Saturday Mothers/People faced police aggression during their 955th weekly gathering as they seek justice for their disappeared relatives. MLSA, TİHV, Hafıza Merkezi and Amnesty International Turkey are persistently documenting these violations, observing an increased defiance by administrative bodies towards implementing constitutional court rulings
ISTANBUL, July 21, 2023 — Police aggression against the Saturday Mothers/People at their 955th weekly gathering on July 15, 2023, was observed and documented by several human rights organizations following the standards of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
This collaboration was spearheaded by the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) Truth Justice Memory Center (Hafıza Merkezi), Amnesty International Turkey, and the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV), who plan to continue this joint observation initiative until the unjust blockade in Galatasaray Square is lifted.
In the 955th week, a document prepared by the police as a “prohibition decision” was shown to attorneys on a computer screen, issued by the Beyoğlu Police Department and approved by the Beyoğlu District Governor's Office.
In the 955th week, the Saturday Mothers/People were again prevented from reaching Galatasaray Square and were subsequently detained.
Cüneyt Yılmaz, a member of the IHD LGBTI+ Commission, was detained after being beaten and handcuffed. The traces of physical assault on Yılmaz's body were recorded by lawyers and included in the statement transcripts.
As in previous weeks, journalists capturing the events were forcibly removed from the scene. In a particularly violent incident, police assaulted and dragged Dilan Şimşek, a reporter from Pir News Agency (PİRHA), before detaining her with handcuffs.
The Saturday Mothers/People's gatherings in Galatasaray Square, and the resulting human rights violations due to governmental obstruction, have been monitored by these organizations for eleven weeks.
The findings reveal persistent refusal by administrative bodies to implement the rulings of the Constitutional Court relating to Maside Ocak and Gülseren Yoleri.
The violation of rights suffered by relatives of the disappeared has become chronic due to officials' attitudes towards the Saturday Mothers/People, overshadowing their primary demand for justice for their lost loved ones.
