Hikmet Hazer is a LGBTI+ activist. They have been a part of the LGBTI+ movement for 6 years and is one of the leading activists in the city of Aydın where they live. They were initially involved in founding the Kuşadası Renkli Güvercin LGBTI+ Collective in 2019. Later, on 6th of March 2020, they became one of the five founding members of the Aydın LGBTI+ Solidarity. They are also a member of Students’ Union (Öğrenci-Sen).
Physician Selim Ölçer, a lifetime devotee to the struggle for the right to health, labor, peace and democracy, was tried on the charge of "knowingly and willingly aiding a terrorist organization" on the grounds that he was one of the directors of the Sarmaşık Association, which was closed with the Decree-Law (KHK) in 2016. He was sentenced to 2 years and 1 month in prison. Selim Ölçer, who has been fighting for human rights throughout his professional life, was born in Diyarbakır in 1948.
When Melih Bulu was appointed as the rector by a presidential decree on January 2, 2021, the Boğaziçi University protests started and turned into a public objection. The academics have been keeping a watch for 205 days as of November 5, 2021 and a stand-in with their backs turned to the rectorate building. Student protests spread to different universities in Turkey and even abroad in a short time, and hundreds of people were detained. Some were released on condition of judicial control, while others were given house arrest.
Since October 2019, the residents of Mugla Ikizkoy have been protecting the Akbelen Forest, which is at risk of getting destroyed to expand the lignite mining site that fuels the Yenikoy-Kemerkoy thermal power stations. During this time, the residents’ water was cut off by the company, the villagers working at the mine were threatened to be fired, and the gendarmerie forces intervened at the watch posts.
Nimet Tanrıkulu is one of the most prominent human rights defenders since the September 12 coup. She has survived torture while in custody. She is among the founding members of the Human Rights Association (İHD), 78’ers Initiative and Women for Peace Initiative. She is also among the Saturday Mothers/People. She has been taken in custody numerous times due to her human rights work, there have been tens of lawsuits opened against her. Currently there are two investigations and two lawsuits against her.
Nurcan Kaya is a human rights defender, a lawyer, and a columnist. She primarily identifies as a rights defender. Three attempts were made to sue Kaya for three different offenses because of the same social media post from 2014. Finally, a lawsuit was filed for “terrorist propaganda” and the prosecutor's office demanded that she be punished in accordance with Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law (TMK). The judgment hearing was held on September 27, 2021, where she was convicted and sentenced to 1 year and 3 months in prison.
Can Candan is a documentary filmmaker and an academic who uses the power of cinema to make human rights violations visible. He was prosecuted as one of the signatories of the Academics for Peace declaration. He was tried, and he recorded the process with his camera. Following the removal of Melih Bulu from his post as the appointed rector of Boğaziçi University by the President, the first act of Naci İnci, the acting rector, was to fire Candan. Candan was also barred from entering the university campus.
Director of Amnesty International Turkey, İdil Eser, was among the 10 human rights defenders arrested after a workshop held in Büyükada (Istanbul) on July 5, 2017, was raided by the police forces. She was brought before the prosecutor for committing “an offence on behalf of an organization, although s/he is not a member of that organization” and being “a member of an armed terrorist organization” and detained. The indictment against her was not made public until 3 months into her detention.
Mersin Women’s Platform was formed in 1996 to stop violence against women and work towards attaining gender equality. Through fines, 28 constituents of the Platform are being pressured into giving up the struggle. The Platform has been holding a Watch for Istanbul Convention since March 20, 2021- the date when Turkish State withdrew from the Convention with a presidential decree. The fines for holding the Convention Watch have already exceeded 120 thousand TL.
Founded in July 1995 against the threat of gold and copper mining in Cerattepe, Green Artvin Association has approximately 425 members and 70 constituents. The members and administrators were targeted and brought to court several times. Some of these trials are in the process of first-degree appeal and some of them are being handled by the Constitutional Court.