MACHETE-HOLDING MAN Suspect Flees Abroad As Judge Releases For “No Runaway Risk” Sabri Çelebi, a man who attacked Gezi Park demonstrators with a machete, has been released by a court. “All newspaper covering the issue before final court decision are responsible for this,” advocate Hacer Yılmaz told bianet. By Ayca Celebi ayca@bianet.org Istanbul BIA News Desk Sabri Çelebi, a man [...] → Read the full article…
Music group Grup Abdal’s singer Burcu Sarak was taken into custody on the 6th of July. Her mother was also taken into custody because she didn’t want to let the police take her daughter. Burcu Sarak tells what she has gone through in the detention house: “They made my friend strip stark naked; they insulted and swore me; they didn’t [...] → Read the full article…
Letter to Turkish Prime Minister Follows In-Country Investigation, Seeks to Stop Excessive Violence and Unlawful Detentions New York Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), the World Medical Association (WMA), the German Medical Association (GMA) and the Standing Committee of European Doctors/Comité Permanent des Médecins Européens (CPME) sent a letter to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan today asking his government to [...] → Read the full article…
The Turkish authorities must immediately release peaceful demonstrators who were detained in Taksim yesterday. They must also investigate allegations of the excessive use of force after riot police used tear gas and water canons to clear the square and neighbouring Gezi park, Amnesty International said. “The authorities in Turkey have the duty to ensure people can peacefully gather and express [...] → Read the full article…
THE mass anti-government demonstrations that have rocked Turkey over the past month are dying down and only now is the full horror of police abuse against protestors beginning to emerge. Human-rights groups say the use of tear gas as a weapon marks a new chilling trend among Turkey’s notoriously nasty riot police. Hasan Kilicgedik, a thirty-year-old Kurd, was among the [...] → Read the full article…
We would like to extend our sincere solidarity with our fellow lawyers and legal workers fighting for the rights of all those who have been detained, arrested, and violently attacked for peaceful protest in the last few weeks. The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is closely following the situation in Turkey. We are aware of the extent of death, injury, and [...] → Read the full article…
After the Gezi Park occupation was dispersed, dozens of neighborhood forums popped up around Istanbul where people get together to discuss a variety of issues. I’ve been attending these neighborhood forums, which are are organized in an “agora” format where speakers line up and take turns to speak. While media attention remains on the frequent Taksim Square demonstrations, the forums [...] → Read the full article…
We talked with one of the Yesil Gazete editors, Dr. Savas Comlek, about the infirmaries in the park and what happenned during his detention. He was taken into custody on June 16 and released the same day, How did you become involved with the Gezi Parki protests? I want to live in a better city. In recent years, the city [...] → Read the full article…
GENEVA (18 June 2013) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Tuesday welcomed last week’s decision by the Turkish Government to put on hold further action on the Gezi Park development in Istanbul until there is a court decision, and then to submit the issue to a local referendum. She urged Turkey’s government and civil society to [...] → Read the full article…
Thousands of protesters gathered on the streets of the Turkish capital of Ankara yesterday in the fiercest anti-government protests in years. Clashes between security forces and demonstrators continued into this morning, as police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds. 16 June 2013 Source: http://www.itv.com