Turkish police have attacked and detained several women in Ankara for attempting to stage a protest against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's initiative for a first all women’s university. University Women's Collective later announced that all the detainees had been released.
Four defendants in the case concerning Özgür Gündem, a daily newspaper that was shut down in 2016, have received prison sentences on "terrorism-related" charges.
The İstanbul 23rd Heavy Penal Court sentenced Zana Kaya, the newspaper's editor in chief for 1 year and 13 months in prison for "terrorist propaganda."
Responding to the conviction and sentencing of veteran human rights lawyer, Eren Keskin to six years in jail on absurd grounds of ‘membership of an armed terrorist organization’, Amnesty International’s Turkey Campaigner, Milena Buyum, said:
"Today a human rights lawyer who has spoken out against injustice for more than three decades, has become the victim of injustice herself.
On the eve of the start of the trial of RSF’s Turkey representative, Erol Önderoğlu, who is facing a possible 14-year prison sentence, 17 press freedom and human rights NGOs have issued a joint statement in support of this journalist and staunch defender of the right to inform in Turkey.
Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CoE) Marija Pejčinović Burić has stated that the judgements of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) are not "requests," but "binding legal requirements."
The chairman of Ankara Medical Chamber was detained along with unionized healthcare workers during a protest in the capital on Jan. 22. The workers were protesting state-run Ankara City Hospital for not granting them benefits.
MIDDLE EAST EYE
A Turkish appeals court has overturned the acquittals of nine people, including philanthropist Osman Kavala, in a case related to nationwide protests in 2013, according to court documents seen by Reuters.
The case had ended with the surprise acquittals of nine defendants last February due to insufficient evidence.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (FIDH-OMCT) is deeply concerned about a last set of amendments, recently passed by Turkey’s Grand National Assembly, which have the potential to further restrict freedom of association and to curb civil society activities in Turkey. We call on the authorities in Turkey to immediately reverse these recent legislative changes, which have been approved despite harsh criticism [1] by civil society actors.
The Governor's Office of Van has banned protest marches and open-air meetings from January 19 to February 2, citing "public health and order."