Human Rights Foundation of Turkey Documentation Center[1][2][3][4][5]
9 July 2026 Daily Human Rights Report
(07/054) The Hakan Tosun Case…
The trial of Abdurrahman Murat and Adnan Şahin—two individuals charged in connection with the death of journalist Hakan Tosun—continued on May 8, 2026, at the Istanbul Bakırköy Heavy Penal Court No. 17. The indictment seeks the conviction of both individuals on charges of “intentional homicide.” The court ruled to continue the defendants’ detention and adjourned the hearing until September 22, 2026.
(07/055) Torture and Other Ill-Treatment in Prison…
According to news reports on July 7, 2026, it was learned that Tuğçenur Özbay, an prisoner on a hunger strike at the İzmir Şakran Women’s Prison, was transferred to the Kocaeli Gebze Women’s Prison against her will and without her consent.
(07/056) Interventions, Detentions, and Bans Related to NATO Summit Protests…
Ten people who were detained during home raids in Hatay on July 4, 2026, were released on July 8, 2026, by the magistrate’s court to which they were referred, subject to judicial supervision.
Eighteen people who were detained in Ankara on July 4, 2026, were released on July 8, 2026, by the magistrate’s court to which they were referred, subject to judicial supervision.
Of the 43 people detained during operations conducted in eight provinces on July 5, 2026, as part of an investigation centered in Istanbul, 25—including Çağdaş Hukukçular Derneği (ÇHD) Istanbul Branch Chair Attorney Ezgi Önalan and branch member Attorney Yunusemre Işık, were arrested by the magistrate’s court on July 8, 2026, while 18 others were released on judicial supervision.
Of the 44 people who were detained during home raids in Antalya on July 5, 2026, 25 were brought before the magistrate’s court on July 8, 2026. Two were arrested, while 23 were released, including four under house arrest. Nineteen of those detained had been released on July 6, 2026, following their questioning at the police station.
The 14 people who were detained during home raids in Adana on July 4 and 5, 2026, were brought before the magistrate’s court on July 8, 2026, and released under judicial supervision—four of them under house arrest.
Of the 61 people who were detained in Izmir on July 5, 2026, three (Cihangir Yılmaz, Mehmet Şimşek, and Alparslan Mustafa Burhan) were arrested on July 8, 2026, by the magistrate’s court to which they were referred on charges of “being a member of an organization,” while 58 others were released under judicial supervision.
On July 7, 2026, 35 people were detained during a police intervention at a protest organized by the Labor and Democracy Platform in Eskişehir. They were released on July 8, 2028, following their interrogations.
Of the 12 people who were detained in Bursa on July 7, 2026, 3 were arrested by the magistrate’s court to which they were referred on July 8, 2026, while 9 were released under judicial supervision.
On July 8, 2026, police intervening in a protest held in Mersin detained 4 members of Halkevleri using physical force.
(07/057) Journalists Detained in Istanbul…
Buse Söğütlü, foreign news editor at T24, and Ceren Erdoğdu, editor at Odatv, who were detained on July 5, 2026, were released on July 8, 2026, under judicial supervision by the magistrate’s court to which they were referred.
(07/058) Investigation Opened Against the Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor…
According to news reports published on July 8, 2026, it was learned that the Istanbul Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office had launched an investigation into Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on the grounds of “threatening a public official,” based on his remarks made during his trial: “I will not defend myself; I will be the one to judge—don’t worry, I will put those who drafted the indictment on trial,” it was learned that the Istanbul Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office had launched an investigation on the grounds of “threatening a public official.”
(07/059) The Trial of Journalists and Others in Diyarbakır…
The trial of 22 individuals—20 of whom are journalists—which was filed at the Diyarbakır Heavy Penal Court No. 4, resumed on May 15, 2025. The indictment seeks the conviction of the 22 individuals on charges of “being a member of an organization.” The court adjourned the hearing until November 10, 2026.
The 22 individuals were detained on June 8, 2022, and on June 16, 2022, 16 journalists (Aziz Oruç, editor of the Mezopotamya News Agency; Safiye Alağaş, news director of Jinnews; Serdar Altan, co-chair of the Dicle Fırat Journalists’ Association; Xwebûn newspaper Editor-in-Chief Mehmet Ali Ertaş, and journalists Ömer Çelik, Neşe Toprak, Mehmet Şahin, Zeynel Abidin Bulut, Elif Üngör, Remziye Temel, Suat Doğuhan, Lezgin Akdeniz, İbrahim Koyuncu, Abdurrahman Öncü, Ramazan Geciken, and Mazlum Güler) were detained by the court to which they were referred. Among the journalists detained, Gülşen Koçuk, Kadir Bayram, Mehmet Yalçın, and Esmer Tunç, along with two others (Feynaz Koçuk and İhsan Ergünlü), were released under judicial supervision. On March 21, 2023, the court ruled to separate the cases of Jinnews News Director Safiye Alağaş, journalist Gülşen Koçuk, Feynaz Koçuk, and İhsan Ergünlü.
15 journalists (Serdar Altan, Co-Chair of the Dicle Fırat Journalists’ Association; Mehmet Ali Ertaş, Editor-in-Chief of Xwebûn newspaper; Aziz Oruç, Ömer Çelik, Neşe Toprak, Mehmet Şahin, Zeynel Abidin Bulut, Elif Üngör, Remziye Temel, Suat Doğuhan, Lezgin Akdeniz, İbrahim Koyuncu, Abdurrahman Öncü, Ramazan Geciken, and Mazlum Güler) were released at the first hearing of their case, held on July 11, 2023.
(07/060) Indictment Prepared Against a Journalist…
It has been reported that the indictment prepared by the Istanbul Anatolia Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office against journalist Fatma Sibel Gürcihan—on the grounds of a social media post she made—was accepted by the Istanbul Anatolia Criminal Court of First Instance No. 78 on July 8, 2026. The indictment seeks to punish the journalist for the crime of “publicly disseminating misleading information.”
Fatma Sibel Gürcihan was arrested on July 1, 2026.
(07/061) Discriminatory and Phobic Practices…
According to news reports published on July 9, 2026, Zoe Lila, a transgender woman who worked as a teacher at a private school in Istanbul, was targeted by phobic groups, and her employment contract was subsequently not renewed by the school. The report also noted that the Ministry of National Education had launched an investigation into the school where Zoe Lila worked.
(07/062) Internet Content Subject to Access Restrictions…
According to news reports on July 8, 2026, it was learned that a YouTube video of comedian Deniz Göktaş’s show titled “Dead Sea”—for which he was arrested on the grounds of certain statements made during the performance—was subject to an access restriction under Article 8/A of Law No. 5651.
According to news reports published on July 9, 2026, access was blocked to the X social media accounts belonging to Ali Engin Demirhan and Nisan Çıra, members of the sendika.org editorial board; to the X social media account belonging to Sol Haber; the X social media account of Sendikal Haber; the X social media account of the Socialist Reconstruction Party (SYKP); and the X social media account of the People’s Law Office.
[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.