Day: September 11, 2023

The Communist Party of Turkey was prevented from holding a screening of the movie "Pardon" scheduled for Sunday in Kocaeli. A district facility linked to the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP), (Kocaeli Özgürlük Semt Evi/Kocaeli Freedom District House), was prevented by the police from holding a film screening scheduled for Sunday (September 11) in Kocaeli.13 people were detained during the police intervention and later released.

The screening of the film "Pardon," directed by Mert Baykal and starring Ferhan Sensoy and Rasim Öztekin, was supposed to take place at 20:00 in Muhlis Akarsu Park in Inönü neighborhood in Gebze, Kocaeli.

According to a report in Sol Haber, prior to the event, approximately 30 riot police officers were deployed to the area. After the event began, riot police intervened in the area, leading to the detention of 13 individuals.

TKP General Secretary Kemal Okuyan commented on the situation, saying, "Once again, the AKP government shows its commitment to freedom! They detained all those watching the film in Çayirova. Release all our party members and friends immediately."

Approximately six hours later, the detainees were released.

The theme of the movie

In the movie "Pardon," Ibrahim (Ferhan Sensoy) who is doing his military service in his middle ages has come to Istanbul on his leave. He will spend the night at his friend Muzaffer's (Rasim Öztekin) place. Ibrahim is very annoyed whenever he sees someone in an official uniform. He starts to run away from the police for no reason at the bus terminal and is caught together with Muzaffer at Muzaffer's house. The two are detained. The interrogation results in a deadlock and leads to their friend Aydin (Ali Çatalbas), who runs a buffet in Taksim, being taken into custody as well. Aydin confesses to all the baseless accusations under torture. This will lead the three friends to encounter unexpected problems with the judicial system. After unjustly serving 6.5 years in prison, the friends finally manage to get out

Source: English Bianet

Sezgin Tanrikulu is accused of "degrading the nation and the state" for mentioning the military coups and incidents where the military was responsible for the killing of civilians. Ankara prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation against an opposition deputy over his remarks about military coups and incidents of bombing civilians.

Sezgin Tanrikulu, a long-serving MP with the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), is facing charges of "degrading the Turkish nation and state" and "provoking the public to hatred and hostility."

The investigation stems from Tanrikulu's comments during a program on TV100 on Friday. He had remarked, "Nothing the TSK [Turkish Armed Forces] did is immune to criticism. As members of parliament, it is our duty to question these actions. Was it not the TSK that staged the coup on September 12 [1980]? Was it not this military that attempted the coup on July 15 [2016], burned down villages [in the 1990s], and threw 15 villagers out of helicopters, as confirmed by the ECtHR ruling? The [2011] Roboski [massacre] happened most recently.

"We approach this critically. We ask questions, we inquire about the accuracy of the information, and we do so with the aim of removing any doubts about the TSK. If everything had been done correctly over the past 40 years, Turkey would not be in this situation."

Tanrikulu was subjected to targeted harassment on social media and heavily criticized by pro-government media outlets after his statements. He said on social media that "I'll settle accounts with those who made statements about me that were beyond heavy criticism."

As a human rights lawyer, Tanrikulu has focused on rights violations during his tenure as an MP since 2011. He has faced several investigations over the years for reasons similar to the latest one

Source: English Bianet

Yavas, who defeated the AKP candidate and ended the 25-year rule of conservatives in the capital city, had announced his intention to run for re-election. Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, leader of the main opposition party, has confirmed the candidacy of the mayor of Ankara for next year's local elections.

During an event in Ankara, the capital, to mark the 100th anniversary of the Republican People's Party (CHP), Kiliçdaroglu said, "Mansur is our mayor and the candidate for mayor."

Yavas, who was also present at the event, did not comment on the issue. In late August, he said he wanted to run for re-election.

In the 2019 elections, Yavas defeated the candidate of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), ending the 25-year rule of the AKP and its predecessors in the capital city. In that election, Yavas received support not only from the CHP but also from its main ally, the Good (IYI) Party, while the Kurdish-focused HDP did not field a candidate in what was perceived as implicit support.

However, following President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's win in the May elections, which led to the break-up of the opposition alliance, both the IYI Party and the Kurdish-focused HDP announced they would field their own candidates.

Considering the parties' levels of voter support, these three parties supporting the same candidate seemed to be the only feasible way to defeat the AKP-MHP alliance in the local elections scheduled for March 31. In the general election, the CHP got 30 percent of the votes, IYI Party got 13.1 percent and the HDP, which ran in the election under the Green Left Party banner, got 2.9 percent. The combined voting rate of the AKP and the MHP was over 42 percent.

Yavas's background

Having roots in the ultranationalist MHP and a background as an activist and leader in the 1970s Grey Wolves, Yavas was a member of the party from 1993 to 2013. He served as the mayor of Ankara's Beypazari district between 1999 and 2009.

Between 2013 and 2016, he was active in the CHP and narrowly lost the 2014 local elections for Ankara mayor against the AKP's Melih Gökçek. Yavas ran for mayor for the second time in the 2019 local elections and emerged as the winner. As a local leader with significant responsibilities during his tenure as mayor, his name was mentioned among the potential presidential candidates from the opposition.

Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, who ran for president as the joint candidate of the opposition bloc in the May election, had nominated Yavas and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as his vice presidential candidates

Source: English Bianet

The number of workers killed on the job exceeded 200 in a month for the first time in twelve years that the Health and Safety Labor Watch has been collecting this data except for the coronavirus pandemic period and the Soma mine disaster. According to the monthly report by the Health and Safety Labor Watch (ISIG Assembly), at least 201 workers lost their lives in work-related accidents in August.

August 2023 marked a significant milestone in ISIG Assembly's monthly report on workplace accidents, which has been regularly published since September 2011 (12 years). It recorded more than 200 worker deaths for the first time, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic and the mining disaster in Soma.

Furthermore, the number of people who died while working in the first eight months of 2023 has risen to at least 1,255, including the number of deaths in August.

In January, 116 workers, in February 195, in March 130, in April 123, in May 146, in June 161, and in July 183 workers died while working.

In August, the highest number of deaths occurred in the construction and road construction sectors, with 53 workers losing their lives. It was followed by agriculture and forestry, with 52 deaths (31 workers and 21 farmers), and transportation came next with 25 deaths.

When looking at the distribution of workplace accidents by their causes, traffic accidents and accidents during transportation (52 workers) ranked first. It was followed by falls from height and electric shocks, both causing 25 deaths.

Crushing and cave-ins (24 workers), heart attacks, and brain hemorrhages (24 workers), and explosions and burns (10 workers) were also among the causes of workplace deaths.

In August, 10 of the workers who lost their lives in workplace accidents were children. This year in total, at least 40 of the victims were child laborers, with 18 of them being 14 years old or younger, until the end of August. Child fatalities were primarily in the fields of agriculture, industry, construction, and services. The ISIG Assembly report also highlighted an increase in worker deaths among those aged 60 and above.

The distribution of workplace accident victims in August by age groups is as follows:

* 4 child workers aged 14 and under,

* 6 child/young workers aged 15-17,

* 39 workers aged 18-29,

* 82 workers aged 30-49,

* 49 workers aged 50-64,

* 9 workers aged 65 and above,

* 12 workers whose age could not be determined.

Out of the 201 workers who lost their lives in workplace accidents in August, 11 were migrants/refugees.

It's important to note that ISIG Assembly emphasizes "at least" in their data, as they gather 70% of the information from national media and 30% from sources such as coworkers, families, occupational health experts, workplace doctors, labor unions, and local media. The actual numbers may be higher

Source: English Bianet

Bünyamin Ince, drawing attention to the legal injustices in the case opened regarding the incident in which his mother, Sürmi Ince, was killed by a soldier's bullet in 2016, says, "Decisions of impunity are turning such incidents into an ongoing chain." Bünyamin Ince is one of the twelve children of Sürmi Ince, who was killed by a soldier's bullet on July 18, 2016, in Yüksekova, Hakkari, and the lawyer of the family in the related case.

He has spoken to bianet about the case, in which the Constitutional Court (AYM) had requested a defense from the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Interior.

Evaluating the opinions submitted by the two ministries, Ince expressed his reaction, pointing out that there are "unfounded" statements in the defenses made by the ministries to AYM.

"Alleged armed conflict" The Ministry of Justice has stated In its opinion submitted to the Constitutional Court that a conflict occurred at the location of the incident where the death occurred, that shortly after the death, the security forces examined the area, and that materials belonging to the organization [PKK] were found, Ince said.

"The Ministry is distorting the incident and not stopping there; it is also making unfounded allegations," says the young lawyer.

He underlines that there has not been any armed conflict in the area where the incident took place and no firing of long-barreled weapons. "No examination has been carried out on the site and no materials belonging to the organization have been found," he says. He explains that the location where it is being claimed that the security forces have carried out an examination and materials belonging to the organization has been found is on the other side of the village and 5 to 6 kilometers away from the place where his mother was killed.

5-6 km and 1-hour difference

Ince underlines that although the Ministry of Justice's opinion portrays it as if there is only one incident location, in reality, there are two incident locations: "The place where my mother was murdered and the point where military personnel claimed to have seen members of PKK. There is a significant distance and a one-hour time difference between these two locations," Ince says.

Attorney Ince expressed his reaction to the Ministry of Justice as follows:

"There is an institution in this country called the 'Ministry of Justice.' Unfortunately, this institution is providing the Constitutional Court with false information and distorting the incident."

"Effort to protect the military personnel" The lawyer also evaluated the opinion that the Interior Ministry has submitted to the supreme court.

"The Ministry stated that personnel fired in self-defense, but considering that there was no organization member and no conflict at the location where my mother was murdered, and it is known that there were civilian citizens in the field, the view that three women in local attire and a 6-year-old child 20 meters away were organization militants is a forced interpretation and an effort to protect the military personnel," he said.

"Providing legal immunity to law enforcement"

Asking, "What are the military personnel protecting and defending in a location where there are women, children, and civilians and where there is no armed conflict or organization members?" Lawyer Ince stated, "Unfortunately, law enforcement personnel are provided with legal immunity in crimes against civilians. Doesn't the Ministry of Justice, which should be at the forefront of combating impunity, providing false information in the file, indicate support for impunity?"

Commander's defense: "His son is in prison"

Pointing out that there was no impartial and effective investigation and prosecution process in the file, Lawyer Ince said, "A woman is murdered, and no examination is even conducted at the scene of the incident. The defendant is released without being heard by the court. The personnel who opened the safety of the weapon on the armored vehicle and the station commander who gave the order, who later said 'his son is already in prison for being a member of the organization,' are not being investigated."

"Indicates deliberate act"

"The statement of the station commander and firing from 20 meters away where there are children, civilians, and no conflict clearly indicates that this incident was deliberate. The station commander who gave the order to fire, the personnel who opened the weapon's safety, and all personnel who should have been defendants in the file are unfortunately treated as witnesses. It is impossible to speak of an impartial and effective investigation and prosecution in terms of law and conscience. The prosecution and the court were not concerned with revealing the material truth. That's exactly what they did."

"Rewarding the perpetrator, revealing impunity"

Stating that ensuring the safety of individuals is the duty of security forces, and acting without regard for the lives of civilian people 20-30 meters away and the resulting murder of a mother is morally and legally unacceptable, Lawyer Ince said:

"Therefore, the fact that no investigation was conducted against other personnel and that a verdict of 'conscious negligence' was issued against the defendant Ali Dalgiran rewards the perpetrator and results in impunity."

Civilian deaths and chain of impunity

Pointing out that many people have been killed in Hakkari after his mother, Lawyer Ince said, "Impunity decisions are made in courtrooms, and such incidents become an ongoing chain. Everyone knows that such sentences, like a reward given to the defendants, invite further deaths. The fact that impunity is reached to this extent is appalling, even in the face of serious crimes such as the violation of the right to life. Courts must now set aside trials under the title of 'military and police do not kill civilians' and punish the perpetrators."

What happened?

Sürmi Ince, who was taking food to her children mowing grass on July 18, 2016, in the Büyükçiftlik town of Hakkari's Yüksekova district, was shot from an armored vehicle.

Transported to Yüksekova State Hospital by a van by her relatives, including her husband, 55-year-old Ince could not be saved despite all interventions.

Soldier Ali Dalgiran was arrested in connection with the murder of Ince, but he was released on July 25, 2016. Subsequently, the Yüksekova Public Prosecutor's Office decided not to prosecute the station commander who gave the order and the 9 military personnel under his command.

In the trial opened, Dalgiran was sentenced to 4 years and 8 months in prison for the crime of "unintentional manslaughter," but the court reduced the sentence to 3 years, 10 months, and 20 days for "good behavior."

The court of appeal found the sentence given to the defendant Dalgiran "excessive," and sentenced Dalgiran to 4 years in prison, reducing it to 3 years and 4 months for"good behavior."

During the appeals process, it was revealed that Dalgiran is still on duty in Denizli.

Lawyers appealed the decision to both the Court of Cassation and the Constitutional Court.

Source: English Bianet

We will attempt to look at a day of protest in Galatasaray Square through the eyes of its main inhabitants, Zeytin the dog, and the gray cat. For decades, Saturday Mothers/People have been seeking justice for their loved ones forcibly disappeared during the Kurdish conflict in the 1990s, at Galatasaray Square on Istanbul's iconic Istiklal Avenue. Although their sit-in protests have been denied permission for the past five years, the group persists, enduring police violence and detentions every week. Those detained are loaded onto buses without heating during cold weather or ventilation during hot weather.

During this time, those who have shown more resilience than any participant in Saturday Mothers/People are a street dog named Zeytin (Olive) and a gray cat, usually found by where the riot police are located. Unlike some dogs that have emerged as symbols in various protests around the world, Zeytin is not yet the symbol of any social demand. According to those around, Zeytin has been living in Galatasaray for about four years. On days of protests, Zeytin sleeps, wakes up, and eats among the police stationed right across from Yapi Kredi Culture and Art Center. This is Zeytin's fate. Istiklal Avenue, and especially Galatasaray Square, is not a place where protesters, or even ordinary people passing by can freely exist.

Even feeding Zeytin every morning and evening and checking if it has any wounds, with the purpose of providing care, will probably be met with suspicion. Thus, sheltering Zeytin has become a part of the struggle for justice in Galatasaray Square. Because, in recent years, Beyoglu has been turned into a precinct where access can be cut off at any time.

The siege

Galatasaray is a square under siege. The square is uneasy, as is Zeytin. It bit a police officer most recently on August 30, when private sector teachers who gathered on Istiklâl Avenue to demand wage improvements were detained. Not long before that, during the Saturday Mothers/People protest, she bit journalist Fatos Erdogan and two Green Left Party deputies. Zeytin's attacks undoubtedly stem from being overwhelmed in her living space every Saturday.

When the police begin advancing towards the protesters, Zeytin also starts moving, waking up from her deep sleep, and heading towards the barricade. It knows her belly will be filled, and there is no neglecting duty. It follows the protest until the detention vehicles depart. Not only the police and activists but also shopkeepers are accustomed to its presence. It's worth mentioning that for the past two weeks at Saturday Mothers/People's protests, K9 dogs have accompanied the demonstrators and surrounded human rights defenders during detentions.

The gray cat

Zeytin also has a companion: a gray cat. We know that it's difficult to confine cats. On the day of the filming, we found the gray cat in the same spot again: right next to the police station near Yapi Kredi Culture and Art Center. While the Republican People's Party (CHP) Beyoglu District office broadcasts the song "Diren Anne" (Resist, Mother) every week to support the mothers, the cat observes the detentions. After the police vehicles leave the area, the cat returns to its territory. Perhaps it thinks that someone might rescue it from this life. Every week, tension, every week, frayed nerves.

Another defining aspect of Saturday Mothers/People's protest is the detention buses. On scorching summer days, most of the people, many of whom are above a certain age, are not intimidated by these buses, which even the police might not understand. Of course, it's difficult for them to understand farewells without graves, which they probably never experienced.

Forced disappearances

According to data from the Truth, Justice, and Memory Center, there were a total of 1,352 individuals recognized as forcibly disappeared in Turkey. A group of relatives of the disappeared and human rights advocates began sitting at Galatasaray Square on Saturday, May 27, 1995, at 12.00 p.m. Despite occasional police interventions, they continued the sit-ins uninterruptedly for 169 weeks. During the 170th week, which began on August 15, 1998, the security forces' prevented the protest and continued to do so for seven months. Every Saturday, for a total of 31 times, detentions occurred.

On March 13, 1999, due to the attacks by security forces, Saturday Mothers/People announced that they would temporarily suspend their sit-ins at Galatasaray. The Saturday sit-ins resumed on January 31, 2009, and faced police attacks again on the 700th week on August 25, 2018.

After 2018

With the general election on June 24, 2018, Turkey officially transitioned to the presidential system, which was approved in the referendum held in April 2017. Since that day, many opposition officials, legal experts, and those who passed the constitutional amendment referendum repeatedly stated that the transition to the presidential system would turn Turkey into a state governed by decrees and that the president would unlawfully govern the country with decrees.

During the 700th week of the sit-in on August 28, 2018, an iconic photograph captured the atmosphere. Opposition MPs and protesters formed a human chain against the police, resembling a Renaissance painting. That image was the share of Saturday Mothers/People in a Turkey now governed by a different system. During the 700th week, the police attacked them with rubber bullets.

The 700th week

Gülseren Yoleri, chair of the Human Rights Association (IHD) Istanbul Branch and a lawyer, stated that the 700th week event was "arbitrarily banned with the knowledge of the Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu by a decision signed by the Beyoglu District Governorate." The Human Rights Department of the Ministry of Justice claimed that the police intervention during the 700th week of Saturday Mothers/People's sit-in was "based on legitimate reasons, constituted a proportional intervention, and did not exceed the minimum threshold."

Forty-six people were detained on charges of "participating in meetings and demonstrations against the law despite warnings to disperse" and were prosecuted for violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations. Since the 700th week, sit-ins have been banned in Istanbul Beyoglu District, allegedly on the grounds of "no prior notification." Maside Ocak, the sister of Hasan Ocak, who was forcibly disappeared in 1995 and whose case is among the most well-known cases of disappearance, was among those who were beaten and detained. Her 82-year-old mother, Emine Ocak, was also subjected to police violence.

Constitutional Court decisions

Maside Ocak filed a criminal complaint against the law enforcement officers and their superiors. However, the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office dismissed the claims and the Penal Judgeship of Peace rejected an appeal. Thus, Ocak brought the case to the Constitutional Court. In February, the high court ruled that the "right to organize meetings and demonstrations" regulated in Article 34 of the Constitution had been violated. The Constitutional Court awarded Ocak 13,500 Turkish liras in non-pecuniary damages. Subsequently, the court ruled that the police officers who attacked and physically abused Sebla Arcan during the Saturday Mothers/People's protest violated the prohibition of ill-treatment and torture. It ordered that the officers be tried and awarded Arcan 50,000 liras in non-pecuniary damages.

Despite these two Constitutional Court decisions, Saturday Mothers/People are still prevented from gathering. The protesters cannot exercise their constitutional rights, we cannot remove Zeytin and the gray cat from the police blockade, and we journalists continue to struggle to create an opening in the blockade every weekend, and we will continue to do so.

Source: English Bianet