Xwebûn Newspaper’s website, www.xwebun1.org, was banned to access by Erzurum Penal Court of Peace No 2 on January 25, 2024.
[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.