human rights violations report 2023

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS REPORT 2023

LONGING FOR A WORLD BASED ON HUMAN RIGHTS

Türkiye, is governed by a State of Emergency regime, which was enacted on 20 July 2016 and abolished on 19 July 2018 and this regime has become permanent through many legal regulations.

In the year 2023, there have been human rights violations in many areas as a result of the policies of the political power that have turned all the country’s problems, from the economy to public health, into security problems and polarised society, and the policies that are based on violence inside and outside the country and have made conflict and war the only way to solve the Kurdish problem in particular and international problems in general.

One of the most significant incidents of the year 2023 that must be highlighted are the two sequent earthquakes that struck on 6 February, causing thousands of deaths. The problems, grievances and rights violations caused by the earthquake continue in all their gravity, even though a year and a half has passed. As Human Rights Association, several times we formed delegations to see and report the results[1] and consequences[2] of the 6 February earthquakes where we lost 14 İHD members and executives and we shared the earthquake observation reports[3] publicly.

Two other major issues of the year 2023 were the two-round presidential elections that were held on 14 May and 28 May 2023 respectively and the 28th term parliamentary elections. İHD observed two elections closely and reported human rights violations in this period and shared its observations and findings[4] publicly.

Torture remained a major human rights concern in Turkey in 2023. Following the 6 February earthquakes, the declaration of a state of emergency in the earthquake zone and the extension of detention period led to an alarming increase in violations of the prohibition of torture.

Restrictions imposed by the political power on the freedom of thought and expression and the increasing and perturbative oppression and control on the press and human rights defenders in particular, continued in 2023. In addition to the laws that prevent the exercise of freedom of thought and expression, Law No. 7418, publicly known as the “Disinformation Law”, which made some amendments to the Press Law and entered into force by being published in the Official Gazette of 18 October 2022, No.31987, further increased the pressure and restrictions on anyone seeking to exercise freedom of expression, especially journalists.

In the Kobani trial, known as the Kobani conspiracy trial, in which HDP co-chairs, elected politicians, members and executives of the Central Executive Board of the HDP are on trial, the request to postpone the hearing to a later date on the grounds that most of the lawyers of the case lived in the provinces affected by the earthquakes on 6 February and could not practise their profession due to the earthquake was not accepted but the court had to postpone the hearing because the lawyers could not come to the hearing.

All the evidence in favour of the accused politicians since the beginning of the trial has been ignored in the prosecutor’s final opinion, which runs to 5268 pages. In the final opinion, hundreds of years of imprisonment were demanded for the politicians, yet lawyers and politicians were prevented from defending themselves. Heavy penalties have been unlawfully imposed on these politicians with the verdict[5] given in the last hearing that was held on 16 May 2024 and many rights of these people on trial, such as the right to a fair trial, the right to liberty and security, freedom of expression, the right to effective remedy, the prohibition of discrimination, the right to vote, to be elected and to engage in political activities have been violated.

Impunity remains one of the fundamental problems of the judicial system in Turkey. Trials that last for years, cases in which the perpetrators often do not even appear in court, end without punishment on the grounds that the statute of limitation has expired.

Trials that go on for years end in the acquittal of the perpetrators. For example, in the “JITEM” case, which was filed over the deaths of 19 people between 1993 and 1996, including Abdulmecit Baskın, the head of Altındağ district registry office in Ankara, all the defendants were acquitted on 26 May 2023. The right to life and the prohibition of torture have been violated by this court decision. The stance of the courts in protecting the state officials where the state is a party has also been revealed in this case and in line with the opinion of the public prosecutor which was in defence of the defendants, the court ruled for the acquittal of the defendants, thus this case has also been resulted with the impunity.

The judiciary’s non-compliance with the decisions of the Constitutional Court is an ongoing practice that should not be the case in a state governed by the rule of law. Following the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the violation of the rights of MP Can Atalay, both the local court and the Court of Cassation, which should have recognised this ruling, announced that they did not recognise this ruling. Yet, Article 153 of the Constitution clearly states that the decisions of the Constitutional Court are binding on the legislative, executive, judicial and administrative authorities, real and legal persons. The Court of Cassation has blatantly violated the Constitution with this decision and breached the right to fair trial, right to an effective remedy, right to liberty and security of person, the right to vote and be elected and the right to political activity. The 3rd Chamber of the Court of Cassation did not stop there, stating that it will not abide by the Constitutional Court decision and criticized the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and virtually reminded it of its duty and decided to file a criminal complaint against the members of the Constitutional Court. This is a judicial coup and as human rights defenders we are always against judicial coups.

Article 2 of the Constitution declares that the Republic of Turkey is a “state of law”. The rule of law requires, first and foremost, that all organs, institutions and officials of the State act in accordance with the Constitution and are bound by it. Article 153 of the Constitution states that the decisions of the Constitutional Court are “final” and binding on “legislative, executive and judicial organs, administrative authorities, natural and legal persons”. Acceptance of the binding nature of the judgments of the Constitutional Court is a constitutional requirement. Article 11/1 of the Constitution entitled “Binding force and supremacy of the Constitution”, states that “the provisions of the Constitution are the basic rules of law binding on the legislative, executive and judicial organs, administrative authorities and other organisations and persons.”

In the Turkish legal system, no institution or person is authorised to “resist” the decisions of the Constitutional Court. The view that the decisions of the Constitutional Court cannot be implemented on the grounds of “excess of jurisdiction” or “usurpation of function” does not explain the source of the power to “resist”. The use of an authority that is not recognised and regulated by the law ‘in the name of the law’ suggests a serious contradiction.

The verdict confirmed by the Court of Cassation on the sentences passed on Osman Kavala, Can Atalay, Çiğdem Mater, Tayfun Kahraman and Mine Özerden in the Gezi Trial, which was known from the beginning to be a political revenge case through the judiciary, is a declaration that the judiciary in Turkey operates only as a political punishment mechanism and has abandoned all legal grounds.

With this unacceptable confirmation of the sentence by the Court of Cassation, human rights defenders who demand justice not only for the country we live in, but also for the whole world, have once again been persecuted by the judiciary. Being well aware that the essence of defending human rights is the ability to see injustice, we will determinedly defend justice against the injustice that has been reaffirmed by this judgement. We will not give up our objection to the criminalisation of opposing injustice and our responsibility to speak out against unfairness and injustice.

Asylum seekers, refugees and migrants, who have now become an integral part of Turkish society and an essential element of the society are still subjected to all kinds of discrimination and abuse, hate speech and economic exploitation. In 2023, asylum seekers and refugees were subjected to racist and hateful violence and lost their lives. Asylum-seekers and refugees constitute one of the social segments that experience the effects of the ongoing severe crisis in the deepest physical, mental, social and economic terms.

The fact that Turkey is experiencing the worst economic crisis in the history of the Republic, makes it completely impossible for citizens to live in dignified conditions. This situation is in itself a serious violation of human rights.

VIOLATIONS OF THE RIGHT TO LIFE

Violations of the right to life continue to be a major focus of our annual human rights balance sheets. Policies based on violence, the failure of the state to fulfil its obligations to protect its citizens and prevent acts directed against human life, violations resulting from state errors and omissions, and many other violations have been covered under this heading.

According to data collected by İHD’s Documentation Center in 2023:

A total of 17 people lost their lives and 16 people were wounded as a result of being killed and wounded by security forces for disobeying stop warnings, violations of the authorisation to use weapons and attacks during public demonstrations.
One person was killed and one person was wounded by village guards.
43 people were killed and 35 people were wounded in border areas.
42 people lost their lives in prisons, while 6 people lost their lives under custody and 6 others were wounded.
7 individuals lost their lives and 1 individual was wounded due to assaults by unknown assailants.
As a result of errors and negligence by public officials, 53,369 people lost their lives and 108,502 were injured. This includes the death toll 53.227 and 107.213 people wounded in the earthquake. In addition, 58 people lost their lives and 171 people were wounded due to floods. 3 people died and 8 people were wounded as a result of being hit by a military vehicle.
The number of people lost their lives as a result of suicide/suspicious deaths of police officers and soldiers is 24.
2 people lost their lives in attacks by illegal organisations while 4 people were wounded.
The number of people who lost their lives due to attacks on members/executives of political parties, trade unions and associations, journalists, teachers/lecturers/students, labourers/health workers/public servants/foreigners/members of political parties etc. was 7 while the number of people wounded was
A total of 242 people lost their lives and 58 people were wounded in armed conflicts.
A total of 358 people, including 285 women and 39 children, were recorded as suspicious deaths and 6 people, including 4 children and 2 women, were recorded as suspicious injuries.
According to the data obtained under the heading of violations against women’s right to life, 27 women lost their lives by suicide and 6 women were wounded as a result of attempted suicide. Under the heading of Violence against Women in the Social Sphere, Rape and Harassment, Women Subjected to Domestic Violence, we have identified that 349 women lost their lives and 1265 women were wounded as a result of harassment, rape, assault, threats and being held under control.

In terms of violations of the right to life of children, 7 children lost their lives by suicide and 2 children were wounded as a result of attempted suicide. The number of children who lost their lives as a result of violence, harassment and rape at home, at school and in public places is 51 and the number of children injured is 805.

Undoubtedly, the most significant event in 2023 that resulted in the loss of many lives were the two major earthquakes on 6 February. As it was mentioned above, we as İHD lost 14 of our members and executives in the 6 February earthquakes. The general opinion is that many more people lost their lives in the 11 provinces affected by the earthquake than the 53,227 recorded in the official data. It is also a fact that the survivors are still facing huge problems in terms of shelter, access to clean water, food and many other basic and vital issues. It is obvious that the state has the duty and responsibility to protect its citizens, to take the necessary measures in case of natural disasters such as earthquakes, to carry out search and rescue operations properly, to create living spaces for the survivors with the necessary infrastructure conditions, hygiene and adequate nutrition, and to provide health services, but it is crystal clear that the state has not fulfilled these responsibilities properly.

Deaths in prisons continued in 2023, and according to the data we obtained from the applications we received and the work of our prison commission, 42 people lost their lives in prisons. It is clear that the actual number may be much higher than this.

In order to reduce violations of the right to life in general and to protect everyone’s right to life, we do believe that it is essential for the State to fully comply with the rules of domestic and international law to which it is bound, to sign international conventions to which it is not a signatory or party, to accept the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and, which we feel is particularly important to underline, to reverse its decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, which is an effective instrument in combating all kinds of rights violations against women, and to become bound by the provisions of this convention again.

KURDISH ISSUE

The Kurdish question remains one of the most fundamental obstacles to democratisation in Turkey. The failure of the government to take integrated steps towards a peaceful, democratic and fair solution to the problem and the developments in the Middle East led to serious and grave violations of human rights, especially the right to life.

The armed conflict, which resumed on 24 July 2015, has resulted in serious human rights violations. As rights defenders in favour of a democratic and peaceful solution to the Kurdish question and the establishment of a social order based on democracy, human rights and the rule of law, we believe that it is essential for the political power to develop peaceful policies both inside and outside Turkey. However, it is obvious that the opposite policy exists.

One of the most fundamental and overlooked causes of Turkey’s economic crisis is military expenditures. Such an economic structure is resulted in violation of many social and economic rights and condemns a large part of the population to hunger and poverty.

The continuous military operations which have become permanent in the Kurdish Regional Government in Iraq as a result of the insistence of the political power and the State on the pro-security policies have spread to the Syrian territory with the military operations called “Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch, Peace Spring” since 24 August 2016. These operations also indicates that how far the State is from solving the Kurdish question, which is the fundamental problem of democracy and human rights in Turkey. We would like to remind that these pro-security policies make the solution of the Kurdish question more difficult.

Abdullah Öcalan and other prisoners, who are kept in the İmralı High-Security Prison, are not allowed to meet with their lawyers and family members since 25 March 2021. Depriving the prisoners of their fundamental rights without any legal basis and without knowing their fate is not only a serious violation of national law but also of international human rights law.

European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has paid a visit to Turkey on 13-22 February 2024 to examine the treatments of persons held in high-security prisons; although the CPT did not visit İmralı F-Type High Security Prison, it stated in its press release of 23 February 2024 on the occasion of its visit to Turkey that “issues relating to the contact of prisoners held in this prison with the outside world were also raised” in meetings with the relevant official authorities[6].

One of the main issues raised by the CPT during more than ten visits to İmralı F-Type High Security Prison over the years has been the need to ensure that prisoners have access to their families and lawyers.

In the steps to be taken towards the solution of the Kurdish problem, such practices, which have no legal basis, must be stopped immediately

İHD organised the “Resolution of the Kurdish Issue and Peace Conference” in Diyarbakır on 16-17 March 2024 and pointed out in its final declaration the steps that have to be taken in order to find a solution to the Kurdish question and ensure peace[7].

TORTURE, ILL-TREATMENT, INHUMAN AND DEGRADING TREATMENT AND PUNISHMENT

According to the data collected by İHD under this heading, a total of 5312 people were subjected to torture, ill-treatment, humiliating and degrading treatment and punishment in 2023. Accordingly, 348 people were subjected to torture and ill-treatment in detention; 733 people were subjected to torture and ill-treatment in extra-custodial places; 16 people were subjected to torture and ill-treatment by village guards; 594 people were subjected to torture and ill-treatment in prisons. In addition, the number of people threatened and offered to be informant and allegedly abducted was 134; the number of people beaten and wounded in the social demonstration by the security forces was 3487.

Torture in detention centres, in extra-custodial places, on the streets, in prisons, and the “excessive use of force” by the security forces during meetings and demonstrations which amounts to “torture” have been a widespread this year, as in previous years.

In high-security pit-type prisons[8] where detainees and convicts are held in solitary confinement, the narrowness of the ventilation areas and the restriction of the conditions of ventilation are in themselves torture and ill-treatment.

One of the most obvious examples of torture and ill-treatment is the practice of preventing and detaining the Saturday Mothers, who have been gathering in Galatasary Square in Istanbul every week since 1995 in order to find out the fate of their relatives who have been forcibly disappeared under detention.

The Constitutional Court issued two separate judgements in 2023 regarding the gathering of Saturday Mothers/People in Galatasaray Square on the grounds that “the group’s desire to hold a sit-in and press statement with the aim of finding their disappeared relatives and raising public awareness must be met with respect in a democratic society” and that “the right to organise meetings and demonstrations guaranteed under Article 34 of the Constitution was violated and a copy of the judgement should be sent to the Beyoğlu District Governorate to prevent further violations”. Despite these clear judgements of the Constitutional Court, the Saturday Mothers/People have been arbitrarily detained by law enforcement officers every time they went to Galatasaray Square, and have been arbitrarily detained[9] with practices that reach the level of torture and ill-treatment such as reverse or straight handcuffs, beatings, etc.

The Saturday Mothers, who had not been allowed to gather in Galatasaray Square since 2018, were allowed to gather in Galatasaray Square again on 11 November 2023 for the first time in almost five and a half years.[10] However, since the 972nd week, a limited number of Saturday Mothers (10 people) have been allowed to gather at Galatasaray Square. Restrictions on the number of participants and unlawful practices continue. Police interventions, detentions and trials continue against the Saturday Mothers who gather at the same place every Saturday.[11]

Impunity is one of the main obstacles to the prevention of torture. Impunity, which continues with practices such as not initiating investigations against perpetrators of torture and ill-treatment and, when a case is filed, preparing indictments for less punishable offences instead of torture, not sentencing defendants or suspending sentences, is one of the main reasons for the continuation of torture.

CRACKDOWN ON HUMAN RIGHTS ASSOCIATION, ITS MEMBERS AND EXECUTIVES

The crackdown by the political power on the members, executives and employees of the Human Rights Association, the first and largest human rights organisation in Turkey, continues; rules and principles set out in the UN Declaration on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders are being violated.

Many people, especially İHD co-chair Eren Keskin who is under the threat of tens of thousands of lira in fines and tens of years in prison due to her journalistic activities, are facing imprisonment at any moment. There are 125 ongoing law suits filed againts our co-chair Eren Keskin.

In 2023, many human rights defenders, including executives, members and employees of İHD, faced various pressures. In addition, 76 executives and members of İHD were detained, five people were prosecuted, two people were acquitted in two cases, two cases are still pending and one person was sentenced to six years and three months in prison.

The Adana Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has decided not to prosecute 18 members of İHD, who were detained as a result of the police intervention in the press statement in support of the Saturday Mothers/People in Adana, in an investigation.

Executive member of IİHD’s Antalya branch and lawyer Şüheda Ronahi Çiftçi, has been arrested on the grounds of meetings with prisoners upon prisoner applications to Antalya branch, on 8 November 2023. This infringes the right to liberty and security of person as well as the principle of legal security and certainty.[12]

VIOLATIONS OF THE RIGHT TO LIBERTY AND SECURITY OF PERSON

According to the data collected by İHD, 7657 people, including 166 children, were detained and 544 people, including 13 children, were arrested in 2023.

A Kurdish musician subjected to a racist attack and an Assyrian woman were killed; 54 people including Kurds, Alevis and people of different religions and political views were wounded; an exhibition and a church were raided; two buses were attacked while travelling.

According to the Press Freedom Report of the Turkey’s Journalists’ Union (TGS), 43 journalists were imprisoned in 2023. Currently, 16 journalists are in prison.

In the 2023 World Press Freedom Index issued by the Reporters without Borders (RSF), Turkey has ranked 165th among 180 countries; down 16 places compared to 2022. According to the RSF, Turkey has moved from the “problematic” category to the “serious” category. As of 3 May 2023, there are 31 jurnalists and a media employee in prison.[13]

As of the end of 2023, 7 members of parliament and 27 co-mayors were under arrest.

There is no information about the three people (Gülistan Doku, Yusuf Bilge, Hürmüz Diril) who have been disappeared and/or allegedly abducted.

VIOLATIONS OF THE FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Serious violations of freedom of expression continued to be reported also in 2023. The state structure, which does not tolerate issues that constitute the red lines of the official ideology such as the Kurdish question, the Armenian genocide and different ideas, has always resorted to practices that restrict freedom of expression. With regard to the freedom of expression, especially in the last 5 years, we have experienced a more difficult process than ever before.

Although the Republic of Turkey, has significant regulations on the freedom of expression in its constitution, domestic laws, and most importanly in the international conventions it has signed, there has been a huge gap between the written law and the practice.

For the solution of the main problems of this country and its citizens, first of all, everyone should have the right to freedom of expression, bans and obstacles to free speech should be revoked.[14]

In many cities of Turkey so many events and activites have been banned; printed material such as books, magazines etc. have been confiscated; publishing houses and press institutions have been raided, many websites have been blocked.

In 2023, 3 rallies and festivals, 5 commemorations, 4 film/documentary viewing events, 22 concerts, 5 festivals, 3 theatre performances, 3 panels, talks, conferences, 1 stand, 2 press releases, 3 marches, 1 public meeting, 3 election campaigns, 1 wedding, 1 exhibition, 1 football tournament, 2 children’s events were banned; many activities were banned with the governerships’ 15-day bans in a number of cities (Urfa, Ağrı, Hakkâri, Diyarbakır, Osmaniye, Tunceli, Van, Antep, Rize, İzmir, Antalya, Mardin, Şırnak, Muş, Siirt, Adana, Eskişehir, Kocaeli, Edirne, Aydın, İstanbul, Muğla, Mersin, Bingöl, Bursa, Bitlis, Kars).

12 books, 9 posters and banners were confiscated, 38 TV/radio channels were sentenced to administrative fines, 23 TV channels were sentenced to broadcast suspension.

Two publishing houses and two newspaper offices were raided by the police and one newspaper office was attacked.

In addition, in many cities (Urfa, Ağrı, Hakkari, Diyarbakır, Osmaniye, Tunceli, Van, Antep, Rize, İzmir, Antalya, Mardin, Şırnak, Muş, Siirt, Adana, Eskişehir, Kocaeli, Edirne, Aydın, İstanbul, Muğla, Mersin, Bingöl, Bursa, Bitlis, Kars), many events were blocked with 15-day prohibition orders issued by the governorates. Although the Information and Communication Technologies Authority does not publish statistical data on blocked websites in Turkey and similarly, the Association of Access Providers does not publish statistical data on blocked websites, news (URL addresses) and social media content, as far as İHD was able to determine, 4429 social media accounts/news/news agencies and various websites were banned from access in 2023.

According to the data collected by İHD, 440 investigations were opened against 89 people. According to the data collected by İHD, 440 investigations were opened against 89 persons. There are 340 ongoing cases, including those from previous years, against 1813 people. In 130 cases concluded in 2023, 123 people were sentenced to a total of 437 years, 11 months and 6 days of imprisonment, 28 people were fined 1.051.730,00 TL and 401 people were acquitted in 106 cases.

VIOLATIONS OF THE FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY AND DEMONSTRATION

Restrictions and violations of the freedom of assembly and demonstration were intense in 2023. During the year, individuals and groups from all social segments were unable to exercise their freedom of assembly and demonstration as a result of bans by local administrative authorities and/or actual interventions by law enforcement officers.

Women, LGBTI+, human rights and peace defenders, students, environmentalists, workers and labourers, members of dissident political parties, all, whose freedom of assembly and demonstration are guaranteed by the Constitution, were subjected to inhuman and undignified violence by law enforcement officials.

In 2023, 256 meetings and demonstrations were intervened by security forces and 5 investigations were launched gainst 175 people.

In 2023, a total of 56 lawsuits, which are still ongoing, were filed against 1254 people and 9 people were sentenced to 48,000 TL in fines, and 265 people were acquitted in 24 cases.

In 2023, four cases were filed against 115 people in connection with the Gezi Park trial and investigations are ongoing. In one case, 19 people were sentenced to 5 months imprisonment each.

VIOLATIONS OF THE FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

Citizens in Turkey are unable to exercise their freedom of association and participate in the civil and public sphere in an organised way because they are unable to meet collectively and express their opinions. In 2023, many members and executives of human rights organisations, associations, foundations, labour and professional organisations and political parties were detained and arrested, and pressure was put on them through lawsuits filed against them.

The process that commenced after the statements made by Prof. Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı, the chairperson of the Central Council of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB), on a television channel has resulted in the dismissal of the members of the Central Council of TTB by court order.

In 2023, 7 party buildings, 10 association buildings, cultural centres and trade unions were raided by the police and 45 party buildings and election offices were attacked.

The closure case filed against the HDP in 2021 continued. Similarly, the closure cases against DIAYDER (Religious Scholars Solidarity and Assistance Association), MEBYA-DER (Association for Assistance, Solidarity, Unity and Culture with the Families of the Disappeared in the Cradle of Civilisations) and Tarlabaşı Community Support Association continued. The case for “determination of non-existence” that was filed by the Governorship of Istanbul against the Tarlabaşı Community Centre on the grounds that it had ceased its activities continued, and the closure case filed against the Platform to Stop Femicide was dismissed. The lawsuit filed against GÖÇİZDER (Migration Monitoring Association) demanding its closure is also ongoing. Queer Research Society (Queer Deer) operating at Hacettepe University in Ankara was closed down by the Rectorate on the grounds of “not organising enough activities”.

According to the statement made by the Occupational Health and Safety Council[15] 1932 workers lost their lives in workplace homicides in 2023.

PRISONS

In 2023, as a result of the political power’s policy of using the law as an instrument of oppression and intimidation, prisons, overcrowded far beyond their capacity, continue to be places of serious violations of rights, ranging from violations of the right to life to torture and access to the right to health.

According to the data published by the Ministry of Justice, General Directorate of Prisons and Detention Houses on 2 May 2024, there are 329,151 prisoners and convicts in 403 prisons with a total capacity of 295,328, and there are 13,891 women and 2,983 children in prisons.[16]

To the best of our knowledge, there are currently 1517 ill prisoners in Turkey’s prisons, 651 of whom are seriously ill.

Prisoners’ rights to communication were violated 585 times, 218 prisoners were subjected to disciplinary punishment, 134 prisoners were transferred to other prisons against their will and 1074 prisoners, including 163 children, were transferred to prisons farthest from their families after the 6 February earthquakes.

Many prisoners in different prisons all over Turkey, announced that they started long-term alternating hunger strike on 27 November 2023 both for the general problems of the prisons and for the end of the isolation in F-type high security prisons, especially in İmralı F-type prison and for the demand of a democratic solution of the Kurdish question.

As far as İHD has been able to ascertain, at least 1997 prisoners in 91 prisons have been on hunger strike since the inception of the hunger strike. Hunger strikes have been organised for a minimal period of 5 days and a maximal period of 15 days.

As far as we can ascertain, 38 other prisoners also went on hunger strike to demand an end to the violation of their rights.

***

The İHD Rights Violations Report for 2023 reveals that there are many fields of rights (violations) that we, as human rights defenders, have to deal with. We will continue to defend our rights with determination in order to establish an order worthy of human dignity and based on the rule of law.

İnsan Hakları Derneği-İHD

(Human Rights Association)

[1] https://www.İHD.org.tr/hatay-deprem-bolgesi-gozlem-tespit-degerlendirme-raporu/

[2] https://İHD.org.tr/en/İHD-fidh-omct-joint-statement-uphold-human-rights-during-earthquake-response/

[3] https://www.İHD.org.tr/hatay-ili-deprem-raporu/

[4] https://İHD.org.tr/en/İHD-elections-observation-report/

[5] https://www.İHD.org.tr/toplumsal-barisi-ve-demokratik-siyaseti-savunanlar-cezalandirilamaz/

[6] https://ihd.org.tr/en/joint-statement-isolation-and-incommunicado-detention-continue-in-imrali-prison/

[7] https://ihd.org.tr/en/peace-conference-2024-final-declaration/

[8] https://ihd.org.tr/en/joint-statement-close-pit-type-prisons/

[9] https://www.ihd.org.tr/cumartesi-anneleri-turkiyenin-anayasal-normlarina-ve-uluslararasi-hukuk-kurallarina-dayanan-mesru-taleplerimizde-israr-edecegiz/

[10] The gatherings of the Saturday Mothers, who have been coming together in Galatasaray Square since 27 May 1995, were interrupted from 1999 to 2009 due to police interventions, and since the 700th week of the gathering on 25 August 2018, they were not allowed to gather in Galatasaray Square.

[11] https://ihd.org.tr/en/frontline-defenders-urgent-appeal-for-saturday-mothers/

[12] https://ihd.org.tr/en/ihd-end-judicial-harassment-against-human-rights-defenders/

[13] https://www.bbc.com/turkce/articles/c727exvzdzqo

[14] https://ihd.org.tr/en/world-press-freedom-day/

[15] http://www.isigmeclisi.org/20959-yasamak-icin-orgutlenmek-direnmek-zorundayiz-2023-yilinda-en-az-1932

[16] https://ihd.org.tr/en/joint-statement-close-pit-type-prisons/

For the Table of Human Rights Violations in 2023 in Turkey please click on: 2023 Table of HR Violations in Turkey