In a letter addressed to the Minister of Interior and the Minister of Justice of Turkey, made public today, the Commissioner calls on the authorities to refrain from further implementing the Law on Preventing Financing of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, pending the outcome of the Venice Commission review to be expected in June 2021, stressing that some of the aspects of the Law threaten the very existence of human rights NGOs.
HDK LGBTI+ Assembly activists Yıldız İdil Şen and Güneş, who were detained after the March 8 protest, were sentenced to one-month house arrest.
Istanbul police blocked hundreds of women who gathered in central Istanbul on March 8 for a march to celebrate International Women's Day. The police formed a blockade and stopped them from entering İstiklal Avenue, the district's main pedestrian street. The women held their demonstration on the nearby Sıraselviler Street.
The İstanbul Governor's Office has announced that roads to Taksim Square and İstiklal Avenue will be closed as of 2 p.m.
Only Gümüşsuyu Street, Refik Saydam Street, Sıraselviler Street and Tarlabaşı Boulevard will remain open, according to the statement.
Adana Police told the March 8 rally organization committee that "banners, pennants, posters, and flags related to LGBTI+ will not be allowed in the square" Adana Women's Platform said, "What's a ban ayol*"
Adana Police Department said "It is not possible to allow banners, pennants, posters and flags related to LGBTI+" at the rally to be held on March 8 International Women's Day in Adana.
A Turkish court on March 3 refused to arrest police officers suspected of killing Tahir Elçi despite an extensive report that shows PKK militants didn't fire at Elçi, but only bullets from three officers could have killed him.
The Turkish government’s failure to comply with a binding European Court of Human Rights order to release the human rights defender Osman Kavala should prompt Council of Europe action against Turkey, Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists, and the Turkey Human Rights Litigation Support Project said today.
Having prepared a report on Tahir Elçi murder, Forensic Architecture says, “The indictment charges the officers we identified, but also charges a PKK militant, despite our findings showing clearly that he could not be responsible for Elçi’s death.”
The Medical Chamber of Turkey's Kurdish-majority southeastern province of Diyarbakır has been granting a "Peace and Democracy Award" every year since 1995. This year's award has been granted to lawyer and Human Rights Association (İHD) Co-Chair Eren Keskin.