Human Rights Foundation of Turkey Documentation Center[1][2][3][4][5]
30 April 2025 Daily Human Rights Report
(04/210) Soldier Killed in Nevşehir…
It has been reported that a soldier (Hüseyin Uzun) serving at the Nevşehir Gendarmerie Command died in an accident that occurred during a training activity on April 29, 2025.
(04/211) No Response to Requests for Meetings with Abdullah Öcalan…
It has been learned that the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office did not respond to the application made by lawyers on April 29, 2025, to meet with their clients, PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, Ömer Hayri Konar, Hamili Yıldırım, and Veysi Aktaş, who are being held at Imralı Prison.
It has been learned that the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has not responded to the requests for visits made on April 30, 2025, by the family and legal guardian of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and the families and legal guardians of Ömer Hayri Konar, Hamili Yıldırım, and Veysi Aktaş, who are being held at Imrali Prison.
(04/212) Interventions, obstructions, and bans on May 1 Events…
On April 30, 2025, during house raids in Istanbul, members of the “May 1, 2025 Taksim Organizing Committee” including Karayolları Taşımacılık ve Emekçileri Sendikası (KATAŞ-SEN) General President Şahin Başaraner, Limter İş Sendikası General President Kamber Saygılı, and İnşaat İşçileri Sendikası (İnşaat-İş) Organization Secretary Yunus Özgür, were detained.
(04/213) Municipal Officials and Others Detained in Istanbul…
On April 26, 2025, 52 people were detained in Istanbul, including Şafak Başa, General Director of the Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration (İSKİ); Ali Rıza Akyüz, Deputy Mayor of Bakırköy Municipality and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Council Member; and İBB Bosphorus Urban Planning Director Elçin Karaoğlu, were arrested. Of these, 18 were detained by the criminal court on April 29, 2025. Thirty-four individuals were released, with four under house arrest and 26 under judicial supervision and a travel ban.
(04/214) Political Party, Trade Union Members and Leaders, and Other Individuals Detained in İzmir…
On May 30, 2025, during house raids in İzmir, 41 people, including Savaş Candemir, the head of the İzmir 5th Branch of the Education Workers’ Union (Eğitim Sen), members and leaders of the Labor Party (Emek Partisi) and the Left Party (SOL Parti), and SOL Party members and executives, were detained on charges of participating in protests against the arrest and detention of Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and engaging in organizational propaganda.
(04/215) Individuals Detained in Eskişehir…
On April 29, 2025, 12 people were detained in Eskişehir on charges of violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations No. 2911 and insulting the President. They were released on judicial control by the magistrate’s court on the same day. The names of the detained individuals are as follows: Orhan Yüksel, Yigitcan Yalçın, Burak Öztürk, İbrahim Demiryürek, Yiğit Uçar, Gizem Köksal, Şahin Özişçi, Yusuf Özdemir, Furkan Samet Uğuz, Mert Güzel, Hümeyra Aksu, and Albdülvahap Boyra.
(04/216) Trial of a Journalist in Ankara…
The final hearing of the case against journalist Melek Avcı, which was opened at the Ankara Heavy Penal Court No. 19, was held on April 29, 2025. The court ruled that Melek Avcı was acquitted of the charge of “making organization propaganda.”
(04/217) Trial of Political Party Leader and Others in Tunceli…
The final hearing of the case against five individuals, including Özcan Gürtaş and Esma Ataş, the co-chairs of the People’s Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) in Tunceli, was held on April 29, 2025. The case was filed by the DEM Party on February 8, 2024, on the grounds that the defendants danced the halay to Kurdish songs with the slogans “Berxwedan xweş doz e” and “Herne pêş” were charged with “making organization propaganda” and sentenced to 10 months in prison. The court postponed the announcement of the verdict.
(04/218) Party Executive on Trial…
The trial of Cem Aydın, chairperson of the Youth Wing of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), began on April 30, 2025, at the Istanbul Heavy Penal Court No. 14 on charges of insulting the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor on social media. The indictment seeks the punishment of Cem Aydın for “publicly insulting a public official in connection with his duties” and “targeting individuals involved in the fight against terrorism.” The court decided to lift the signature requirement for Cem Aydın, maintain the travel ban, and postpone the hearing until June 20, 2025.
(04/219) Trial of Trade Union Leaders in Ankara…
The trial of eight union leaders, including Selma Atabey, General Women’s Secretary of the Health and Social Services Workers’ Union (SES) affiliated with the Confederation of Public Workers’ Unions (KESK), and Gönül Erden, former Co-Chair, continued on April 29, 2024, at the Ankara Heavy Penal Court No. 22. The indictment seeks the punishment of the union executives for the crimes of “making organization propaganda,” “being a member of an organization,” and “acting as an organization executive.” The court postponed the hearing until October 8, 2025.
(04/220) Persons on Trial in Istanbul…
The trial of seven individuals who participated in protests in Saraçhane Square in the Fatih district of Istanbul to protest the arrest and detention of Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu began on April 30, 2025, at the Criminal Court of First Instance No. 20. The indictment seeks the punishment of the defendants for “violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations No. 2911.” The court postponed the hearing to October 2, 2025.
(04/221) Persons on Trial in Van…
The trial of 25 individuals in connection with protests held in Izmir against the appointment of a trustee to the Van Metropolitan Municipality began on April 30, 2025, at the Izmir Criminal Court of First Instance No. 20. The court decided to lift the judicial control measures imposed on the 25 individuals and postponed the hearing to November 18, 2025.
(04/222) Trial of a Police Officer in Diyarbakır…
The trial of police officer H.A., accused of causing the death of Cihan Can, was resumed on April 30, 2025, at the Diyarbakır Criminal Court of First Instance No. 11, following the overturning of the 21,200 TL fine imposed for “causing death by negligence” by the Diyarbakır Regional Court of Appeal. The court postponed the hearing to September 17, 2025.
Cihan Can lost his life on December 27, 2019, in Diyarbakır, when he was struck by a police vehicle driven by H.A. on Turgut Özal Boulevard.
(04/223) Nihat Kazanhan Case…
Following the Constitutional Court’s ruling that the right to life had been violated in the killing of a child named Nihat Kazanhan (12) in Cizre, Şırnak, as a result of police gunfire, the retrial of special operations police officer M.N.G. at the Cizre Heavy Penal Court No. 1 resumed on April 30, 2024. The court postponed the hearing until September 17, 2025.
(04/224) Suruç Massacre Case…
The trial of fugitive defendants Deniz Büyükçelebi and İlhami Bali, who were charged in connection with the bomb attack carried out in the Suruç district of Urfa on July 20, 2015, which resulted in the deaths of 33 people, resumed on April 29, 2025, at the Heavy Penal Court of Urfa No. 5. The court postponed the hearing until November 27, 2025.
(04/225) Social Media Account Subject to Access Restrictions…
According to news reports on April 29, 2025, access to a social media account named Arşiv Unutmaz was blocked under Article 8/A of Law No. 5651 on the grounds of protecting national security and public order.
(04/226) Individuals Arrested in Operations Conducted in 42 Provinces…
The Ministry of Interior announced that a total of 169 individuals were arrested in operations conducted in 42 provinces on allegations of engaging in activities related to the “current structure, financial structure, security structure, and military structure” of an organization, propagating the organization, and using ByLock.
[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.