Okatan, who was transferred to Bakırköy Women’s Closed Prison, said in her message that she was in good health and good spirits:

“Unfortunately, in the 20th year of my career, I too have now seen the prisons that almost every journalist in Turkey passes through at least once... But I’m in good health and good spirits. I hope the mistake that led to my arrest will be resolved as soon as possible and that I will return to you. Thank you very much to everyone who has shown solidarity. My greetings and love to all my friends....”

Jailed over a drive seized in 2019

Okatan was arrested over an external hard drive that had been seized in 2019 as part of a separate investigation.

The İstanbul Provincial Gendarmerie Command said it found PowerPoint, Word, Excel and PDF files in a folder on the drive.

The İstanbul 1st Penal Judgeship of Peace ordered Okatan’s arrest after concluding that the files included “classified documents concerning Çorum and Tokat that should only be in the possession of security forces.”

During questioning by the judgeship, Okatan said the drive had previously been seized as part of another investigation. She said she used it to store her movie archive and had nothing to do with the documents:

“The hard drive, said to be a WD drive, contains data believed to have been produced by the state. Most of it is intelligence information. I saw these for the first time at the gendarmerie. I’ve had this external drive for quite a long time. I don’t know whether someone else put them on it or what happened, but there has clearly been a mistake.”

Okatan noted that a significant portion of the documents concerned Çorum and expressed her surprise:

“I’m a journalist. I worked as a journalist in İstanbul for many years, and since 2018 I have been reporting in Ankara. Even if I said I had obtained these as a journalist, these documents would be of no use to me whatsoever. I don’t even know anyone from Çorum, and I’ve never been there. I’m in complete shock. I don’t know how this happened, and I reject the accusation.”

BIA Media Monitoring Reports

13 December 2024

‘The drive had already been in state custody’

Okatan also said she had been detained in 2019 over her journalistic activities and that her computers and hard drives were seized at the time.

She said she was not asked any questions about these documents then and argued that it should be investigated how the same digital material came to contain them years later.

“I was detained in Ankara because of my journalistic activities, and the same computer and external hard drive were seized. I don’t know whether these files were there at the time. I used that drive as a movie archive. To me, it was just something sitting in a drawer. Nothing came up then, and I was never asked about it.”

Okatan said she could not remember whether she had used the hard drive afterward, adding that her computer had broken down and she had bought a new one.

“There should be records of this at the courthouse. My computer was broken after I got it back, and I had the red laptop repaired, but I may never even have opened the external drive after getting it back. When were these files put on it? When were they uploaded? There is no information about that.”

‘I wish the gendarmerie had included this information in the case file’

Okatan also questioned why the case file did not contain technical data on the history of the digital material. She continued:

“I wish the gendarmerie had included this information in the file by now. I’m genuinely very surprised by all this. I have absolutely nothing to do with it. I wasn’t able to see the grounds stated in the referral letter.”

Ergin: Files date from 1990 to 2003

Okatan’s lawyer, Ziya Ergin, also rejected the accusations during the judgeship hearing. In his defense, Ergin highlighted two points in particular: that the drive had previously been in state custody and that the documents were old. He told the judgeship:

“There are two important points for us here. The first is when these files were placed on the hard drive. The second is that the data on it covers the period from 1990 to 2003.”

Ergin recalled that Okatan had been detained in 2019 and that her digital materials had been taken into the custody of security forces at the time. He continued:

“My client was detained in 2019, and all of her materials were seized. She did not use them afterward. When we look at the case file, the latest access or modification date is 2010.”

‘The hard drive may have been mixed up’

Ergin said it should be investigated how the documents ended up on the hard drive. He also raised the possibility that the digital material may have been mixed up with other material:

“The file shows the date on which it was modified. Whether it was under my client’s control or whether she obtained it from somewhere, are we to believe she never opened it or looked at it since 2010? On the other hand, for this offense to have occurred, the material must still currently be classified.

“What we want to know is how this data appeared on a hard drive alleged to belong to my client. There may have been a mix-up. Perhaps the hard drive itself was mixed up with another one. My client has a child she is responsible for, has a fixed residence, poses no flight risk and has no opportunity to tamper with evidence.”

Ergin also said the documents consisted of intelligence activities and records of surveillance conducted in Çorum between 1990 and 2004.

He said it should also be investigated whether documents dating back 20 to 35 years could still be considered classified on national security grounds today.

'How the documents got onto the drive must be investigated first'

DİSK Basın-İş also called for Okatan’s immediate release in a statement issued after her arrest.

The union noted that Okatan’s external drive had been seized in 2019 and that a forensic image had been made of it at the time. It called for authorities to determine when and how the documents at the center of the accusation were placed on the drive.

“We condemn the fact that journalist and DİSK Basın-İş Union disciplinary board member Derya Okatan was referred for arrest without even being questioned by the prosecutor and was subsequently arrested on Oct 2. This decision is not only an interference with a journalist’s freedom, but also a serious attack on the public’s right to information, press freedom and the profession of journalism.

“Derya Okatan, who has worked as a journalist for more than 20 years, has repeatedly faced investigations, been detained and had her digital materials seized because of her professional activities. She has now been arrested on the basis of documents said to date back many years. However, the external drive cited as grounds for the arrest was reportedly forensically imaged and examined in 2019 as part of another investigation. Okatan says she did not use the drive after that date, while the files at the center of the accusation reportedly show 2010 as their last modification and access date. Derya Okatan also says she saw the documents for the first time while giving her statement.

“In such a situation, the proper course of action is not to arrest a journalist, but first to determine when, how and by whom these documents were transferred to the external drive. It is unacceptable to order detention before comparing the forensic image taken in 2019 with the current external drive, investigating whether the documents were added later, and establishing any technical evidence showing that Derya Okatan knowingly obtained, opened or used these files. Digital material whose integrity remains in doubt cannot be used as grounds to deprive a journalist of her liberty.

“The prosecutor’s request for her arrest without first taking the journalist’s statement, and the court’s acceptance of that request without adequately considering the fundamental questions raised by the defense or the proportionality of pretrial detention, raise serious concerns about legal safeguards. Pretrial detention cannot be turned into a form of punishment or a tool for silencing journalists.

“We call for Derya Okatan’s immediate release, for the accusations against her to be assessed in line with universal principles of law and press freedom, and for an independent expert examination to establish when and how the documents in question were transferred to the external drive by comparing it with the forensic image taken in 2019.”

(HA/VK)

Consumer prices increased 24.32% in the first nine months of 2026. Inflation based on the 12-month average stood at 31.49%, a rate that also determines the ceiling for rent increases.

Highest montly increaese in education

Education recorded the sharpest monthly increase among major spending categories, with prices rising 14.19%. Clothing and footwear followed at 3.98%, insurance and financial services at 3.40%, transportation at 2.79% and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 2.71%.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages were the only major category to record a monthly decline, with prices falling 0.20%.

Within education, higher education prices rose 25.79% in one month. Accommodation services at boarding schools, universities and other educational institutions increased 19.99%, while school transportation costs rose 16.04%.

Prices increased 7.88% in secondary education, 7.43% in primary education and 5.73% in preschool education.

Sharp increase in fuel prices

Fuel prices also rose sharply in September. Diesel increased 12.93% from the previous month and gasoline rose 11.55%. On an annual basis, diesel prices were up 67.23% and gasoline prices 47.86%.

TurkStat also reported monthly increases of 23.31% for fresh dates, figs and tropical fruits, 12.23% for margarine and 10.30% for audiovisual content subscriptions and online streaming services.

Education also recorded the highest annual inflation among major spending categories at 48.62%. It was followed by health at 43.26%, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 39.99%, and transportation at 35.10%.

Annual food inflation over 29.50%

Annual inflation was 27.62% for food and non-alcoholic beverages, 29.53% for restaurants and accommodation services and 31.60% for alcoholic beverages and tobacco. Clothing and footwear recorded the lowest annual increase at 13.22%.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages made the largest contribution to annual inflation, adding 6.73 percentage points. Transportation contributed about 5.96 points, housing and utilities 4.84 points, and restaurants and accommodation services 3.21 points.

Some food items posted sharp monthly declines. Fresh citrus fruit prices fell 24.41%, while a category including onions, garlic, carrots, mushrooms and olives dropped 17.62%. Other fresh fruit fell 13.12%, tuber vegetables 11.78% and fresh fish 8.89%.

Turkey ranks fourth globally in food inflation

15 May 2026

Alternative measurements

Other inflation gauges showed different results. Data released by the İstanbul Chamber of Commerce (İTO) on Oct 2 showed retail prices in the city rising 2.11% monthly and wholesale prices 1.96%. Compared with a year earlier, retail prices increased 33.55% and wholesale prices 25.90%.

The Inflation Research Group (ENAG), formed by academics and researchers, measured monthly consumer inflation at 2.10% and annual inflation at 46.61%.

Web TÜFE, an open-source research project that aims to measure Turkey’s consumer inflation using an independent and transparent methodology, recorded a 2.29% monthly increase in September. Its annual rate declined to 31.95%. (HA/VK)

During the workshop, participants explored a range of topics, from gender perspectives and feminist media to gender-focused journalism, the use of visuals without reproducing violence and court monitoring. At the end of the day, the principles discussed throughout the program were put into practice through news production.

Haydari: ‘We reproduce all these hierarchies and inequalities’

In the workshop’s first session, Prof. Dr. Nazan Haydari met with participants for a discussion titled "Looking Through a Gender Perspective and Feminist Media." Haydari addressed the concepts of sex and gender, sexual essentialism, biological determinism, heteronormativity and patriarchy.

Haydari also discussed Judith Butler’s concept of performativity, explaining that gender is shaped within social and historical relations. She examined heteronormativity and patriarchy through relations of power, hierarchy and inequality:

We see that these systems of oppression reproduce all these hierarchies and inequalities at the individual, interpersonal, institutional and sociocultural levels. At the interpersonal level, this includes language, actions and the ways we communicate. At the institutional level, it includes laws, the economy, medicine, religion, hiring practices and, of course, the media and news production.

Participants also discussed how a gender-focused perspective applies to everyday life. They examined examples involving clothing, automobile safety systems, public spaces and kitchens, discussing the inequalities created when the male body and male experience are treated as the default.

Haydari also addressed feminist historiography during the session. She highlighted the concept of the "current," which Aksu Bora uses to describe the feminist struggle:

A wave rises and disappears, but the current is always there. Sometimes it is visible, sometimes it comes to the surface, sometimes it moves below, and sometimes it grows through large-scale collective actions. But it is always continuous.

The discussion on feminist media focused on patriarchal media practices, solidarity, pluralism and intersectionality. Haydari also gave examples from Kurdish women’s media, explaining how the journalistic practices developed by JİNHA challenged established approaches to journalism.

Kepenek: ‘We need to show where the system fails and breaks down’

In the workshop’s second session, bianet Women’s News Editor Evrim Kepenek met with participants for a discussion titled "Gender-Focused Journalism." Kepenek examined news language, source selection and forms of representation from a gender perspective.

Kepenek focused on the concepts of impartiality and fairness in journalism. She said the media can reproduce and normalize sexism. Emphasizing the need to give more space to women experts in news coverage, Kepenek noted that women are rendered invisible in many fields.

The language used in reporting on violence was also discussed through various news examples. Citing the Şule Çet case, Kepenek said journalists should avoid reproducing sexist expressions in their reporting. She stressed that journalists should not simply repeat everything they hear:

What is the journalist’s responsibility here? To filter what they hear. For example, a woman’s private life is not up for discussion. That is not open to debate.

Kepenek also explained that gender-focused journalism is not limited to reporting on male violence. She gave examples from areas including women’s right to health, access to menstrual products and the selection of experts for news stories. She said a gender perspective should come into play from the moment a journalist chooses what to report on.

She said reporting on violence should examine the broader context and the failures within the system:

In gender-focused journalism, we need to show where the system fails and breaks down. Because these are not isolated incidents. They are the result of something systemic, the result of the system.

Rethinking context in visual storytelling

The workshop continued with Özden Demir’s session, "Using Visuals Without Reproducing Violence." Demir addressed the use of photographs and videos in reporting on violence from the perspective of ethical representation. Drawing on her own work and various news examples, she discussed with participants the challenges involved in choosing visuals.

Demir emphasized that there is no single correct formula for using visuals in reports on violence. She said the same image can take on different meanings depending on the context in which it is used:

The same image can serve as evidence in one story and as exposure in another. Every ethical decision ultimately requires contextual judgment.

The session also addressed anonymizing people subjected to violence. Demir noted that methods such as blurring a person’s face or photographing them from behind may not always be sufficient. She said journalists should consider not only whether a person’s identity is protected but also how that person is represented.

Demir suggested asking what purpose an image serves when selecting visuals. Noting that an image can provide information, evidence or testimony, she highlighted the question: "What does this image contribute to public knowledge?"

Demir said different forms of visual storytelling can be used when reporting on violence. Locations, objects, perpetrators and structural conditions can also be depicted, she said, allowing journalists to convey different forms of testimony without exposing the body of the person subjected to violence.

Court monitoring and news production

Evrim Kepenek led the final two sessions of the day. In the "Court Monitoring" session, Kepenek explained how journalists can follow court proceedings from a gender perspective. She gave examples from the Şule Çet and Ayşe Tokyaz cases.

Kepenek discussed the importance of obtaining hearing records, indictments and other official documents when following court cases. She emphasized the need to protect personal data contained in these documents.

Kepenek said journalists should also observe the courtroom, noting that the conduct of the judge, court clerk and bailiff can become part of the story. She explained that factors such as the defendant’s profession, position and institutional affiliations are also important for understanding the context of a case.

In the day’s final session, the "Gender-Focused Journalism Workshop," Kepenek put the principles discussed throughout the day into practice through news production. She focused on rights-based terminology, relationships with sources and approaching news topics from different perspectives.

Kepenek particularly stressed the importance of building trust when interviewing survivors of violence and said journalists should respect and protect the rights of their sources.

The workshop concluded following questions and comments from participants. (EG/VK)

Crawford’s account, @AlexCrawfordSky, was among those blocked under a Sep 13 decision by the Bakırköy 4th Criminal Judgeship of Peace. X withheld the account in Turkey on Oct 5, according to the Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD).

The widespread restrictions began on Sep 12 with access bans on dozens of accounts belonging to LGBTI+ rights organizations and activists. Those accounts were also blocked on obscenity grounds.

Dozens of rights advocates are also under arrest on the same allegation.

How Turkey’s vague obscenity law is becoming a tool to criminalize LGBTI+ visibility

18 September 2026

The censorship campaign later expanded to journalists and economists. Numerous accounts that posted about an investment fund crisis late last month were also withheld in Turkey.

İFÖD has itself been affected by the restrictions. The website and X account of its censorship monitoring project, EngelliWeb, were previously blocked. Now the association's account is also blocked.

Deutsche Welle Türkçe Journalist Alican Uludağ was among those targeted. After his previous account was blocked and withheld in Turkey, a new account he opened under the same username was also blocked and withheld by X.

At least 31 X accounts have also been blocked on grounds of protecting national security and public order. They include accounts belonging to journalist and writer Akın Olgun, former Boğaziçi University faculty member Prof. Tuna Tuğcu and Ayhan Dadaloğlu, who posts about the stock market and economy. (VK)

KonohaFest, held on Oct 3-4, drew participants including children and families. Organizers ended the festival early after the incident.

Police removed the group from the area after intervening in the attack.

'Family and population decade'

The festival had been targeted on social media before the event. Posters carrying the name “Ümraniye NGO Platform” called on families to join a gathering demanding that the event be stopped.

“We will not remain silent! We invite all families to our press statement to stop this activity, which sets a bad example for the future of our children and our values,” the posters said.

The group gathered near the festival area to read out a statement, which referred to the “Family and Population Decade” initiative announced by the government.

It also expressed support for the “My Family Is Safe” operations conducted in 15 provinces in September, targeting LGBTI+ groups.

The group claimed the festival’s costumed performances and the lifestyle it represented were “contrary to society’s family structure and national and spiritual values.”

The statement further claimed that the festival distanced children and young people from their own culture and led them into “identity confusion.” It called on local governments and public institutions to stop the event and prevent it from being held again.

Banners carried by the group included slogans reading, “If You’re Looking for a Role Model, Look to Your History,” “Our Hero Is Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror,” “No to Exhibitionism, Yes to Decency” and “We Will Not Surrender Our Youth to Imitation.”

After concluding their statement, the crowd moved toward the festival area, chanting “Allahu akbar.”

Police intervened and removed them after they damaged the equipment in the area.

KonohaFest brought together anime, manga and Japanese culture enthusiasts in Turkey. Its name comes from Konoha, or Hidden Leaf Village, in the anime series Naruto.

The festival included costume competitions featuring anime, manga and video game characters, as well as sushi-eating contests, Japanese food stands, anime-themed merchandise, concerts and quizzes. (EMK/VK)

In short, Europe has recently begun to discuss and question traditional nationalist historiography, which focuses on the formation processes of nation-states and national identities. This questioning entails re-examining history through a more critical, transnational, and multidimensional perspective, stripped of single-center narratives or national myths. Briefly, by adopting a critical historical approach today, traditional historiography is being challenged, and it is proposed that history be revisited, subjected to self-criticism, and rewritten.

The questioning of nationalist historiography in Europe represents one of the most profound intellectual and political transformations that began in the aftermath of World War II and continues to this day. National narratives centered on "heroism, victimhood, and superiority," constructed in the 19th century to legitimize nation-states and create homogeneous identities, have given way to more critical, pluralistic, and transnational approaches. Furthermore, critiques in this context argue that official historiography, which constructs a homogeneous and unbroken past based on the assumption that nations are "primordial and eternal," is far from realistic. In this regard, the intellectual foundations of nationalist ideologies are being questioned by drawing attention to political scientists Benedict Anderson and Eric Hobsbawm, who conceptualize nations as "imagined communities." 

It is observed that nationalist official historical narratives in Europe have come under intense scrutiny, particularly following the Second World War and alongside the process of European integration. This academic and political questioning criticizes not only the weak intellectual bases of national discourses but also the instrumentalization of history for political conflicts. Furthermore, it is noted that this approach hinders efforts toward supranational integration, an initiative intended as a project for regional peace in Europe. 

The questioning of the nationalist historiographical perspective has shattered the myth of the nation-state as a monolithic entity and led to a reinterpretation and reshaping of the concepts of state and nation within modern European society through a broader lens. European states have long maintained multicultural structures, inherited from the past, in which diverse groups of people live together. Today, modern historiography and political science are critically analyzing these national discourses. 

Key reasons for questioning official history

Examining the questioning of official history in Europe calls for a broader approach to consider the issue from the perspective of human rights, democratic culture, and civil society. In short, "Official History" is on the agenda in Europe as part of a broader re-examination of its past and present.

1. The impact of World War II and the Holocaust

The suffering caused by World War II, grave human rights violations, and the collective trauma and sense of guilt resulting from the Holocaust across Europe are viewed as the primary motivations behind growing calls for re-examination. The fact that World War II and the Holocaust demonstrated the destructive consequences of nationalism has prompted the questioning of nationalist "Official History." Germany, in particular, initiated a process of confronting its past and criticizing the dark periods of its national history—an issue that now occupies the agendas of all societal groups, including the education system. These processes of confronting the past and questioning official history, which began in Germany, served as a model and an inspiration for other European countries.

2. Colonial era grave human rights violations

The recent questioning of human rights and official historical narratives noted above has compelled former colonial powers such as France, the UK, Belgium, and the Netherlands to confront the realities of exploitation, slavery, and massacres that contributed to their wealth and global position. In recent years, African nations have begun raising the issue of colonialism not only in bilateral relations but also on international platforms; these initiatives place European leaders who seek to avoid such accountability in a difficult position, compelling them to reckon with their pasts.

3. European Integration

Processes of European integration and the establishment of the Council of Europe and the European Union are forcing a shift away from historical perspectives that cast nation-states as mutual "enemies." The process of forging a common European culture, cultivating shared European values rooted in democracy and multiculturalism, and striving for a transnational European identity necessitates a revision of official historical narratives.

In other words, European integration mandates a move away from narrow, nation-state-centric histories toward an appreciation of a multicultural European structure characterized by coexistence and peace. Within this context, policies implemented by dominant cultural groups regarding minorities—as well as assimilation, exclusion, and ethnic nationalism-driven conflicts escalating to violence—are being critically examined.

4. Official narratives not fitting with a multicultural Europe

The multicultural structure of today's Europe highlights its incompatibility with official historical theses. This means the official historical narrative, developed around unitary and monolithic state structures, is incompatible with the contemporary structure of Europe and is criticized for this reason.

Historically, European nations built their cultures and identities upon the idea of a shared origin and ancient history. However, research by reformist historians demonstrates that these concepts were, in fact, modern, socially constructed political notions that served as intellectual foundations to justify nationalist, unitary states. 

Primarily, dominant state narratives of cultural groups holding power within the system insistently emphasize past victories and the superior qualities of their group while ignoring past failures. Critical historians questioning these narratives (for instance, by exposing colonial atrocities, collaboration with wartime regimes, or the oppression of minorities) trigger reactions from nationalist groups who perceive such self-criticism as a threat to their identity.

Today, questioning official history is also necessitated by the fact that Europe is multicultural and the political role of regions is rising. In short, the growing prominence of existing regions and autonomous public structures in Europe demonstrates that traditional narratives of the unitary or monolithic state are incompatible with the changed structure of Europe.

Briefly, it can be concluded that traditional nationalist historiography that excludes minorities, colonial pasts, migration, and periods of violence in the process of constructing national identities is no longer acceptable. The national narratives held by dominant cultural groups regarding "others" or minorities are no longer welcomed as legitimate and democratically acceptable political commentary in a multicultural Europe. (NT/VK)

Over two years have passed since Eygi’s death, still with no accountability. 

bianet spoke to her husband Hamid Ali about his memories of Ayşenur, how the family is coping, who she was as a person and updates from the “For Ayşenur” campaign advocating for an independent investigation on her killing.  

People across the world have found themselves inspired by Ayşenur’s bravery and her story. Could you tell us about what compelled her to come to Palestine and volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM)? What did she say to you about her motivations?

I think at a very basic level, what compelled her was her sense of justice, and right and wrong. I can talk more politically and more about the complexities and nuances of that. But at a very, very basic level, I think she had a very clear sense of right and wrong, and a very clear sense of doing something about witnessing some wrongdoing or some injustice and trying to actively do something to correct that. It was just the evolution of that in her life. She had been on the ground in other movements before. And this was just the next step in her actions that she had been taking for justice in Palestine. You know, she had been active on campus and in America. So, I think the next thing that she felt that she could do was to go on the ground in the West Bank and act as an international observer, answer the call of Palestinians on the ground there through ISM, and that's what she did.

You mentioned her political evolution. Could you describe that evolution? 

She continued to grow after we met obviously, but she was already fully grown and mature politically in her thinking and her education when I met her. So I didn't get to witness the full evolution of how that developed within her. But even from, let's say, October 2023, I could see the wheels turning, and the first thing that she felt after seeing the images coming out of Gaza after October 7 was almost an anxiety of not doing anything. This urgency to to take action, so she was like, “What can I do? What can I do?” And then she quickly organized this fundraiser, and it was a beautiful fundraiser. It brought the community out. There was art. Artists were donating art to be sold. It was exactly what she was all about —  coming together as a community locally to do something that could help others worldwide. 

Then even after that that urgency kind of settled, as we understood what was about to happen in Gaza and seeing the response of the Israeli state and the escalations — I could see this anxiety and urgency settling into a place that was like, “okay, what's the long term sustainable way to take action here and organize?” 

I could see that development even over that year. That turned into activism on campus. You know, there were protests, there were encampments across the U.S. at different college campuses. The school that she went to, University of Washington, was no exception to that. So she was involved in that, and then it evolved into “okay, I have the time, the resources and the privilege to travel to the West Bank and be an active participant in some solidarity work on the ground.” And that was kind of the evolution that I saw.

'A hard conversation'

Do you remember that conversation where she told you she wanted to volunteer in Palestine. There’s a lot of risks surrounding that. How did that go?

Yeah, I mean, there were other people in the community who had done this who had come back and had gone multiple times actually, so it wasn't this totally novel idea. I mean, it was a conversation that was hard. The possibility of death did come up. It wasn't like she was naive about that. She went in with eyes wide open, and we talked about that as well. She understood that risk and accepted it. It was hard for me because I am obviously married to her, and even thinking about that possibility was difficult. But accepting that she was okay with it was even more difficult, but then also understanding that preventing her from doing this would be to reject who she was as a person. I wasn't, you know, willing to do that either, because then she wouldn't be the person who I fell in love with. So it was very complicated, but ultimately, I don't think I would have, even looking back, it's hard to say — but I don't think I would have made a different decision, because ultimately it wasn't her fault. The blame lies entirely with the Israeli military.

You mentioned who she was as a person. Many people in Turkey and around the world feel a deep connection with Ayşenur, but we don't truly know who she is as a person. As Ayşenur’s husband, could you tell us about who she was in everyday life? 

I think that's an important question, because, like you said earlier, she's become this symbol and figure that's not a real person. So I always like answering this question, but it's also very difficult because there's so many things I could say. I guess I want to remind people that she was not like this exceptional hero. She had flaws. She procrastinated a lot. She was not a morning person. You know, she would get out of bed really late. Her school assignments would always be last minute submissions. She was really silly and goofy a lot of the time. 

But these were all things I admired, because the reason that she was silly and goofy was because she had this really strong connection to her inner child and this authenticity that I think is lost after childhood that she really intentionally maintained, but she was still mature and a well-grounded person.

I think that's why she had that ability to tap into that authentic silly part of herself, and not take things too seriously or take herself too seriously. And the procrastination stuff: The reason she wasn't a morning person is because she was engaged in community through the long hours of the night, either through more practical things like planning and organizing protests, actions and stuff like that, or just building community by spending time with people and really talking, getting to the deep core of people — those kinds of conversations, not just surface level. That's why she was able to really connect with a lot of people very easily. I think that's good. 

I mean she loved music. I think something we connected on a lot was that I never met someone with a music taste that was similar to mine, first of all, but also so representative of everything about her. It was very worldly. On any playlist of hers there were songs from like eight different languages, but at the same time, she'd listen to all the top 40 pop songs too. She was just a very nuanced person, is what I would say, politically, especially. She was critical of people, but at the same time, could recognize maybe the benefits or the good things that they did do, you know, political figures. She understood that there's no like black or white answer to anything. That’s something I also admired about her.

Is that what made you fall in love with her? 

Honestly, yeah. The point where I really started thinking about her seriously as a long-term partner was this moment where we were discussing, I don't remember exactly, but something to do with religion and politics or something like that. I was bracing for this point where in the past when I've brought this up with people, it's a polarizing thing, but she was very open to it. She was like, "Well, yeah, thinking about this, like that's interesting. I want to read more about it.” And the next time we talked about it, she had read up on it and that was really something that I admired and was drawn towards.

WOMEN'S AGENDA

'A heartbreaking loss for all of us': Friend reflects on killing of Turkish-American activist in Palestine

10 September 2024

Memories

If you would feel comfortable, are there any personal memories that reflect those qualities you mentioned earlier that you would like to share?

Even despite being married to her for years at that point with what I was describing after October 7th, seeing how affected she was by the images coming out of Gaza — I know people were affected all over the world, and people were really distraught — but she really couldn't operate. I found journal entries later across so many places, written down on her phone, on her laptop, just reflecting on what she was witnessing and feeling complicit just by the fact of being a citizen of the United States. I think that is something that really stayed with me. 

Almost to a degree, it was unrelatable, because at that point I had been so jaded. I was disappointed, and it was affecting me, but [not] to the point of debilitation, like it was for her. She couldn't operate. She couldn't do her schoolwork, she would start crying. But turning that into a successful action that achieved so many things, simultaneously brought the community together at this point when no one knew what to do about it, and at the same time, making something beautiful where art was being created and shared, and everything was being donated. It was awe-inspiring, really, to see one how affected she was by it, but still able to turn that energy into this momentum that she carried forward.

Is there anything that reminds you of her on a day-to-day basis?

Oh man, everything. I mean, there's literally everything. I think music has really been something that helps me tap into the memory, the very poignant memory of her. So there's a song by Barış Manço, Hal Hal. That was the song that really reminds me of her day to day. But I mean everything does, literally everything — coffee, food, the wind hitting the leaves in a certain way, like you know, everything. Everything does. But that song really takes me back to when we first met.

The legal battle

There’s four demands from the “For Ayşenur” campaign, including (1) a full US-led investigation, (2) criminal charges for those responsible for her death, (3) congressional hearings on the pattern of Americans killed by Israel abroad, and (4) formal diplomatic consequences. What has the campaign been doing to push for these. Has there been any significant results on that front? What has the reception been among elected officials?

So I'll go with the shortest answer first. There hasn't been anything concrete. Those demands are still unmet. Under this current administration in the US, there has been no progress on that front. 

What we've been doing has been this combination of meetings at the federal level with representatives and Congress — senators and representatives, both from Washington State where Ayşenur was a constituent of, but also other supporters. We went to Washington DC two times now. The first time was in December 2024. We met with the former Secretary of State Antony Blinken and sat down with him to ask him about some of these demands. Essentially, he shrugged his shoulders and in so many words, said we can't really do anything — this is up to Israel, and they have to do their investigations, etc. etc. But, yeah, he was basically underplaying the influence that the US has with the country. And then we met with representatives to try and ask them to use any influence that they had to urge the Department of Justice and the FBI to conduct an investigation into Ayşenur’s killing, as they have in the past with Americans being killed abroad. Thankfully, the people that we did meet with, the representatives and senators, they did, I think, use some of their influence to try and pressure the federal government to follow through with these things. There were multiple letters, even to this day, that were issued like “dear colleague letters,” resolutions and whatnot, that mention Ayşenur. But ultimately, none of those really resulted in any action, and that was in 2024 under the Biden administration. And there’s even less of a response under the Trump administration now.

And then on the other side of that, we've been working at the state level here where I live in Washington State, which is Ayşenur’s state where she grew up. There's more resolutions that we've been trying to pass through the state Congress, and these resolutions essentially just call for the same things — accountability for her death and investigation into her killing. I think there's been more progress on that front. We'll probably be able to pass a resolution like that this year, this session. But again, ultimately, it is up to the federal government. All the state would be able to do is request the federal government to do something about it. But the folks that are supportive are enthusiastically supportive. I always feel like there's more to do. I'm grateful for the representatives that have been able to take a very clear moral stand on this. 

To me and to many people, it should be a very simple and easy thing to be like, “Someone was killed, we should investigate.”That's step one that we've been asking for. I have to remind myself that this should be automatic. We shouldn't have to ask for this for two years before and still have nothing happen. People are supporting, it's great, but we shouldn't have to ask. It should be a thing that everyone already agrees with. It shouldn't be controversial.

But yeah, that’s kind of where things are at now. 

Over 100 US lawmakers call for independent probe into killing of Turkish-American activist

25 September 2024

How can the public support your campaign? 

I think there are multiple ways, like uplifting this demand, highlighting the fact that an investigation has not been conducted yet in this very clear, unprovoked killing of an American citizen. Americans, at least, can absolutely bring this up as the midterm elections are coming around — asking their representatives about why nothing is being done, and what are they going to do about this. Because essentially, it could be anyone, anyone killed by Israel — if it happens to you or your loved one, then you might not be protected by your government in this way. So that's something I think Americans specifically can do. 

The other thing related to the campaign in a different way, is centering the experience and reminding ourselves why Ayşenur was there in the first place. Ayşenur was a victim here. We are victims, but she went to protect this decades long occupation of the West Bank specifically, and to remind ourselves of that should be our focus.

The situation in the West Bank is worsening, and the only reason Ayşenur is getting all this coverage is because she's American. There are thousands of other stories like Aysenur’s and every day more people are being killed for no reason with impunity by Israel or with the support of Israel through the settlers. We should keep our attention focused on that especially. The reason we are pushing so hard for this investigation for Ayşenur is one for accountability for us and for justice for us as her loved ones, but also because we know that it will help break this impunity that Israel enjoys, especially by the US. And that remains the focus. I think, and I just want to remind people of that. The campaign, ultimately, that is our goal. Anything that can be done to support people in the West Bank and those living under the occupation will ultimately support what Ayşenur believed in, and that will support us too.

Impunity

You mentioned impunity. Since 2003, Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed at least 14 Americans abroad. None of them have faced criminal prosecution. Why do you think this is the case?

I think it's very simple, and it's a very clear pattern at this point that we've seen over the last few decades. That there's a double standard when it comes to Israel in the United States — that whenever something is done by them, even if it's the killing of our own citizens, then they are given a free pass and not even given a slap on the wrist, really. That's a simple answer, it's because of who it was done by, because of who killed those citizens. It was Israel. So they're given this free pass.

How have Ayşenur’s loved ones been coping with her death?

Different ways. I won't speak for the rest of our family, but all of us have really been grateful for the support of everyone that we knew in our communities, but also the people abroad that we've never met, that never met Ayşenur, and this outpouring of support for her and connection to her. That has been a really important way that has personally helped me cope, and I know her family as well. 

Doing something about it has helped a lot. Being able to meet with representatives and call people out and expose this glaring double standard, even if it doesn't result in any immediate action, has been helpful. Just to feel like we're able to do something about it. 

And then lastly, connecting with other issues that are tackling the same systemic symptoms that produce these kinds of results, where innocent people are killed by state violence, and that can mean police violence here in the United States, campaigns to find justice for those victims, but also across the world. So in the Philippines, for example, there's a big Filipino community here in Seattle that is working towards that. Being able to connect with these other campaigns that are doing some things that are different, but ultimately the same systemic issue has been really a beautiful way that I've connected and ultimately helped me cope with her loss as well.

Is there anything that you or her loved ones have been doing in particular to keep her memory and legacy alive?

I think just what I mentioned at the end. I feel like Ayşenur was deeply committed to international solidarity and the recognition of the same struggles shared by peoples across the world, oppressed peoples across the world. Recently being able to uplift those campaigns and even be active in those campaigns has been something that's helped me feel more connected to her. That felt really right and it reminds me of what she stood for. So I felt like that is something that I've felt called towards as well.

If there would be one thing only, what's one thing you would want the world to remember about Ayşenur?

I think of her answering that question, and I think she would want to remind everyone to keep the focus on the West Bank, keep the focus on the people under occupation, and understand that her killing is a common occurrence in these places — so that the attention on her should also translate into attention on them. (İK/VK)

But the highly lucrative, flexible remote gig is not the boon many see it as, with chaotic management, punishing time constraints and algorithmic surveillance pushing some workers to their limits. 

The AI gatekeeper

This invisible workforce is training the engines behind consumer tools like ChatGPT and Gemini, as well as the enterprise AI running modern finance, healthcare, and software development. It includes corporate professionals navigating layoffs, underemployed writers and creatives, full-time workers stacking off-hours side gigs, and recent advanced-degree graduates facing a brutal job market.

It’s a diverse crowd, but everyone enters through the same gate: a video assessment run by an AI avatar that not only analyzes answers for technical depth, but decodes speech patterns. Beyond noting “ums”, “likes” and words-per-minute, avatars with names like Zara, Maya and Alex are designed to measure how logical a candidate’s thinking is just through cadence, enunciation and pacing alone. 

Reddit, the online discussion site, has multiple posts of hopeful applicants looking for advice on how to bypass what has become a mythologized entry gate. This poster describes him/herself as an engineer highly skilled in coding, mathematics and physics who speaks English, French and Arabic. 

The replies come from PhD holders and experienced AI workers who still haven’t been able to land a contract, claiming there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to why some get hired and others don’t. Mercor publicly claims an acceptance rate of just 1% to 2% across its global talent pool—putting its selectivity on par with the Ivy League. 

Getting the acceptance email for a lucrative AI gig can feel like hitting the jackpot. But after onboarding, many workers report being quickly absorbed into an opaque, automated system that treats human expertise as a disposable commodity.

A Keyboard Hunger Games

AI training and evaluation work consists of “tasks”—self-contained units of labor where contractors evaluate, correct, or generate data to train a model. Depending on the client and the platform, the complexity, time parameters, and consistency of work can fluctuate wildly.

Victoria, who asked that her real name be withheld due to confidentiality clauses in her contract, is a freelance communications expert who turned to platform work after her main client faced severe budget cuts. After a successful automated interview, she was hired by a digital talent broker to work on a contract for a leading AI lab. Although she describes the onboarding as steep, isolating, and lacking human guidance, she eventually got the hang of the platform, navigating its friction points and settling into a rhythm.

“There was a certain thrill in watching my wages accumulate in real time on my earnings dashboard,” Victoria recalls. “But things turned quickly.”

Not long after she began, the client dramatically slashed the time allotted for each task, and pay was withheld for assignments that ran over the clock. At the same time, the project’s workforce tripled in size. Victoria saw the move as a play to optimize performance metrics: over-saturating the platform ensured no task ever sat idle while forcing workers to compete for scraps.

“It got to the point where I was just sitting in front of my screen, constantly refreshing, hoping an unclaimed task would show up,” she recalls. “With so many new people on the project, tasks were snapped up in seconds. I went from billing twenty hours a week to just three hours total over my final two weeks.”

Victoria soon realized the gig was unsustainable, and that her time would be better spent searching for reliable consulting work or a stable staff job.

“The uncertainty of work availability was awful, and the hours spent in front of the computer waiting for tasks were unbillable. The team leaders seemed to have no idea if the project would even continue day to day.”

Deniz, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, worked as a consultant for Yandex—the Russian search giant and early AI labor middleman.

Yandex pays their domain experts much lower rates than the likes of Mercor or Outlier, but are known to provide more stability and strong leadership by human team leaders. And yet, he recently found himself out of work when a project he was working on for two years ended without advance notice.

“I worked on a team of 30 people, and we all received an email out of the blue that the project was over,” Deniz says, still reeling from the abrupt end to what he thought was steady employment. “We built a lot of trust with our team leaders over this period, but it clearly didn’t mean anything. This model of work seems to be designed to bypass every protection offered by regular salary jobs and traditional unions.”

While Deniz had a relatively positive experience with Yandex up until his unceremonious offboarding, Victoria’s day-to-day reality felt more like a pressure cooker.

All project communication ran through the messaging platform Slack. According to Victoria, the channel devolved into chaos on a daily basis. Team leads rarely responded to pleas for clarification regarding bugged tasks or shifting guidelines. Some even posted “No DMs!” or “Don’t tag me!” on their profile statuses.

The lack of communication and constantly shifting rubrics created a collective anxiety across Slack that was palpable. Highly credentialed professionals—managing mortgages, debt, and family obligations—openly worried whether a single poorly rated task or a missed midnight update would trigger instant offboarding. 

The relentless strain eventually took its toll. Victoria ended up leaving the project after a little over two months. “Although I had lost that income stream,” she says, “I was relieved. The whole experience felt very Orwellian.”

Q&A WITH ALEX HANNA FROM DAIR

‘We need not AI but technology that works for people’

2 April 2025

Cracks in the AI labor pipeline

Monitoring Slack channels for disgruntled contractors was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to platform surveillance by digital labor brokers. In April 2026, Mercor was hit with multiple federal class-action lawsuits following a major third-party security breach that exposed recorded job interviews, facial biometrics, and invasive screenshots of workers’ computers. 

This is far from an isolated case. Also in April, Scale AI (which operates Outlier and Remotasks) agreed to a $12.5 million settlement over contractor misclassification, unpaid queue time, invasive screen monitoring, and psychological harm stemming from forcing workers to evaluate disturbing, unmoderated content. Meanwhile, Surge AI (home of DataAnnotation) faces class-action claims alleging wage theft and illegal worker misclassification. What these platforms pitch as flexible gig work, litigators and labor rights activists increasingly describe as an unregulated, hyper-surveilled sweatshop model—one that trades worker well-being for performance metrics while shifting all financial and psychological risk onto the individual.

Yet, despite the legal battleground, the financial trajectory of these AI talent brokers is surging. Mercor, one of the industry leaders, generated roughly $2 billion in annualized gross revenue by June 2026—a steep jump from $760 million just four months prior—and entered talks to raise $500 million at a staggering $20 billion valuation. It is the kind of hyper-growth that has Silicon Valley and Wall Street betting heavily that algorithmic labor brokering isn't just a temporary trend, but the default future of work.

In the shadow of the intelligent machine: the construction of the obedient mind

6 June 2026

The hidden human tax

A European research project called Ghost Work, led by scholars at Utrecht University and funded by the European Union and the European Research Council, is examining how platform-mediated AI evaluation work impacts mental health. In recent studies—such as "The Volatility of Microwork" and "Lost in the crowd?"—researchers show how the extreme unpredictability of task availability and poor platform conditions directly drives psychological distress, anxiety, and burnout. Although their research focuses primarily on low-paid, low-cognitive crowdwork, the core dynamics are identical for higher-skilled expert platforms, and their findings confirm what gig workers across the AI spectrum report experiencing daily: a volatile environment where sudden drops in work and invisible platform dynamics actively undermine worker well-being.

This psychological toll is further intensified by the mechanics of algorithmic management. According to research by the American Psychological Association, electronic monitoring and automated tracking erode worker autonomy, making employees nearly twice as likely to report that their job negatively impacts their mental health. Forced to navigate both erratic task flows and relentless digital oversight, workers remain trapped in a high-stress environment that drives elevated cortisol and persistent anxiety.

And yet, while some suffer under the burden of such precarious, high-anxiety work and abandon the platforms in frustration or burnout, others thrive. In a historically challenging job market, the flexible, highly-paid work can be a windfall. And for professionals who feel sidelined by traditional hiring—whether due to age, identity, or employment gaps—the platform bypasses implicit human bias, evaluating candidates on diverse experience, analytical skills, and raw performance.

On Reddit, a user under the handle LeatherScience633 describes their contract with DataAnnotation as life changing: “In just two months, I paid off debt that would have taken me a year. I can leave my extra jobs and actually focus on my passion.” Another user, PrudentComplaint6512, writes that gig work with Micro1 saved her after she lost a decades-long executive-level job while dealing with a chronically ill child. 

Surviving and thriving on these platforms may require a specific psychological profile: individuals with the stamina for high-speed, hyper-detailed monotony, a sharp focus under ticking timers, and sustained screen endurance. Conversely, those who struggle may simply be more creatively oriented thinkers whose low threshold for tedium and repetition makes the sheer mechanics of the work soul-crushing.

But it is doubtful that even the most well-suited contractors view AI training work as a dream career. Many turn to platforms like Mercor, Yandex, Micro1, or DataAnnotation simply because traditional opportunities have dried up—frequently displaced by the very technology they are now paid to train.

“The irony of this is not lost on me,” Victoria says. “But after working closely with AI, I’m pretty confident it’s not going to replace human output anytime soon. AI is a tool that can’t function without humans, no matter what people think.” (TM/VK)

The women who sow the fabric of everything in this land all gather hope and worry in equal measure sharing this load in groups, from the moment they are born.

I see him swinging a small clear bag, carrying a loaf, is that all?

I cling to the dolmuş for sanity, the endless ooohs and ahhs and obscenities aimed at the powers that be warm my frozen feet.

I drop off at the pine trees, breath in the sea air and read the sign Closed for Construction work as a tree topples down.

I put hope in a bag 

And hide it under my pillow 

For both of us not to come out again 

***

The TV hums like a drone overhead; no one has shot themselves outside anywhere, which is good news, though how many have done in private? I chew on this slurping down tea, biting toast and writing this. 

An old Turkish movie is on the screen. I turn to my wife. “If we can decorate the house 70s style and pretend we are living in those times. I could thicken and dye my hair black, look moody and you could grow her hair long and wavy.” “You’re joking, right? “Yes.” I wasn’t. I turned on TRT Türkü radio and wallowed in the pain and suffering of lovers who couldn’t see each other as they lived on opposite mountains. Couldn’t they just yell at each other? I shook my head at the woman singing about how rotten men are. And this was the good times?

***

It rains here every single day in biblical proportions. I imagine phoning mum from the bottom of sea. “Wasn’t there a Noah’s Ark?” “No mum, you can’t send large items into the country,” as I farted my last bubble to the surface.

***

“Go out,” said my long-suffering wife. “Why, it’s all hopeless. What are you doing?” “Making a complaint.” It was her 25th today, she was having a rest day. “What’s it about?” “The waste bins have become smaller.” “And…” “Well next they’ll shorten the roads and block out the sun.” 

I couldn’t blame her, we were all become stressed and becoming a little loopy. 

***

Mo Salah plays for Trabzon oozing class; our local council cafe now cooks up a veggie heaven. We now avidly follow the latest TV series from the 80s and 90s when they were good. She likes my thick, dyed black hair and I adore her long blond wavy hair. She wears flowery dresses and I have lapels like plane wings. Come on in it’s 1974 1984 1994, anytime but now; cheers the cocktail bar is now open.

Kuçuradi died at Maltepe University Medical Faculty Training and Research Hospital, where she had been receiving treatment. She was president of the Philosophical Society of Turkey and honorary president of the International Federation of Philosophical Societies (FISP).

Born in İstanbul's Beyoğlu district on Oct 4, 1936, into a Greek (Rum) family, Kuçuradi witnessed major events in Turkey's recent history during her childhood and youth, including the 1942 Wealth Tax and the İstanbul Pogrom.

She graduated from Zapyon Greek High School in 1954 and studied philosophy at İstanbul University, receiving her degree in 1959. She began her academic career as an assistant to philosopher Takiyettin Mengüşoğlu.

Kuçuradi earned her doctorate in 1965 with a dissertation on the concept of the human being in the works of Arthur Schopenhauer and Friedrich Nietzsche. She taught at Atatürk University in Erzurum between 1965 and 1968.

She joined Hacettepe University in 1969, where she founded its Philosophy Department and chaired it until her retirement in 2003. She became an associate professor in 1970 and a professor in 1978.

After retiring, Kuçuradi founded and directed the Human Rights Research and Application Center at Maltepe University. She also chaired the university's UNESCO Chair and continued teaching in its Philosophy Department.

Her academic work focused on human dignity, ethics, value theory and the conceptual foundations of human rights. She argued that philosophy was not limited to abstract theory but was closely connected to everyday life and ethical responsibility.

Kuçuradi also held senior positions in international philosophical organizations. She joined FISP's board in 1983, served as secretary-general from 1988 to 1998 and as president from 1998 to 2003 before being named honorary president.

She was president of the Paris-based International Institute of Philosophy from 2014 to 2017. In Turkey, she was among the founders of the Philosophical Society of Turkey and had served as its president since 1979.

Kuçuradi also chaired the Prime Ministry's Human Rights High Advisory Board and Turkey's National Committee for UN Human Rights Education.

Her books include Human and His Values, Ethics, Human Rights: Concepts and Problems, Nietzsche and the Human Being, Schopenhauer and the Human Being, Looking at Art Through Philosophy, Among the Events of the Age and Uludağ Conversations.

She also translated major works by Immanuel Kant into Turkish, including Critique of Practical Reason, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals and Prolegomena.

Kuçuradi received numerous awards and honors during her career, including the Goethe Medal in 1996, the Order of Merit of Germany in 2001, a UNESCO Human Rights Education Prize honorable mention in 2002 and the UNESCO Aristotle Medal in 2003. She also received honorary doctorates from the University of Crete and Universidad Ricardo Palma.

D.K., who was seriously injured and received hospital treatment for a period, was arrested on Jan 23 on charges of "membership in a terrorist organization," "propaganda for a terrorist organization" and "entering a military restricted zone." The allegation concerning the "taking down of the flag," however, was not included in the indictment.

After nearly five months in pretrial detention, D.K. was released on judicial supervision on Jun 9. At a hearing on Sep 29, two soldiers testified as witnesses. One of them said he had not seen who took down the Turkish flag at the border gate, but that they had determined it had been taken down from the Syrian side.

As his trial continues, we spoke with D.K. about what happened on that day, his time in prison and how his daily life changed after his release.

'I didn't know it was a military restricted zone'

Could you first tell us a little about yourself?

I'm a 26-year-old Kurdish man from Hakkari. I was a university student on Jan 20. I'm enrolled in the Computer Programming Department at Fırat University. At the moment, I can't continue my education because of certain security concerns.

A great deal has been said about you since Jan 20. What do you think you have not had the chance to explain until now?

It was exam season, and I was bored. I had gone to Mardin to get away for a bit. I later learned that there was a crowd in Nusaybin and that politicians such as Ahmet Türk and George Aslan were also there. George Aslan is an important politician for me, the only Christian member of parliament. I wanted to go and take a photo with him, so I went to where the crowd was.

Later, tensions broke out between the police and the crowd. In fact, DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan reacted to the police, saying, "The country's third-largest party is holding its parliamentary group meeting here." Then people started running in different directions. I also tried to leave the area with the crowd.

After a while, we reached an area where the fences had been knocked down. I didn't know it was a military restricted zone. I thought military areas would have signs indicating this, but I didn't see any such sign there. When I heard gunshots, I climbed the tower in panic. I thought it was the only place where I could protect myself.

'They said, "We we won't beat you"'

What happened after you climbed the tower?

I tried to talk to the soldiers. I asked, "Are you soldiers?" and they said, "Yes." I was trying to talk to them because I thought they were going to do something to me. They told me, "We won't beat you, we swear on the flag." Then what happened, happened.

They also drew up an official report. It says, "He climbed the tower, unfurled a PKK flag and then fell from the tower." And do you know how they say I fell from the tower? They wrote that people in the crowd threw stones at me and that was how I fell.

For me, the issue of the flag starts here. But while I was in intensive care, my sister came to see me and asked whether I had taken down the Turkish flag. Before that, people had been talking about another flag. Then, all of a sudden, they started saying I had taken down the Turkish flag.

Torture complaint taken to Constitutional Court

Was that the first time you learned about the claim circulating on social media that you had "taken down the Turkish flag"?

Yes. I realized it when my sister asked me while I was in intensive care.

Journalist Ferhat Akıncı documented my detention. Even though I was detained, even though there is footage of it, the judicial authorities insist on putting me on trial. I'm tired of having to defend myself. I'm the complainant, but they are putting me in the defendant's seat.

According to my lawyer, the prosecutor's office decided not to prosecute our torture complaint. Our objection to that decision was also rejected. We then filed an individual application with the Constitutional Court.

'Only the structure of the prison has changed'

What would you like to say about your time in detention and the period after your release?

I don't know what I would have done if it weren't for the people inside, for all the care they gave me. They looked after me like a baby. Thanks to them, I was able to get back on my feet in about two months. The doctor at the hospital had said, "You won't recover in six months." I haven't forgotten that.

After my release, though, I couldn't return to my old life. I'm a university student. I had to put my education on hold. I'm unemployed. I also need to build a future for myself, I want to go to university. But today, wherever I go, I have to be cautious.

So for me, this is not only about judicial control measures. It feels as though only the structure of the prison in my life has changed. I've gone from a closed high-security prison to an "open prison."

As for my treatment... I owe a great deal to the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey. I'm grateful to everyone there, from its managers to its staff. I'm glad organizations like this exist.

But I do have some grievances with certain human rights organizations. I don't think they showed my case the attention it deserved. What happened to me today could happen to another Kurd tomorrow. That troubles me.

'The flag was taken down from the Syrian side'

Your legal proceedings are also continuing. What happened at the Sep 29 hearing, where two soldiers testified as witnesses?

I had already said everything there was to say at the previous hearings. At this hearing, I also gave the necessary answers in my mother tongue.

My lawyer again said that I had been subjected to torture and that we had footage showing this. The presiding judge said that was not the subject of this case.

Here's the contradiction: The soldier who describes the entire geometric layout and color scheme of the PKK flag says he doesn't know where the flag ended up afterward or who took it. He says, "I don't remember."

While one of the soldiers was testifying, the judge also asked about the taking down of the Turkish flag. The soldier said he had not seen who took it down, but that they had determined it was taken down from the Syrian side.

'Is it really so hard for someone to apologize?'

How does the ongoing trial affect your life?

I can't build a life for myself. I can't do it under these conditions. Is it really so hard for someone to stand up and apologize? To say, "I'm sorry"?

We have medical reports documenting the assault, discharge summaries and footage. There is footage of me being detained. They protect the people who tortured me, but I'm still forced to recount what happened and defend myself. It shouldn't be this hard in this country for someone to come forward and apologize. It's like the film "Pardon." Of course, we still haven't heard them say "sorry," but I hope we will.

Would hearing that be enough for you?

Peace begins with reckoning with the past. They don't only need to reckon with me. They should reckon with the Saturday Mothers. They should reckon with the mother of my classmate Kemal. Kemal Kurkut was in the year above me.

They should reckon with Ali İsmail's mother. They should reckon with the mothers, fathers and siblings of the other people who were killed. If they had no family, if they were orphans like me, then they should reckon with them directly. They also need to reckon with the relatives of the people buried in the cemetery for the unclaimed in Kilyos.

If they're going to keep calling for peace, they shouldn't reduce the process to a narrow political calculation. It's not that difficult. We want peace.

'I want the media not to see me as an object'

Finally, I want to add this: The language used by the media needs to change. I would be very happy if the media saw me as a subject, not an object.

Someone recently wrote to me on social media, "I hope you forget the scars of what you went through." I replied, "No, I won't forget." For me, these scars are a medal of honor, reminding me of the vow I made to do what little I can, like the ant in the story, to show where I stand and to make this world a fairer, more peaceful and freer place.

Because I don't carry a shallow sense of revenge, and I didn't grow up in that kind of culture anyway. My anger is actually my greatest source of strength. I use it to tell people the truth and to advocate for peace. And I will continue to struggle, within democratic limits and as best I can, to say "stop" to this unjust system. (VC/VK)

The collapse occurred yesterday around 2 pm local time (GMT+3) at an underground mine operated by the İmbat Madencilik company in the Soma coal basin. A total of seven workers with trapped, with two rescued shortly after the incident. 

Search and rescue teams recovered the bodies of two workers during overnight operations, the Manisa Governor’s Office said. This morning, the bodies of three more workers had been recovered.

Among the rescued workers, one was discharged after treatment while the other remained hospitalized, the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) said

A total of 756 personnel and 76 vehicles from AFAD and other agencies joined the search and rescue efforts, said AFAD.

A judicial investigation was opened into the incident, Justice Minister Akın Gürlek announced.

1,042 workers lost their lives in Turkey’s mines in 10 years

4 March 2021

Previous deaths at mines operated by the same company

Yesterday's collapse was not the first fatal incident at İmbat Madencilik operations.

In Apr 2020, three workers were killed in a collapse during maintenance and repair work in the gallery section of the company’s Soma mine. One worker was rescued with injuries.

In Feb 2015, one worker was killed in an accident at a lignite mine operated by İmbat Madencilik in the Ege Lignite Operations mining area in Soma, which is affiliated with the Turkish Coal Enterprises. (CA/VK)

Among those arrested was Janset Kalan, a board member of the Kaos GL Association and a trans rights defender. A graduate of Marmara University’s Department of Political Science and International Relations, Kalan completed a master’s degree in Eastern European Studies at the University of Bologna.

Her articles have appeared on KaosGL.org since 2010, and she has worked with various LGBTI+ organizations, including Queer Adana and Pembe Hayat. Kalan, who has been advocating for trans rights and against discrimination and violence for more than a decade, was arrested during the “My Family Is Safe” operation on Sep 12, 2026, and sent to Sincan Prison.

Kalan responded in writing to bianet’s questions from Sincan Closed Prison. We spoke with her about whether it is possible to be “well” in prison, the conditions faced by trans prisoners, isolation, and how being able to touch another person can become a “privilege” behind bars.

Before answering the questions, Kalan wanted to describe the communication conditions in prison and the situation of the friends imprisoned with her:

First of all, I’m sorry for responding late. Unfortunately, I hope you can understand the very real reasons behind the delay: some of the limitations inside the prison, our lawyers having to travel back and forth, our limited financial means, the difficulty of managing time, and so on.

Eight of us, members of Kaos GL’s executive and supervisory boards, along with an independent woman journalist friend of ours, have been on the Sincan Closed Prison campus for some time. Our lawyers are therefore making an extraordinary effort, within the limits of what is possible, to meet with all of us and make sure we are doing as well as we can.

Several lawyer friends are also trying to visit other trans and gay prisoners being held here, whether convicted or awaiting trial. Many cannot afford a lawyer. Many also have no visitors and no one they can contact to let their families know where they are. Some do not even have money to buy basic necessities from the prison canteen. Under these circumstances, delays are inevitable.

Before answering your questions as best I can and putting my thoughts into words, I wanted your readers to hear once again about the limitations I described above. I’m from Adana, and we have a saying there. It’s a pretty sexist one, but I still wanted to mention it: “It’s easy to divorce someone when you’re single.”

In fact, as I spend time with other prisoners here and listen to the stories of how their lives unfolded, that saying keeps coming back to me. And when I think of the horrific cases shown on programs like Müge Anlı and Esra Erol, or news reports about femicides, violence, gangs, fraud and so on, it is impossible not to remember it.

Something a prison officer said also reminded me of that saying. He told me: “I also come from a poor family and grew up in a neighborhood where illegal activity was widespread. But I educated myself and became a civil servant. The people here serving time for various crimes could have done the same.”

My answer was very clear: “You should not turn your own story into an opportunity to judge someone else for not having the same one. You cannot reduce crime by placing the burden of a structural problem on individuals.”

I hope your readers will also read this from a perspective that goes beyond what they know, what they have seen and their own personal stories.

'Don’t expect anyone to find a sense of well-being here'

You said from prison, “I don’t want to lie by saying I’m fine.” How are you today, and how would you describe the conditions of your imprisonment?

It has been two weeks since the letter I sent to Kaos GL for publication. Of course, I no longer carry the same anger, resentment and anxiety brought on by uncertainty. I won’t repeat how horrible those three days in police custody were.

At the same time, there were many other things I did not mention in my letter. I don’t feel obliged to write about them. I am perfectly capable of understanding what people want to hear, how much they want to hear and in what language, as well as the kind of censored framework in which the public expects to hear certain voices. So anyone who wants to can write and act out whatever speculative scenario they please. I am responsible only for what matters to me, and for what I have personally experienced and witnessed.

I could not address anyone with the lie that I was fine. I still won’t say I’m fine today. “I’m fine” is not an ordinary answer for me. No one should expect to find a sense of well-being here. Nor is anyone deprived of their freedom speaking from a genuine state of well-being when they say, “I’m fine.”

I believe it is an insincere and unreal “I’m fine,” something you say so that your loved ones, those close to you, your community and people outside can feel better, and so that you can make your own circumstances a little easier to endure.

What I have to say is not the same as the stories we are used to reading about people imprisoned because of their political views, activities or political identity, or for exercising freedom of expression, freedom of association, the right to protest or artistic expression.

My language does not speak, in the language of the left, of the more familiar and respectable forms of revolution, resistance and solidarity. I am not being held in a place for political prisoners, either. I am not my sisters and fellow travelers in the LGBTI+ movement, Yıldız Tar and Duru.

I would also advise you not to read my sentence, “I don’t want to lie by saying I’m fine,” solely through the conditions of my imprisonment.

We question prison conditions, but it is called a prison for a reason. Let the Human Rights Association (İHD), the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV) and the Civil Society in the Penal System Association (CİSST) speak about that. You can also request a report from our lawyers. This should not be my job.

Turkey’s justice system appears oblivious to the presumption of innocence, while prisons are built around a male-dominated architecture of punishment, a structure that strips prisoners of their humanity and turns them into monsters. As convicted or remand prisoners at the mercy of those who hold power, we are only “fine” to the extent that we are able to survive the conditions we are placed in.

Let me ask you, as a journalists, and your readers: What do you expect?

'Just imagine how invisible trans prisoners are'

As a trans prisoner, what problems do you face that are different from those faced by other prisoners?

To answer that question, I would need to have met other prisoners, spoken with them and learned what they have experienced. You are asking me to make a comparison, and I do not have enough information to do that.

But I can say this very clearly: LGBTI+ prisoners, convicted or awaiting trial, do not even make up one-thousandth of the total prison population. When every architectural, physical, social and material condition has been designed through a male-dominated lens, you can imagine for yourself the subjectivities and invisibility of trans prisoners, their needs, their poverty and deprivation.

Despite everything, I am glad to be a trans woman, and I am glad I am being held together with other trans women. The laughter and banter I share with my sisters is the most precious source of strength keeping me standing tall here.

I hope the other queers will soon be taken out of their solitary cells and placed in wards, as I was.

'Being able to hug someone becomes a privilege'

You said, “I had never imagined that being able to hug another person could be a privilege.” How do isolation and restrictions on physical contact affect your daily life?

I have been in the ward for a week now, and together with my sisters here, I too have that privilege.

I am so glad they are here. I am so glad I met them, that I was able to write down their stories and pass them on to our lawyers. I am also glad I was able to learn from them the stories of all the other queers being held here.

'Advocacy cannot be built on stock phrases'

With your call to “remember imprisoned trans people,” what specifically do you expect from the LGBTI+ movement and human rights organizations outside?

I won’t give a long answer to this question. I don’t think it has the kind of simple answer that can be given to an interview question. By critically examining themselves, they can see how inadequate action and advocacy become when they are not grounded in knowledge of the situation.

Recently, I sharply criticized a lawyer friend from İHD who came to visit us. They immediately became defensive and tried to explain how much work they were actually doing. Unless they move away from this arrogance, like any social movement that refuses to examine itself, they will keep repeating the same stock phrases, as if singing, “There’s a village far away.”

“Claims circulating in certain international media outlets and on social media platforms alleging that ‘Syrian government officials and Hezbollah officials met in Turkey, hosted by the National Intelligence Organization (MİT)’ are entirely unfounded,” the directorate’s Center for Combatting Disinformation said in a written statement.

“The claims in these posts regarding the date, venue, content and contacts do not reflect any reality and are entirely fabricated and speculative,” it added, urging the public to rely on statements from official authorities.

The Syrian government also denied the report in a statement on its English X account.

The denials came hours after Reuters claimed such a meeting took place at the invitation of Turkish intelligence, citing six unnamed sources, including two Syrian officials, a US official and "a senior Lebanese security source close to Hezbollah."

The report said Damascus had assured Hezbollah it would not intervene militarily in Lebanon to disarm the group, citing a Syrian official.

In recent months, US President Donald Trump has on several occasions suggested a possible Syrian role in efforts to disarm Hezbollah. The Iran-backed group has been in conflict with Israel since 2024, with southern Lebanon, where much of the country’s Shia population lives, suffering extensive destruction.

Turkey's foreign minister reveals in-person meeting with Nasrallah after Oct 7 attacks

29 September 2024

Syrian officials also reportedly asked Hezbollah to help prevent cross-border smuggling and dismantle remaining cells in Syria.

While authorities denied that the meeting took place, both the Syrian government and Hebollah had publicly signaled openness to talks. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said in July that Damascus was open to meeting Hezbollah, while Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said in August that the group had no objection to talks with Syria’s leadership.

Hezbollah and Syria’s current leadership had been adversaries during the Syrian war. Hezbollah fought for years in support of former President Bashar al-Assad, while groups backed by Turkey fought against Assad forces and allies.

Those opposition forces later came to power after Assad was ousted in late 2024. (VK)

The X accounts of bianet's freedom of expression editor Hikmet Adal and journalists Tuğçe Yılmaz, Onur Dalar, Furkan Karabay, Dinçer Gökçe and Esra Tokat have been blocked from access in Turkey.

The blocking orders come amid a broader wave of online censorship in Turkey, with hundreds of social media accounts restricted in recent weeks. The wave began with anti-LGBTI+ operations on Sep 12 and continued with bans targeting accounts posting about an investment fund crisis that led to the liquidation of billions of liras.

Journalists, academics and rights groups were among those affected.

Courts also banned the website and social media of T24, a prominent independent news site.

Earlier today, a court ordered an access ban on the X account of EngelliWeb, a project monitoring online censorship in Turkey.

BIA Media Monitoring Reports

13 December 2024

(HA/VK)

Seven workers were initially believed to have been trapped. Two were rescued alive, said the office.

Teams are continuing search and rescue operations to find the remaining miners, it added. 

Authorities have not yet provided details on the name of the mining company, the cause of the collapse or the condition of the rescued workers. (NÖ/VK)

The Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD), which runs EngelliWeb, announced the decision. At the time of publication, X had not yet made the account inaccessible from Turkey.

The court that issued the order and its legal basis were not immediately known.

The decision follows a recent access ban on the X account of Yaman Akdeniz, one of İFÖD’s founders. X subsequently withheld Akdeniz’s account in Turkey.

The blocking orders come amid a broader wave of online censorship in Turkey, with hundreds of social media accounts restricted in recent weeks. The wave began with anti-LGBTI+ operations on Sep 12 and continued with bans targeting accounts posting about an investment fund crisis that led to the liquidation of billions of liras. Journalists, academics and rights groups were among those affected.

Turkey blocks over 400 social media accounts belonging to journalists, rights groups

17 September 2026

What is EngelliWeb?

EngelliWeb tracks access-blocking and content-removal decisions involving websites, news reports, social media accounts and other online content in Turkey. Its website archives the measures according to their legal basis and the authorities that issued them.

According to İFÖD’s EngelliWeb 2025 report, published in June, over 1.5 URLs had been blocked in Turkey by the end of last year.

The report said the restrictions were imposed through nearly 1.3 million decisions issued by 875 different institutions and judgeships.

Some notices published on EngelliWeb’s own website have also previously been blocked by court orders.

Turkey blocked record number of web addresses in 2024, surpassing 300,000

3 September 2025

(HA/VK)

A travel ban imposed on Matiz during the investigation remains in place. Prosecutors left it to the court to decide whether the restriction should be lifted.

The investigation was conducted under Article 226 of the Turkish Penal Code, which regulates the offense of “obscenity” under the section on crimes against public morality.

Dance scene

The indictment cited footage beginning at the 3-minute-51-second mark of the video as the basis for the accusation.

Prosecutors said the scene shows a large group of people sitting or lying on the ground in an open area as a man "playing the groom” appears alongside another man with blond hair wearing a yellow suit.

According to the indictment, one of the men removes his jacket before the two begin dancing face to face. Prosecutors said they make repeated movements emphasizing their arms and hips during the dance.

The indictment noted that the scene initially features only music, with the song’s lyrics accompanying the footage later.

Ministry seeks ban on queer singer's new song on 'public morality' grounds

18 September 2025

Why the footage is considered ‘obscene’

Prosecutors’ decision to assess the footage under Article 226 has become a central issue in the case.

The indictment’s interpretation of which elements of the scene constitute obscenity has also renewed questions over the boundaries between freedom of expression, artistic freedom and criminal law.

If the case proceeds, the court will make the final determination on whether the footage constitutes an offense under Article 226.

Turkey expands ‘obscenity’ investigations to musicians as 'girl band' given travel ban

10 September 2025

(EMK/VK)

While authorities link the investigations to government policies on family, rights groups say the they  criminalize lawful advocacy, LGBTI+ visibility and private relationships.

The operations and their scope

The campaign began with online restrictions on Sep 12, followed by overnight and early-morning raids on Sep 13 spanning 15 provinces.

Police targeted homes, association offices and venues frequented by queer people. İstanbul, Ankara, İzmir and Mersin were among the provinces prominently affected.

Proceedings were launched against 162 people nationwide, as well as nine associations and 13 businesses. By Sep 17, at least 116 people had been taken into custody. Among them, 82 were placed in pretrial detention, with over 40 of them rights defenders and activists.

The affected organizations inclued the Kaos GL Association, Hevi LGBTI+, Pozitif-iz, SPoD, Lambdaistanbul, Muamma and Mersin 7 Colors. All members of Kaos GL's board of directors and supervisory board are currently in pretrial detention.

Kaos GL is Turkey's longest-standing queer rights organization and also runs a news outlet, whose website and social media accounts were already banned when the operations began.

From ‘public morality’ to ‘My Family Is Safe’: 20 years of repression against Kaos GL

18 September 2026

Detained queer rights advocate sends message from prison: ‘This is a badge of honor’

18 September 2026

What authorities allege

The investigations involve allegations of obscenity, prostitution-related offenses, forming an organization to commit crimes, drug offenses and violations of the Associations Law.

Justice Minister Akın Gürlek linked the operations to the government’s 2026–2035 Decade of Family and Population and Presidential Circular No. 2026/4.

Authorities have presented the campaign as an effort to protect children, families and public order. Claims that organizations were influencing children’s sexual orientation or gender identity also appeared in the investigations, along with scrutiny of international funding.

Families of LGBTI+s reject ‘family safety’ framing of crackdown on queer community

22 September 2026

The campaign later gained a nationwide administrative framework. A Justice Ministry circular sent to prosecutors in all 81 provinces instructed them to take action against suspected activities encouraging children and young people toward "genderlessness."

The circular instructed prosecutors to secure digital evidence, seek online restrictions where deemed necessary and use organized-crime methods and financial investigations under certain circumstances.

It also called for coordination with ministries, cybersecurity authorities and law enforcement.

Over 80 formally arrested in anti-LGBTI+ crackdown as ministry orders action over ‘desexualization’

17 September 2026

Use of ‘obscenity’

Provisions banning "obscenity" in the Turkish Penal Code was at the center of the investigation against LGBTI+ rights advocates, with many of the detainees facing this allegation. While the offense historically applied to pronographic content, it is now used to characterize LGBTI+ advocacy. 

Prosecutors alleged that material published on the Kaos GL website and social media accounts was "obscene." Evidence cited by the court included news articles and images, among them scenes showing two female characters kissing in the “Agatha All Along” series and two male football players kissing.

The law prohibits distribution of and exposing children to "obscene" content but lacks a clear definition of obscenity. 

How Turkey’s vague obscenity law is becoming a tool to criminalize LGBTI+ visibility

18 September 2026

Private communications used as evidence

The operations in İzmir also raised concerns about privacy and the collection of evidence.

Lawyers said police obtained detainees’ phone passwords without a court order, searched their devices and added private messages and photographs to case files as evidence of obscenity.

Sixteen people were jailed in İzmir on Sep 14 on obscenity- and prostitution-related allegations.

Lawyers also noted that the investigation began with social media monitoring through “online patrols,” a practice that had previously been found unlawful by the Constitutional Court.

Lawyer says private messages cited as 'obscenity' evidence against detained LGBTI+s

15 September 2026

Online censorship and the extension to journalism

The initial access-blocking order targeted platforms belonging to numerous organizations and activists.

A later İstanbul Bar Association tally listed 11 association websites, 32 X accounts and 419 social media accounts as blocked. Requests had also been submitted concerning another 107 accounts.

Journalist Tuğba Tekerek was detained and was subsequently remanded in custody over a 2024 article published by Kaos GL. She was accused of being a responsible for managing Kaos GL's social media accounts questioned over an obscenity allegation.

Journalist Tuğba Tekerek detained over interview with Georgian LGBTI+ activist

15 September 2026

The campaign extended to independent news outlet T24 on Sep 30.

An İstanbul court ordered the outlet’s website and social media accounts blocked. It also ordered the removal of 118 columns, describing them as “LGBTI+ propaganda.”

The website became inaccessible within hours. T24’s X account remained accessible when the decision was reported. The outlet urged readers to use its mobile application to evade censorship.

Turkey blocks independent news site T24 over 'LGBTI+ propaganda'

30 September 2026

Allegations of ill-treatment

Jailed people have reported various forms of ill-treatment and violations. In Mersin, detainees reported overcorwding, lack of access to hormone medications and basic necessities including long-sleeved clothing. 

Lawyers visiting the Mersin prison reported that they were not allowed to deliver necessities to detainees because they lacked power of attorney, even though no such authorization was required.

Eighteen LGBTI+ detainees are being held in a prison designed for eight people, with some sleeping on the floor, lawyers noted.

LGBTI+ detainees in Mersin prison report difficulties in accessing clothing, medication

1 October 2026

Ill-treament was also reported during a demonstration against the operations. LGBTI+ activists, feminists, leftist groups and union members gathered outside İstanbul’s Çağlayan Courthouse on Sep 15 to protest the arrests.

Police surrounded the crowd and ordered people to disperse without providing a route out of the police cordon.

Journalists covering the protest were also detained.

Violations continued after the detention according to lawyers, with detainees being forced to go through medical examinations in the presence of police officers.

Police also attempted to force detainees to exclude torture allegations from their statements, according to lawyers.

Anti-LGBTI+ crackdown: Detention extended for 109 protesters amid ill-treatment allegations

16 September 2026

Health concerns

Restrictions also affected medical organizations and groups supporting people living with HIV.

The Turkish Medical Association condemned measures targeting the Sexual Education, Treatment and Research Association (CETAD), and the Psychiatric Association of Turkey.

As of Sep 21, CETAD’s X account had been withheld in Turkey, while the psychiatric association’s account remained accessible.

The medical association said restricting these organizations could obstruct access to reliable information, HIV testing, counseling and treatment, particularly for people already facing stigma.

It said the restrictions conflicted with the Health Ministry’s HIV/AIDS control program.

The Psychiatric Association of Turkey similarly warned that restricting scientific information could discourage people from seeking healthcare.

Turkish Medical Association condemns targeting of health groups in anti-LGBTI+ operations

21 September 2026

Responses and testimony from prison

Nedime Erdoğan, a Kaos GL board member and founder of the Rainbow Families Association, described her work from Sincan Women’s Closed Prison as helping families understand and support their LGBTI+ children.

She emphasized family relationships built through solidarity, love and support, including chosen families.

Jailed parent activist for LGBTI+ rights: Family is not built on blood ties alone

28 September 2026

Selin Berghan, a sociologist and Kaos GL supervisory board member with experience in children’s rights, rejected claims that LGBTI+ advocacy harms children.

She linked the movement’s focus on children’s rights to members’ own experiences of violence, fear and isolation during childhood.

Berghan also described visits from lawyers, demonstrations, letters and support for detainees’ relatives as sources of strength during imprisonment.

Jailed LGBTI+ rights advocate Selin Berghan: ‘The LGBTI+ movement understands children’s rights the best’

30 September 2026

Janset Kalan, a Kaos GL board member and trans rights defender held at Sincan Prison, also described the conditions faced by LGBTI+ prisoners. She said many trans and gay prisoners lacked lawyers, visitors, contact with their families and even money for basic necessities from the prison canteen.

Kalan said the prison system was built around male-dominated assumptions that failed to account for the needs and circumstances of trans prisoners. She also described isolation as a central problem, saying that being able to hug another person could become a “privilege” in prison.

Kalan called on LGBTI+ and human rights organizations to pay greater attention to imprisoned trans people, arguing that advocacy based on general statements was insufficient without first understanding their specific conditions and needs. (VK)

During last month's anti-LGBTI+ operations spanning 15 provinces, 36 people were detained in Mersin, with 28 later placed in pretrial detention.

The lawyers prepared a report after visiting the Mersin Type-E Closed Prison, where the detainees are held. 

According to the note, 18 people are being held in a ward designed for eight. Ten are sleeping on the floor, and some do not have mattresses.

MP reports poor prison conditions after visiting detained LGBTI+ activists

25 September 2026

Prisoners denied clothes

Detainees also lack basic items such as long-sleeved tracksuits and winter clothing, the lawyers said. Attempts by attorneys to deliver clothing were rejected because they did not have powers of attorney from the detainees.

The lawyers said the relevant regulation does not require a power of attorney for a detainee to meet with defense counsel. Requiring a power of attorney before accepting clothing or other necessities particularly affects detainees who have no family or outside support network, they noted.

They added that the same provision requires such meetings to take place where conversations cannot be overheard.

The visiting lawyers said the prison's meeting rooms did not provide adequate confidentiality and conversations between detainees and their attorneys could be heard by others nearby.

Lack of access to medication

One detainee was unable to obtain a hormone medication taken daily and experienced crying spells, according to the report. The detainee also lacked clothing suitable for winter conditions.

The lawyers said they were the only people able to provide that detainee with necessities, but prison officials would not accept the items without a power of attorney.

Other detainees who regularly take medication were unable to replace supplies after they ran out, the note said. Some had to determine the names of their medications themselves while in prison.

The lawyers also reported accounts of detainees not being taken to a hospital after sustaining physical injuries. HIV-positive detainees were being held in individual cells, while some detainees reported problems related to hygiene conditions.

Lawyer says private messages cited as 'obscenity' evidence against detained LGBTI+s

15 September 2026

Those without family or financial support were having difficulty obtaining clothing, books, canteen items and other necessities, according to the lawyers. Some also expressed concern about elderly or dependent relatives they had supported before their detention and about their ability to meet loan payments and other financial obligations.

Background

The Mersin detentions were part of a wider September crackdown which led to the pretrial detention of 82 people including LGBTI+ rights advocates.

Authorities linked the operations to government policies on family and population and cited allegations including obscenity, prostitution-related offenses, forming an organization to commit crimes, drug offenses and violations of the Associations Law. The reported allegations varied between investigations and did not apply uniformly to everyone targeted.

Rights organizations have argued that the investigations criminalize lawful advocacy, LGBTI+ visibility and private relationships. Authorities have presented the operations as measures to protect children, families and public order.

How Turkey’s vague obscenity law is becoming a tool to criminalize LGBTI+ visibility

18 September 2026

(EMK/VK)

The 147 identifiable accounts have a combined following of about 2.65 million, İFÖD said. Five have more than 100,000 followers, 17 have more than 50,000 and 36 have more than 10,000.

The accounts belong to people working in finance and capital markets, including economists, academics, technical analysts, traders and investors, as well as lawyers.

Among those affected are finance expert İris Cibre, technical analyst İbrahim Babadağı, stock market investor Gürdal Hançer, academic Rıdvan Özturgut, lawyer Tugay Bek and writer Hüseyin Edemir.

Many of the accounts blocked over posts about the fund crisis have also been made inaccessible in Turkey by X.

The investment fund crisis

The crisis began on Sep 17, when some investment funds that had built large positions in low-float stocks struggled to meet investors’ redemption requests.

The Capital Markets Board (SPK) subsequently suspended trading through the Turkish Electronic Fund Trading Platform (TEFAS) for funds managed by seven portfolio management companies and ordered 131 funds liquidated.

Turkey’s investment fund crisis in 10 questions: Phantom returns and a market meltdown

21 September 2026

The SPK said funds managed by some portfolio companies had contributed to price movements in low-float stocks that could not be explained by the companies’ economic circumstances or financial figures.

The regulator had already tightened rules on Aug 28 covering fund concentration, related-party transactions, valuation methods and hedge fund operations.

Under Article 107 of Turkey’s Capital Markets Law, transactions intended to create false or misleading impressions about the price, price movements, supply or demand of capital market instruments can constitute market fraud.

Authorities have ordered the liquidation of funds with a combined volume of about 18.3 billion US dollars.

(VK)

The Adana 16th Civil Court of First Instance issued the order at prosecutor Mehmet Bülbül’s request. The blocked content includes reports by bianet and several other news organizations.

Bülbül argued that the material in the URLs covered by his application was “untrue” and violated his personal rights, as well as his “honor and reputation.” He asked the court to order the content removed and access blocked.

The court reviewed the request under Articles 24 and 25 of the Turkish Civil Code, which concern the protection of personal rights, and granted it. It also notified the Association of Access Providers (ESB) to enforce the decision and asked to be informed once the order had been implemented.

The ruling lists 217 URLs across 116 different domain names. AMP and mobile versions of the same reports, as well as some duplicate links, appear as separate URLs.

The order also covers some content and posts on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X, Dailymotion and Ekşi Sözlük. The URL list makes up most of the nine-page ruling.

Two reports published by bianet’s English service are included in the order.

bianet’s Turkish-language reports on the same incident had already been blocked under a separate access restriction issued in April.

Background

In 2021, while serving as a prosecutor in Osmaniye, Mehmet Bülbül had a dispute with orthopedic doctor Kemal Gökhan Günel at Osmaniye State Hospital over a medical examination.

After Günel refused to examine Bülbül because he did not have an appointment, the doctor was detained and later gave a statement to prosecutors.

After the incident became public, then-Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül authorized the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) to examine Bülbül’s conduct. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca also spoke with Günel by phone.

Prosecutors later decided not to pursue a case against Bülbül, while Günel was charged with “insulting a public official.” (HA/VK)

The decision, issued by the İstanbul 1st Penal Judgeship of Peace, cited 118 column articles published over the past year that constituted "LGBTI+ propaganda." The judgeship separately issued removal orders for each article.

The outlet’s website was banned a few hours after the ruling. While X implements most of ban orders, T24's account has so far remained accessible for users in Turkey.

The outlet called on its readers to install its mobile app to evade censorship. Also, news outlets in Turkey typically circumvent access bans by changing their domain addresses.

Launched in 2009, T24 is one of the largest independent news outlets in Turkey. It has a following of over 1.9 million on X and over 238,000 on Instagram.

The outlet said it had recently been subjected to a smear campaign on social media.

The decision comes amid a sweeping crackdown on the LGBTI+ movement in Turkey, dubbed as "My Family Is Safe" operations by authorities.

As part of the operations launched on Sep 12, more than 100 people were taken into custody during raids. Eighty-two people were subsequently jailed pending trial, including LGBTI+ rights advocates and activists on "obscenity" charges.

Also, hundreds of social media accounts belonging to rights groups, journalists and activists were blocked by courts.

Police raids, online censorship target Turkey’s LGBTI+ community in new crackdown

13 September 2026

'This operation declares that the Turkish state considers LGBTI+s criminals for simply existing'

14 September 2026

(VK)

The affected accounts include Bizim TV, BirGün newspaper reporters Meral Danyıldız and Sarya Toprak, ANKA News Agency courthouse reporter Esra Tokat and lawyers Sena Yazıbağlı and Tuncay Koç, according to EngelliWeb, a project of the Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD).

Many of the accounts had posted about a fund crisis, the murder of Narin Güran and the Furkan Movement. X has made most of the accounts inaccesseible for users in Turkey.

The restrictions are the latest in a series of measures targeting the social media accounts of journalists, rights advocates, media outlets and women’s and LGBTI+ organizations since earlier this month.

Accounts belonging to the Mor Çatı Women’s Shelter Foundation, Lambdaistanbul, SPoD and several other women’s and LGBTI+ organizations have recently been restricted.

The accounts of the Evrensel newspaper, Kısa Dalga, Amnesty International Turkey, Academics for Peace and the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) have also faced similar restrictions.

Journalists Özlem Akarsu Çelik, Fırat Fıstık, Hilmi Hacaloğlu, Alptekin Dursunoğlu, İnan Mutlu, Canan Kaya, Naz Yavuzarslan, Dinçer Gökçe, Ersin Eroğlu, İrfan Değirmenci, Şirin Payzın, Yıldız Tar, Yusuf Çelik, Göksu Başaran, Nisan Çıra, Zilan Azad and Oğulcan Özgenç have also had their accounts witheld in Turkey. (HA/VK)

The case was filed by the Animal Rights Federation (HAYTAP) against a decision by the Ankara Governor’s Office Provincial Animal Protection Board. The Ankara 23rd Administrative Court struck down the measure in a ruling dated Sep 15.

Following 2024 amendments to the Animal Protection Law requiring municipalities to collect stray animals and place them in shelters, governor’s offices in several provinces introduced bans on feeding animals on the streets.

General ban 'nor proportional'

The administrative court said feeding activities could be regulated and monitored to protect public order, human health and the environment rather than being prohibited altogether.

Possible measures include designating feeding locations and methods, establishing controlled feeding areas, ensuring sanitary conditions and imposing restrictions based on time and location, according to the ruling.

The court found that imposing a direct and general ban instead of such measures was incompatible with the principle of proportionality.

It also noted that the term “uncontrolled feeding” was not clearly defined in legislation, potentially creating uncertainty in its implementation.

Bursa shopping mall sets up cat traps

19 August 2025

Balance between animal welfare and human safety

The court said authorities should strike a “reasonable and equitable” balance between protecting the lives and welfare of animals living on the streets and safeguarding human life, safety and the environment.

HAYTAP said the ruling showed that regulation and oversight should be used instead of blanket feeding bans.

In a statement on social media, HAYTAP said a similar ban had first been introduced by the Afyon Governor’s Office.

The federation said its lawsuit challenging the Afyon decision was still pending and that it expected the case to be decided in its favor.

It also announced that it would file a lawsuit this week against a similar decision by the Erzurum Governor’s Office.

Erzurum bans feeding stray animals

25 September 2026

Describing the Ankara ruling as an “important precedent,” the federation said public authorities could not simply adopt any measure they wished and that civil society organizations served as a “check mechanism” through legal action.

HAYTAP said it would continue challenging measures concerning animals living on the streets “reasonably and within the framework of the law” and would provide updates on the legal proceedings in Afyon and Erzurum.

Collection of stray dogs across Turkey

Amendments to the Animal Protection Law adopted in 2024 require municipalities to take unowned stray dogs to shelters and keep them there until they are adopted.

Animal rights advocates have described the legislation as a “massacre law,” warning that removing animals from their living areas and confining them to inadequate shelters could lead to deaths.

Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi said on Sep 18 that 99.2 percent of stray animals across Turkey had been collected. The figure has not been independently verified, although the number of dogs living on the streets has been observed to decline. Cats, meanwhile, do not appear to have been targeted by the collection efforts so far.

Kocaeli animal massacre: Footage reveals municipal workers injecting animals despite mayor's denial

12 October 2024

(NÖ/VK)

Among those jailed in the Ankara investigation was Selin Berghan, a sociologist, writer and member of the Kaos GL Association's supervisory board.

Police raids, online censorship target Turkey’s LGBTI+ community in new crackdown

13 September 2026

Berghan's master’s thesis was published by Metis Publishing in 2007 under the title “Lubunya: Transsexual Identity and the Body.” She has held various positions at the Pink Life LGBTI+ Solidarity Association and has worked in the field of children’s rights since 2005.

Berghan, whose work focuses on transfeminism, children’s rights, violence against children, child protection and refugee children, responded in writing from prison to questions from bianet.

She prefaced her responses with the note, “Thank you for your questions. I have to be quick because I am answering them in short bursts under limited conditions. I’ll try to keep my answers brief.”

'Sexual freedom means not being afraid of the rainbow'

You described your imprisonment as “part of the struggle for sexual freedom.” What does sexual freedom mean to you?

Broadly speaking, sexual freedom means that everyone can live on equal terms, regardless of their sexual identity or sexual orientation. A trans person should be able to live without being killed by their family, bullied at school or discriminated against by society. As a woman, I should be able to walk safely on the streets at night and receive equal pay for equal work. Sexual freedom means not being afraid of the rainbow.

Jailed parent activist for LGBTI+ rights: Family is not built on blood ties alone

28 September 2026

Why did you specifically choose the phrase “They cannot steal our joy”? What place do joy and gullüm have in the LGBTI+ struggle?

Although Deniz Göktaş was the first to get us saying “They cannot steal our joy,” gullüm is one of the building blocks of the LGBTI+ movement. The LGBTI+ movement is not stern or aloof. On the contrary, it is perhaps the most joyful, cheerful and fun of all political movements. Crying in the face of the injustices, oppression and violence we experience is normal and human. Laughing, however, is resistance.

'I sleep with armies within me and beside me'

Is it possible to hold on to joy in prison? What keeps you going?

First of all, myself. I am here not because I violated rights, but because I defended them. Besides the strength that comes from being imprisoned, I am naturally energetic and cheerful, I laugh loudly, and I adapt quickly to new circumstances. When something bad happens, instead of drowning myself in drama, I focus on how I can keep going.

Second, the LGBTI+ movement’s quick response. Before we had even been taken to the police station, our lawyers had already begun keeping watch there. Despite the risk of being detained themselves, our friends began protesting the next day, and from what I hear, demonstrations are continuing in many provinces. They made sure our case received attention from numerous national and international institutions and media outlets, from the European Parliament to The Times.

They arranged for lawmakers who support the movement to visit us here. More lawyers than I can count come to our ward every day. You could say that the lawyers handling our case are practically sleeping here with us.

Another source of strength is the way my friends at the Civil Society Development Center rallied around me. Just a few hours after I was detained, my dear friends took care of my dogs, made sure my flowers were watered regularly, stayed by my mother’s side, sent a truckload of books and letters to the prison, and made sure I did not have to worry about anything, financially or otherwise.

The love and support of my dear mother and my beloved sibling.

And finally, the dozens of letters and notes I receive every day, not from people I know personally, but from complete strangers. I spend my days reading these messages of support, sometimes tearing up and smiling at the same time. They do more than give me strength and lift my spirits. They also make me happier than I have been in quite some time.

Here, I sleep with armies within me and beside me. I consider it my duty not to lose my joy. I would consider it a disgrace not to remain standing.

'The LGBTI+ movement is among those that understand children’s rights best'

Rather than seeing LGBTI+s only through the lens of oppression and victimhood, what aspects of queer life would you like people on the outside to see?

I would like people on the outside to see the LGBTI+ movement’s dedication to children’s rights, its respect for them and the importance it places on them.

Despite the relentless accusations that we are encouraging children or harming them, which constantly hang over our heads like the sword of death, the LGBTI+ movement is probably one of the movements that best knows, understands and appreciates the importance of children’s rights, because of the violence, fear and loneliness we ourselves experienced as children. If this were something people could simply be encouraged into, everyone would presumably choose the identities that come with the greatest privilege.

What truly harms children is using them as a pretext to criminalize rights advocates. (NÖ/VK)

Ergin was detained at his home on Sep 27 on suspicion of "publicly disseminating misleading information."

The investigation led by İstanbul's Silivri Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office centers on a social media post where the journalist desccibed the deceased doctor as "former forensic medicine personnel." He had later corrected that description. Despite this, a judge ordered his arrest.

Nefes did not cover Ergin's detention in its first page yesterday.

The doctor in question, Turgay Tamer, was detained as part of a reopened investigation into the death of intelligence officer Kaşif Kozinoğlu. He was working at the infirmary of the prison where Kozinoğlu died suspiciously.

Shortly after his release with a travel ban, Tamer, 66, was found dead at his home on Sep 27.

His body was sent to the Forensic Medicine Institute to determine the exact cause of death.

Reopened case into Kaşif Kozinoğlu's death raises more questions than answers

28 September 2026

(HA/VK)

The center’s briefing, titled “Violations of Children’s Right to Life in Turkey,” was compiled from local and national online media, bulletins by the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV) Documentation Center and data from the Health and Safety Labor Watch (İSİG).

The actual numbr of deaths could be higher than what the group was able to find, the report said. 

Breakdown of fatalities

Of the children who died, 174 were boys and 60 were girls. The identities of five children could not be determined. Deaths were recorded in 63 provinces, with the highest numbers in Urfa, where 18 children died, followed by Antep with 12 and Diyarbakır with 10.

At least 14 children died in incidents linked to public institutions or the actions or omissions of public officials, according to the report. Five died while receiving health services, four during sports or cultural activities, three while using local government services and two while crossing borders.

FİSA recorded at least 225 additional deaths in areas where it said the state had failed to meet its obligation to prevent violations of the right to life through regulation and oversight.

Work-related incidents accounted for 44 deaths. Of those, 36 involved children who were working at the time of their deaths. Three were vocational high school students and two were participating in workplace training through Vocational Education Centers (MESEM). Five were seasonal agricultural workers, while at least four of the children who died while working were refugees.

The report separately recorded eight children who were not employed but died in incidents at workplaces where necessary safety measures had not been taken.

Child worker killed in workshop explosion in Hatay

10 September 2026

Another 46 children died in incidents in urban and rural outdoor areas. Forty-four drowned in dams, rivers, ponds, open bodies of water and irrigation canals, many of them operated by the State Hydraulic Works (DSİ).

The report documented multiple deaths in irrigation canals over the summer, including cases in Adana, Urfa, Kahramanmaraş, Diyarbakır, İzmir, Van and Aydın.

FİSA also recorded at least 28 deaths related to physical safety in the home and domestic accidents. Twenty children died after falling from heights, particularly from open windows and balconies. The report also recorded deaths caused by electric shocks, fires and poisoning, as well as 10 deaths categorized under “other negligence,” five of them at tourism facilities.

Traffic crashes were among the leading causes recorded in the report, accounting for 57 child deaths. The cases included children struck by vehicles and deaths involving motorcycles, bicycles, tractors and incidents inside vehicles.

At least eight children died as a result of violence. Five deaths were linked to peer violence, two were classified as child killings and one was attributed to gender-based violence. The incidents occurred in homes, among peers, in public spaces and in other parts of children’s daily lives.

Over 800,000 children in Turkey are out of education, report finds

27 November 2025

FİSA also recorded at least five deaths by suicide based on the limited number of cases reported in the media.

At least four children died in incidents involving privately owned firearms. The report said the deaths occurred when licensed or unlicensed guns kept in homes discharged or when shots were fired in public spaces.

The monitoring also recorded the deaths of at least 19 migrant and refugee children. Four died in work-related incidents, three in traffic crashes, three in domestic safety incidents, two in outdoor incidents and two while crossing borders. Other deaths were categorized under fires, suspicious deaths, disasters, workplace accidents and local government services. (NÖ/VK)

Police carried out raids at addresses in İstanbul, Ankara, Elazığ and Manisa as part of the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office investigation dubbed as the “Referees file.”

The investigation concerns allegations of “torment” and forgery of official documents against the suspects. Prosecutors determined that Gündoğdu, head of the Turkish Football Federation’s (TFF) Central Referee Board (MHK), and several referees, observers and current or former MHK officials may have links to the alleged offenses.

Those detained also included Ferdi Karadoruk, head of the TFF Active Referees Association; former MHK deputy chair Ahmet Şahin; former MHK member Yunus Yıldırım; and TFF training and fourth-region official Sebahattin Şahin.

Alican Sağlar, an organizational official at the İstanbul branch of the TFF Referees and Observers Association, and Emre Kosif, head of the association’s İstanbul Provincial Referee Board, were also detained. The suspects were taken to police headquarters for processing.

Exam questions leaked to referees

Messages examined in the investigation include exchanges concerning questions for a refereeing exam.

In a May 15, 2025 message to Karadoruk, referee G.H.E. wrote, “Good morning, chairman. You were going to send over the questions,” referring to the refereeing exam.

Karadoruk replied, “I asked Kosif for them. Let me ask again.”

On May 19, G.H.E. again reminded Karadoruk about sending the questions. Karadoruk responded, “I’m asking Emre brother for the third time now, master. There is a May 19 program. I’ll get back to you when it’s over.”

Another message in the case concerned Mehmet Çaylak, a member of a provincial referee board.

“Definitely don’t give Mehmet Çaylak observer assignments, brother. Let’s think about three years from now, brother. If necessary, let’s mob him so that he resigns,” Karadoruk wrote to another person. (VK)

The İstanbul 14th Penal Court of First Instance issued the verdict today at Göktaş’s first hearing, following 88 days in pretrial detention at the Çorlu Karatepe High Security Prison.

The indictment had sought a total prison sentence of between two years and two months and nine years and eight months on charges of insulting the president, inciting the public into hatred and enmity, and praising crime and criminals.

Göktaş was brought to the İstanbul Courthouse from prison for the hearing, which began at 11.20 am, about 80 minutes later than scheduled.

Ahead of the hearing, the square outside the courthouse and entrances to the building were closed. Access was limited to lawyers, people attending hearings and those filing petitions. Riot police were deployed behind barriers on the floor where the court is located.

After an argument between officials and people seeking access to the courtroom, the court opened another room where the proceedings could be followed through Turkey’s audiovisual court system.

'Twenty-two days in prison for each sentence'

Göktaş, who was detained on Jul 2 at İstanbul Airport after returning from a trip abroad, said he had spent his detention largely in isolation.

“I have been held for 88 days at Çorlu Karatepe High Security Prison, publicly known as a well-type prison,” he told the court. “Since Jul 3, I have spent my days there without sunlight and without seeing any other detainee or prisoner. I was able to speak with my family for 10 minutes a week.”

“I have been detained for 88 days because of four sentences I said during the show: 22 days for each sentence,” he added. “As a comedian, it is an honor to see the impact of my words, but it is worrying in terms of freedom of expression in Turkey.”

Göktaş said he had performed the jokes cited in the case 197 times across Turkey before his detention, before audiences totaling more than 100,000 people. While he didn't receive negative reactions for his jokes, he said, the controversy began after the show was released on YouTube on Jun 25.

Jailed comedian Deniz Göktaş says video showing him handcuffed ‘staged for social media'

9 July 2026

Göktaş asserted that the complaints against the show filed with the Presidency Communication Center (CİMER), which eventually led to the investigation and his arrest, were not "organic" but part of an organized effort.

The full performance drew about 4 million views in its first three days and onliy one complaint was filed during this time, he said. After a targeted social media campaign, 184 more complaints were filed.

“There is no complaint from the public,” he said. “Most of the complaints here do not come from the original YouTube show. They come from video clips with the beginning and end cut off, posted by coordinated accounts.”

'Dictator' joke

Göktaş also defended a joke in which he referred to Erdoğan as a “shy dictator,” arguing that it fell within the bounds of political satire.

“If political satire is not prohibited, my jokes should remain within freedom of expression,” he said. “I think ‘shy dictator’ is a valid joke.”

"Someone else might have called him a democract and made people laugh more than I did," he remarked.

Deniz Göktaş formally arrested after explaining controversial standup jokes during interrogation

3 July 2026

Burkini joke

Göktaş also rejected allegations that his jokes insulted religious values. Addressing one joke involving fasting and suicide bombers, he said it was based on wordplay and was not intended to establish a connection between fasting and terrorism.

“There is no intention or implication of insulting religious values,” he said.

He similarly argued that another joke involving women wearing full-coverage swimwear had been interpreted in the opposite way from what he intended. Göktaş said the joke was designed to expose the audience’s prejudices rather than target the women themselves.

Göktaş denied all charges and requested his acquittal and release.

After the defense statements, the prosecutor sought Göktaş’s conviction on all three charges but also requested his release with the verdict.

The court recessed for an hour before announcing its decision. Göktaş was acquitted of "praising crime and criminals." (HA/VK)

The shooting took place at Farabi Anadolu High School in Çardak village, Governor Mehmet Fatih Serdengeçti said.

A suspect identified by the initials A.B. allegedly shot teacher M.B. with an unlicensed firearm. The teacher died in the attack.

Police detained the suspect and seized a gun believed to have been used in the shooting.

Media reports said the suspect was the teacher’s nephew.

The governor said there had been a previous dispute between the suspect and the teacher.

“The judicial investigation into the incident is being conducted meticulously,” Serdengeçti said.

The shooting came amid two other recent incidents involving firearms near schools.

Earlier in the day, a 13-year-old student was caught after nearby parents noticed the student had brought a shotgun to school.

Last week, a 15-year-old student opened fire with a hunting rifle outside a high school in Manisa, wounding 11 people, including three critically.

Eleven students wounded after shooting near high school in Manisa

22 September 2026

(VK)

Eighty-two people, including LGBTI+ rights advocates, were formally arrested after operations across 15 provinces. Among those was Nedime Erdoğan, a board member of the Kaos GL Association and founder of the Rainbow Families Association (GALADER).

Erdoğan, who has worked for years to strengthen the ties between LGBTI+s and their families, answered bianet's questions in writing from Sincan Women's Closed Prison.

'No pressure is strong enough to change existence'

As an LGBTI+ mother who was arrested under an operation named 'Family is Safe', what did you think when you first heard the name of the operation?

When I first heard the name of the operation, I just laughed. Because for years, I have been working for families to stay together, to understand their children, to support them, and to respect their existence. Without ever forgetting the reality that 'family' is a space of struggle for LGBTI+s, of course.

For LGBTI+s, who are forced to cope with various forms of discrimination and bullying as people try to render them invisible in the public sphere, it is very important that the institution of family stands in a protective, caring, and understanding place. Because we know that families can be perpetrators.

Over the years, I have witnessed many families rebuilding the balances within the family by grasping the scientific and existential reality of this. This change brought not only LGBTI+s but the entire family to a new, more open, and more authentic place. From here, because of my experiences as a witness, I have always maintained my belief that similar things can happen in the public sphere as well.

I have always trusted the common sense of society. LGBTI+s are part of the society, and no pressure is strong enough to change existence.

'Family is not built on blood ties alone'

You have been fighting for years to strengthen the ties between LGBTI+ children and their families. How do you evaluate the concept of 'family' being pitted against LGBTI+s today?

We are facing a political agenda that tries to fit everyone into a single mold and targets those who remain outside it. As society changes, the family also changes and diversifies. They certainly see the reality that the family is not uniform, and that the definition of what is 'acceptable' fits no one. Families that are poor, refugees, disabled, and so on do not fit this definition either.

As for LGBTI+s, people refuse to accept the reality that they were once children, or that they are part of a family with mothers, fathers, siblings, relatives, and friends who love them. LGBTI+s were born to a mother and a father, and they are in every vein of the society. Your neighbor, your taxi driver, the supermarket worker, your local grocer, or your butcher could be LGBTI+.

The family experiences of LGBTI+s are often tragic and traumatic. Much of this happens due to ignorance and policies of hostilization that are wrongly imposed on society and not based on scientific knowledge. They are trying to portray LGBTI+s as anti-family.

Anyone who has experienced this much trauma and violence would criticize the family, and I do too. As someone who has experienced that a family can be built not only through blood ties, but through solidarity, love, and support, I have witnessed both the efforts of LGBTI+s for their families and their strong stance in 'chosen families' to experience this feeling.

There is no legal mechanism allowing LGBTI+s to officially form a family. If a law were passed, it is clear that LGBTI+s would be the ones getting married the most :) We cannot know. LGBTI+s are not anti-family; they simply stand from a place where they have experienced that an environment free of violence, where understanding, solidarity, and respect are preserved, is possible, and that blood ties are not essential for this.

As parents, by transforming our own families, we say that 'another' family is possible.

'Understanding and supporting your child saves lives'

What would you like to say to families who have learned that their child is LGBTI+ and are feeling fear due to what is happening today?

I am writing from the concept of 'judicial crimes', where the family concept is dragged as an example that fails to explain real lives entirely and offers no solution. This place could produce a thesis for the Müge Anlı show.

Every story I listen to is about people whose lives and problems are ignored in the society, who are rendered invisible. Looking from here, one feels like shouting, 'Who is acceptable?'

We are fighting to keep our children from being pulled into this spiral. A family's attitude plays a huge role in determining a child's next step. This experience has made me realize once again that understanding and supporting your child, as we have done, saves lives.

We protect our children and our family. We must continue to do so. We will draw strength from one another, and together we will amplify our objections to what is happening in the public sphere.

A lot falls on us as parents so that our children know they are valuable in life and can protect this value. We must be parents not only for our own children, but for all LGBTI+s who lack family support; we must sustain this as a large family that is stronger than the blood ties between us.

I will not let our children be added to those young people forced onto the streets, among people with no hope or future. Our strength can overcome any form of bullying. We are mothers, fathers, and siblings.

The struggle we wage for the happiness and health of our children, without giving up on them, is honorable and strong. This strength is superior to all fears. I am so glad they exist.

What happened?

The 'Family is Safe' operations targeting LGBTI+ organizations, rights defenders, activists, and venues where LGBTI+s gather began on Sep 12, 2026. Justice Minister Akın Gürlek announced that the operations covered 15 provinces, with judicial proceedings initiated against 162 people, nine associations, and 13 businesses.

Police raids, online censorship target Turkey’s LGBTI+ community in new crackdown

13 September 2026

The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office announced that in the İstanbul-centered investigation, proceedings were carried out against 38 people across 12 provinces, 26 people were detained, and search and seizure operations were carried out at 54 addresses, including six LGBTI+ associations and 10 businesses. It was announced that the investigation was being conducted under charges of 'establishing an organization for the purpose of committing crimes', 'prostitution', 'obscenity', and drug offenses.

The operations also extended to Ankara, İzmir, Aydın, and Mersin. LGBTI+ rights defenders, including board and audit committee members of Kaos GL, were detained and arrested. As of Sep 17, 116 people had been detained, 44 of whom were LGBTI+ rights defenders, and a total of 82 people were arrested.

Simultaneously with the operations, access bans were imposed on the digital platforms of LGBTI+ organizations and activists. According to a report by the İstanbul Bar Association, the websites of 11 LGBTI+ associations, 32 X accounts, and a total of 419 social media accounts were blocked, while requests were submitted for access bans on 107 additional accounts.

In their joint statement, LGBTI+ organizations objected to the association of human rights advocacy activities with various criminal charges and the criminalization of organizations, stating that no concrete link had been established between association activities and the charges levied in the investigations.

(NÖ/VK)

According to the Culture and Tourism Ministry, the ship’s main cargo consists of plates and bowls believed to have been produced near ancient Rhosus, in what is now Arsuz in Hatay province.

Sayan-Kaya said in a written statement that she had asked President and AKP Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to relieve her of all her duties so that investigations into the allegations could proceed without being overshadowed by her political position. 

“I believe that the responsibility we bear in politics is not limited to legal responsibility,” she said. “The duty we have undertaken toward our nation also requires assuming political and moral responsibility when necessary.”

Sayan-Kaya did not address the substance of the allegations.

The crisis has also prompted a broad judicial investigation, with more than 50 people formally arrested and over 30 given travel bans, including company executives. Authorities have frozen assets belonging to 46 legal entities, 18 funds and 42 individuals.

No legal action has so far been taken against Sayan-Kaya.

Turkey’s investment fund crisis in 10 questions: Phantom returns and a market meltdown

21 September 2026

Alleged massive gains

Sayan-Kaya's resignation came after Zeynel Emre, spokesperson for the main opposition New (Yeni) Party, alleged that she invested about 63 million liras (1 US dollar = ~49 Turkish liras) in shares of Özata Denizcilik in April and withdrew 1.34 billion liras in September, shortly before the crisis began on Sep 16.

Emre also alleged that Sayan-Kaya’s husband, İlyas Kaya, bought 150,000 shares in the company at 255 liras each and later sold them at 4,482 liras. He said Kaya invested about 99.7 million liras and subsequently withdrew 826 million liras.

Özata Denizcilik shares had already drawn scrutiny from the Capital Markets Board (SPK). In a Sep 25 bulletin, the regulator said it had filed criminal complaints against 11 people over transactions involving the company’s shares.

The SPK also imposed two-year trading bans related to Özata Denizcilik shares on Tera Yatırım Menkul Değerler AŞ and Tera Portföy Yönetimi AŞ. Executives of these companies are currently in detention.

Workers’ Party of Turkey (TİP) deputy Ahmet Şık questioned how Sayan-Kaya and her husband accumulated such amounts of money to invest.

“The main question is where and how the Sayan family acquired wealth large enough to use a total of 163 million liras solely for investment purposes,” Şık said yesterday.

Statement from AKP

AKP spokesperson Ömer Çelik yesterday issued a statement about the fund crisis without naming Sayan-Kaya or referring directly to her resignation.

“The fight against all kinds of wrongdoing, corruption, abuse and irregularities will be pursued without compromise,” Çelik said.

The spokesperson said the party had been closely monitoring developments on Erdoğan’s instructions and cited the president as saying, “Whoever bears responsibility will be held accountable.”

He added the problem was confined to a limited portion of the capital markets and a number of funds, and did not pose a systemic risk to Turkey’s economy.

The fund crisis

The crisis began after some investment funds that had built large positions in low-float stocks struggled to meet investors’ redemption requests. The SPK subsequently suspended trading through the Turkish Electronic Fund Trading Platform (TEFAS) for funds managed by seven portfolio management companies and ordered 131 funds liquidated.

The SPK had said that funds managed by some portfolio companies had contributed to price movements in low-float stocks that could not be explained by the companies’ economic circumstances or financial figures.

The regulator introduced tighter rules on Aug 28 covering fund concentration, related-party transactions, valuation methods and hedge fund operations.

Under Article 107 of Turkey’s Capital Markets Law, transactions intended to create false or misleading impressions about the price, price movements, supply or demand of capital market instruments can constitute market fraud.

The crisis has led authorities to order the liquidation of funds with a combined volume of about 18.3 billion US dollars. (VK)

Kozinoğlu died on Nov 12, 2011, at the age of 55 while being held in Silivri Prison on espionage-related allegations. He had reportedly felt chest tightness and could not be saved despite medical intervention. The cause of his death was recorded as heart attack.

As of Sep 28, nine people were remanded in custody in connection with Kozinoğlu's death, while his two former cellmates were under house arrest. Authorities have also exhumed his body for new forensic examinations.

The original forensic investigation attributed Kozinoğlu’s death to chronic ischemic heart disease and found no evidence of poisoning. The reopened investigation has not produced a publicly available finding establishing that he was killed.

'Ergenekon' trials

Kozinoğlu had been detained on Mar 10, 2011, after returning from Afghanistan and appearing before prosecutor Zekeriya Öz, who led the Ergenekon investigations at the time.

The Ergenekon trials, which at time resulted in the purge of numerous military officers and bureaucrats on various allegations including plotting a coup agaist the government. The cases were dropped in 2019 as a plot against the army by the Fetullah Gülen cult, the group behind the 2016 coup attempt, to promote its members in the military.

Öz fled the country in 2015 after an investigation was launched against him over his links to the the Gülen group.

In 2011, Öz had accused Kozinoğlu of being a member of the "Ergenekon" organization. He had alleged that Kozinoğlu leaked classified documents to the Odatv news site. 

Kozinoğlu died before presenting his defense at the main Odatv trial.

In 2017, the 13 remaining defendants in the case were acquitted after a court found that the alleged offenses had not been proven.

The investigation into Kozinoğlu’s death was closed with a decision not to prosecute on Apr 10, 2012.

In August, Justice Minister Akın Gürlek announced on Aug 26 that a review by the ministry’s department investigating unsolved killings led an İstanbul judge to overturn that decision.

A special team was then established to investigate the case, with access to the case file restricted. Kozinoğlu’s grave in İstanbul’s Ümraniye district was opened, and forensic specialists collected bone, soil and other samples to examine his cause of death and possible third-party involvement. No final results from those examinations have been made public. 

The investigation initially focused on personnel who were working at the prison when Kozinoğlu died. Ten people were taken into custody in the first operation, including a former gendarmerie conscript who was subsequently remanded. Seven others were released under judicial supervision and two by prosecutors. Another suspect, who authorities said was abroad, was not apprehended.

A second operation expanded the inquiry to the medical response to Kozinoğlu’s illness and news coverage of him before his imprisonment.

Emergency medical technicians Özlem Uslu Öz and Emre Atmaca were remanded on allegations of intentional killing. Other medical personnel and ambulance drivers were released under judicial supervision.

Atmaca’s defense said he had been working in the job for only two months, did not know Kozinoğlu’s identity and requested a doctor-equipped team after realizing the seriousness of the emergency.

Journalist detained

Journalist Selahattin Günday was also remanded over reporting and images identifying Kozinoğlu outside the Beşiktaş courthouse in Mar 2011. He faces allegations related to disclosing intelligence information and unlawfully obtaining or disseminating personal data. A second remand order was later issued against him on an allegation of establishing a criminal organization.

Günday’s lawyers have challenged the proceedings, arguing that he did not record the footage in question, that Kozinoğlu’s identity and expected courthouse appearance were already public, and that the version of the intelligence law cited against him took effect after the alleged conduct. The Turkish Journalists’ Association has called for his release.

The inquiry has also reached officials involved in the original investigation. Ali İşgören, the Silivri chief public prosecutor at the time of Kozinoğlu’s death, and Necip Doğan, then a prison prosecutor, were remanded on allegations of membership in a criminal organization.

Former journalist Osman Arslan was remanded on allegations of membership in a criminal organization and disclosing protected information for political or military espionage.

Former intelligence official Enver Altaylı, already imprisoned in another case related to his links to the Gülen group, received a new remand order on an allegation of instigating intentional killing. Former police chief Bayram Özbek was also remanded on allegations that include instigating intentional killing and establishing or leading an armed terrorist organization. His detention brought the reported number of people remanded in the reopened investigation to nine.

Investigators have separately questioned Kozinoğlu’s former cellmates, retired naval captain Hasan Ataman Yıldırım and retired gendarmerie colonel Hasan Atilla Uğur, on allegations of intentional killing. Both were placed under house arrest.

Prosecutors questioned Uğur about a sublingual tablet he said he gave Kozinoğlu after Kozinoğlu complained of chest tightness. They also asked about surveillance footage said to show Uğur entering Kozinoğlu’s room and Yıldırım later leaving the room with a cup.

Uğur denied involvement or negligence and said he could not remember several details. His lawyers said he had urgently sought medical assistance and alleged delays by prison personnel. The published questions do not establish that the tablet or cup contained poison.

The medical response

The medical response on Nov 12, 2011, is another focus of the inquiry. A timeline attributed to official records says Kozinoğlu entered his room at 5.56 pm and his cellmates entered shortly afterward. The corridor call-button light was activated at 6.08 pm.

Kozinoğlu was taken by stretcher to the prisoner reception entrance at 6.25 pm. An ambulance arrived at the prison at 6.37 pm, and he reached Silivri State Hospital at 7.10 pm. His death was formally recorded at 7.30 pm.

Gürlek has said Kozinoğlu was already dead when he reached the hospital.

The original investigation found no evidence of poisoning and concluded that the available evidence did not establish culpable delay, negligence or third-party responsibility. Those findings are now being re-examined.

Kurtlar Vadisi Pusu series

The inquiry has also turned to Kurtlar Vadisi Pusu, a popular television series touching on current affairs at the time, because of a fictional intelligence officer named Kazım Kaşifoğlu, widely believed to have depicted Kozinoğlu.

An episode broadcast on Nov 10, 2011, two days before Kozinoğlu died, depicted Kaşifoğlu being held captive and threatened with death. Also, in the episode, a character named Kara apparoaches Polat Alemdar, the lead character, in the disguise of an imam, and tells him, "I prayed for [Kaşifoğlu], it's up to you to bury him."

The next episode of the series was aired nearly a month after Kozinoğlu's death. In that episode, Kaşifoğlu was detained and sent to prison. He feels unwell when doing exercises and killed by an injection by Kara.

Prosecutors are examining allegations concerning the character’s portrayal and whether the series contained propaganda, concealed messages or organizational instructions. The allegations have not established that the series communicated an order to kill Kozinoğlu.

Screenwriters Raci Şaşmaz, Bahadır Özdener and Cüneyt Aysan have given statements as people with relevant information. They denied receiving outside instructions or pressure and described the parallels between the series and Kozinoğlu as coincidental.

Actors Emin Olcay and Sedat Savtak have also been questioned as witnesses or information-holders. Pana Film director İhsan Karademir was questioned as a suspect and released with an international-travel ban on Sep 27.

Doctor found dead

Investigators are also examining a theft at the Forensic Medicine Institute shortly after Kozinoğlu’s death. A person identified only as G.E., who is already serving sentences in unrelated cases, was questioned over whether biological samples could have been substituted. The investigation has not established that the samples were tampered with.

Another development concerned Dr. Turgay Tamer, 66, who was found dead at his home in İstanbul’s Büyükçekmece district on Sep 27 after being questioned in the reopened investigation and released with a foreign-travel ban.

The Silivri prosecutor’s office said Tamer had been a prison campus doctor, not a forensic pathologist, and had not been informed about Kozinoğlu’s deteriorating condition or treated him during the episode. His body was taken to the Forensic Medicine Institute to determine the cause of death. No cause of death or connection between his death and the Kozinoğlu investigation has been established. (VK)

Ahead of COP31, we spoke about the matter with Sinan Erensü from Center for Spatial Justice, Remzi Çelik from the Urban Heat Island Initiative, and Arif Künar from the Association for Fighting Energy Poverty (ENYOKDER). We also tallied the bill for the summer based on a survey answered by our readers.

In its recommendation issued on Oct 14, 2020, the European Union Commission defines energy poverty as a situation in which households are unable to afford their basic energy needs.

The Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (UCTEA) Chamber of Mechanical Engineers 2026 report states that in Turkey, energy is not merely a matter of the poverty of energy that should be provided to citizens as a basic public service, but also an issue of general poverty. The EU Commission recommendation decision also includes the following statements:

Access to adequate heating, cooling, lighting, and energy to power appliances are essential services that underpin a decent standard of living and health.

The trajectory of energy poverty

Sinan Erensü from the Center for Spatial Justice says that until a decade ago, energy poverty was discussed in terms of access to energy resources. Erensü notes that with energy prices rising significantly over the past 15 years and accounting for a large portion of household budgets, the concept began to be discussed in Europe and the US. He outlines the current scope of energy poverty as follows:

This new scope encompasses energy poverty as both access to energy technologies and ensuring they do not strain household budgets. Furthermore, with the vulnerability brought by climate change, it involves obtaining this energy as much as possible from renewable sources and in a healthy manner.

'This is a decoupling'

The TMMOB Chamber of Mechanical Engineers' Energy Outlook of Turkey 2026 Report interprets the extent of energy poverty in Turkey through OECD data:

"Energy inflation in Turkey stands at 26 percent, while the OECD average is negative. This difference alone is striking. What is truly remarkable is this: in the countries ranking second on the list, energy inflation is around 7 percent. In other words, while Turkey experiences an increase nearly 3 to 4 times higher than the closest country, it stands in a direction completely opposite to the OECD average. Reading this picture merely as high inflation is insufficient.

This is a decoupling. Because under the same global conditions, while energy prices are falling in some countries and rising modestly in others, they are surging sharply in Turkey. This situation clearly demonstrates that the source of the problem is domestic, not external."

'Being prepared plays a decisive role'

Sinan Erensü states that energy poverty is measured in research through the payment amount reflected on utility bills, late payments, the insulation status of the household, and indoor heating levels.

Noting that Turkey ranks among the worst-performing countries in studies conducted for Europe, Erensü emphasizes that being prepared for cold weather is decisive here:

In places hit by one-week or 15-day cold waves in winter, where conditions intensify unexpectedly, energy poverty is experienced dramatically because unpreparedness also comes into play.

Furthermore, the heatwave warning systems guide by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) explicitly states that public health officials must develop and activate heatwave warning systems and prepare for extreme heat events in line with WHO-WMO guidelines.

Underlining that the concept of the right to cooling is the most current form of the energy poverty issue, Erensü says, "The aspect of coping with heat and heatwaves had not been brought to the agenda much until now. The 10 hottest summers globally were recorded in this century. In a sense, this is proof of how intense climate change has become and that we are living through it today."

Sinan Erensü adds that questions such as "Can you keep your home cool in the summer?" are now gradually being included in surveys.

Does legislation acknowledge energy poverty?

Stating that energy poverty is not yet officially recognized in Turkey and has not been incorporated into legislation, Arif Künar from the Association for Fighting Energy Poverty (ENYOKDER) says, "EU countries defined the concept of energy poverty in their energy directives using country-specific criteria. Under the Social Climate Fund, they have initiated implementation and transformation projects aimed at addressing buildings and energy poverty."

Künar says, "In our country, this concept needs to be defined in line with national conditions, its criteria established according to local realities, and poor households mapped out." He notes that, with contributions from EU support, local governments, and sectors, this process will reduce poverty, ensure climate justice, and support a fair transition to clean energy.

Sinan Erensü from the Center for Spatial Justice notes that incorporating this into legislation is possible by recognizing citizenship through the lens of energy. He points out that Turkey is heavily dependent on external energy sources, adding that energy must move beyond being a realm dominated solely by a few major players, corporations, and the state.

The poor suffer the most

Arif Künar from ENYOKDER says, "Due to energy sources becoming increasingly expensive and hard to access, energy continues to grow more costly and energy poverty continues to rise. Unfortunately, even harder days and years await us. We are facing an unfair and unacceptable situation." He adds:

Those most affected by this are not those who created the climate crisis, but the disadvantaged, vulnerable, and poor segments who have had the least impact.

Erensü states that culturally and socially, heat does not attract as much attention as cold, noting that even in imagery, energy poverty is suggested through "figures shivering from the cold without shoes." He shares the following:

"The groups affected by heat, heatwaves, and homes staying above a certain temperature during summer without cooling are the classically disadvantaged groups: tenants and low-income households. Added to these are those forced to spend most of the day at home. Working life is also difficult, but those living at home and spending most of their day indoors are children and housewives. Yet perhaps at the very top of this vulnerability list are the elderly."

Erensü says, "Therefore, we have reached a point where adaptation [climate adaptation] must also be viewed from the perspective of social justice, requiring focused work and precautionary measures."

WHO: Number of people exposed to extreme heat is increasing exponentially

The World Health Organization (WHO) states that in homes where vulnerable individuals such as the elderly, infants, the sick, and disabled live, keeping temperatures below maximum acceptable limits is of critical importance.

According to the WHO's Housing and Health Guidelines, indoor temperatures above 24 °C, especially when combined with high humidity, can strain the body's self-cooling mechanism, leading to thermal discomfort and various health risks.

According to the WHO, the number of people exposed to extreme heat across all regions of the world is increasing exponentially due to the climate crisis. Heat-related mortality rates among people over the age of 65 increased by nearly 85 percent between 2000-2004 and 2017-2021.

In Europe, data compiled from half the continent, described as incomplete, showed that 35,000 excess deaths were recorded in Aug 2026.

In May 2026, the WHO reported that the heat-related death rate in Europe had increased by more than 30 percent over the past 20 years, warning that this rate tends to rise significantly as a result of the climate crisis and an aging population.

In Turkey, however, because there is no data on this matter, it is unfortunately impossible to arrive at a rate.

Erensü criticizes the lack of data, reminding that temperatures felt inside households across many parts of Turkey are not at livable levels:

There are structural issues here as well. For instance, how many people died in the latest heatwave? We simply do not know, because we do not keep data on whether a death was caused by a heatwave. Central and local governments must collect data more proactively without fear of the responsibility it brings, share it regularly, and strive to reduce the numbers.

'Millions of households could pay double this year's bill next year'

Pointing out that electricity and natural gas subsidies are now being gradually reduced on a phased and province-by-province basis, Arif Künar states that the low-tariff threshold for electricity usage was 4,000 kWh/year this year. Künar estimates that this limit will likely be lowered to 3,000 kWh/year next year:

"So an average family of four consumes about 240 kWh/month. In this case, millions of households will pay nearly double what they paid for electricity this year."

Petition submitted to the bar association

At a panel organized by the İstanbul Medical Chamber (İTO) Climate Crisis Working Group on Jul 16, an urgent call was made for structural measures against global warming fueled by the human-made climate crisis. The panel highlighted that local governments should establish air-conditioned 'cooling spaces' for unhoused people and those living in deep poverty on days when heatwave warnings are issued.

On Jul 6, a petition was submitted to the İstanbul Bar Association Environmental Rights Commission Presidency, calling for the right to cooling to be evaluated within the scope of the right to life. The petition by the Urban Heat Island Initiative emphasized that the right to cooling is an integral part of the right to live in a healthy environment.

This right, referred to as the 'cooling right' or 'right to cooling' in English and 'soğutma hakkı' or 'serinleme hakkı' in Turkish, has gradually begun to be discussed worldwide.

The right to cooling can be briefly defined as the right to access living environments or spaces that are compatible with the climate. Framed under the 'right to adequate housing' recognized in international human rights law and within the context of general health, the right to cooling points to numerous inequalities.

An article authored by Marine Cornelis and published by the European Commission in Jan 2025, titled 'Framing Summer Energy Poverty,' also outlines a general framework for these inequalities. One of these is the inequality experienced between those who can access cooling devices such as air conditioners and those who cannot, who are instead exposed to the heat emitted into the atmosphere by these devices:

Urban planning, housing design, ventilation, green spaces. This is entirely about resilience.

Mechanical Engineer Remzi Çelik from the Urban Heat Island Initiative states that a suitable living environment must be provided to eliminate heat that poses a vital risk to living beings:

This problem occurs because we plan cities poorly.

Recalling Article 56 of the Constitution, which protects the 'right to live in a healthy environment,' Remzi Çelik points to the inequality in access to cooling devices such as air conditioners, electric fans, and blowers, while also emphasizing that the energy used for these devices must be clean energy.

Explaining that closely built, vertical structures with glass facades create an urban oven effect in the areas where they are constructed, preventing solar energy from returning to the atmosphere, Çelik shares the following:

"What we call energy inequality is actually a concept that gets a very large share from cooling as well. Today, despite having air conditioners at home, people spent a summer choosing not to run them due to utility bills, accepting the situation at the expense of their health. I see this among my friends, all around me."

'Every tree must be adopted'

Conveying his observations from the Validebağ Grove, Remzi Çelik notes that he recorded a temperature of 55 degrees Celsius on the asphalt 50 meters away, but 26 degrees Celsius under the trees inside the grove. Stating that every tree must be adopted, Çelik notes the following:

"I am inside the forest, in a place with very tall trees. Here, you can very clearly see what the urban heat island effect, the microclimate inside the city, and its impact on the cooling energy in our homes really mean."

Resilient cities

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also stated on Jul 31 that referring to heatwaves as 'silent killers' does not even fully reveal the scale of the issue, saying, "Because heat-related deaths worldwide are largely underreported."

On the other hand, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) has classified extreme heat and urban heat islands under the disaster risk category. The need for resilient cities has come to the fore significantly in protecting against this risk.

Resilient cities have also found a place in the statements of the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry within the scope of COP31.

Stating, "If you have poor urbanization, if it is based on rent, it magnifies this effect even further," Remzi Çelik expresses the following:

Stating, "If you have poor urbanization, if it is based on rent, it magnifies this effect even further," Remzi Çelik expresses the following:

"If the urban heat island effect is included in a disaster definition, it means we must now prepare for it. The global climate crisis is a reality. Phase-out of fossil fuels is a mandatory plan. But people perceive this like a distant photograph. However, people experience its consequences on the poor urbanization side in the city by walking and having to work on an asphalt surface at 55 to 60 degrees. The urban heat island effect is a situation we live in directly."

Where does renewable energy stand in poverty?

Mentioning that the increase in access to and use of renewable energy appears to be a candidate for reducing energy poverty, Arif Künar offers a suggestion regarding cooperatives:

"However, because it is not yet adequately used due to being expensive and regulatory constraints, it is not reflected in utility bills."

Stating that energy communities for self-consumption and energy cooperatives can be established, Künar says, "If the ministry, EPDK, and similar bodies open the way for this, and if certain grants, tax, excise duty, VAT reductions, and privileged incentives are provided, and if local governments can support households, the use of renewable energy through rooftop, balcony solar power systems, and remote access models will quickly reflect positively on utility bills for the energy poor, even if partially."

^{Fotoğraf: AA}

Sinan Erensü also says that energy and citizen cooperatives in production can survive thanks to production systems led sometimes by municipalities and sometimes entirely by citizen initiatives. Touching upon consumption cooperatives, Erensü explains this as households dealing with companies not individually, but regionally and collectively. Erensü points out that making collective purchases in this process could create a space where citizens also have a say in the energy issue.

Energy poverty at climate summits

When we asked Erensü how much space is given to energy poverty at the United Nations Conferences of the Parties (COP), he says that mitigation-focused discussions were mostly held at the climate summits until recently:

"This has actually changed significantly in the last 5 to 10 years. Because the climate crisis is no longer something that will happen in the future. It is something happening right now. Adaptation, adapting to the changing climate, has become as important an item as mitigation and prevention."

Conveying that there are right and wrong paths taken on energy at COPs so far, Künar shares the following:

The exit from coal is not yet clear, and nuclear energy is unfortunately brought back to the agenda with COP. The issue of financing and emission monitoring issues are also vague. Supports and promises always remain in words, and time is running out. Negative impacts are gradually increasing. Developing countries like ours suffer more and are caught in the middle.

Künar states that grants and incentives similar to EU countries are demanded so that self-consumption can be achieved with rooftop and balcony solar panels, as well as the ability to establish Renewable Energy Cooperatives. He adds that many local governments have now set the elimination of energy poverty as a goal in the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP) they prepared, and that the implementation of these will be important.

^AA

'The solution is possible by transitioning to a system in favor of the ecosystem'

Underlining that the entire ecosystem is affected by extreme heat, Remzi Çelik shares the following regarding COP31:

"Reaching the 31st edition of conferences where such important issues are discussed reveals the insincerity of this business in the first place. In addition, there is an alternative effort called the peoples' climate summit. They are also making very active, alternative preparations."

Using the expressions "I am among those who say there is a system crisis, not a climate crisis," Çelik underlines that solutions must be generated against fossil fuels and consumption beyond need:

At COPs, politicians are constantly telling each other 'you start first.' It has not been the future, safety, and comfort of the ecosystem, but the comfort and profit of corporations that have been at the forefront so far, which is how we arrived at 31. The solution will only be possible by transitioning to a system in favor of the ecosystem.

(CA/VK)

Eighty-two people were detained following countrywide raids on LGBTI+ rights groups' offices, homes and venues in operations dubbed as "My Family Is Safe."

LGBTI+ groups are facing "obscenity" charges in the investigation.

How Turkey’s vague obscenity law is becoming a tool to criminalize LGBTI+ visibility

18 September 2026

She said those held in the L4 prison had faced discrimination, torture and ill-treatment during their first 48 hours in custody.

“Our struggle will of course continue to ensure that those responsible are prosecuted for the discrimination, torture and ill-treatment amounting to hate crimes that our friends now held in the L4 ward were subjected to during the first 48 hours,” Saki said.

She also cited hygiene and access to health care among the detainees’ main concerns, adding that inadequate access to health care and delays are also among the problems.

Police raids, online censorship target Turkey’s LGBTI+ community in new crackdown

13 September 2026

Sleeping on the floor

Saki said detainees held in Sincan Women’s Prison had also reported inadequate accommodation. “The most important issue is that, except for one person, our friends here are still being forced to sleep on the concrete floor,” she noted.

Saki quoted the detainees as saying their most urgent needs were “a bunk bed, a locker and a smoke-free room.”

“At a time when no section of society is safe, this operation, in which Akın Gürlek says ‘my family is safe’ while targeting LGBTI+ associations and solidarity, is in fact a hate crime under all human rights legislation,” she said, criticizing the investigation.

“All our friends must be released immediately, without waiting for a detention review,” Saki added. “Solidarity is our strength, freedom is our goal!” (VK)

Ten people detained after the shooting, including the 15-year-old suspect, their parents and grandparents. Family members are being held responsible over the child’s access to the firearm. Three other minors are also in custody.

Gülizar Biçer Karaca, an MP for the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), shared with bianet notes from a fact-finding visit that included meetings with students, families, health care workers and school administrators following the shooting.

Karaca’s notes detail parents’ concerns about sending their children back to school, security measures around the campus and an unverified allegation about the conduct of private security personnel during the attack.

‘How are we supposed to trust the state?’

According to the notes, the delegation first visited Turgutlu State Hospital after arriving in the district.

A deputy chief physician told the delegation that eight injured students had been treated or undergone surgery at Turgutlu State Hospital, one at Manisa City Hospital and two at Manisa Celal Bayar University Faculty of Medicine Hospital.

The delegation visited four students receiving treatment at Turgutlu State Hospital and spoke with them about their health and what they had experienced. Karaca said the students they visited were generally in good condition.

The delegation also met with family members and relatives at the hospital. Karaca’s notes said anxiety, anger and distrust were prominent during the conversations.

“We are not even sending our children to school anymore. Solve this problem. How are we supposed to trust the state?” parents were quoted as saying.

Karaca said the families’ comments showed that the attack had become a broader issue of safety and trust for students and parents across the district, not only for those who were injured.

What did the school administration say?

After visiting the hospital, the delegation went to the CHP’s Turgutlu district office and later met with administrators at the school where the attack took place.

Notes from the meeting with the school principal said the 15-year-old accused of carrying out the shooting was a ninth-grade student who opened fire on students near the school entrance.

A shotgun was used in the attack, which took place outside the school building on the street where students were arriving for classes.

According to the principal, at least eight of those injured were students at İnci Üzmez Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School. Three others were waiting in the area for transportation to other schools.

Karaca noted that the breakdown was based on interviews conducted during the visit and had not yet been confirmed in that level of detail in publicly available official statements.

Allegation involving security personnel

During meetings at the school, the delegation was also told that a private security guard was among the first people to leave the school during the attack.

Karaca said the delegation had not independently verified the allegation and that it should be specifically examined as part of the administrative investigation.

The notes also pointed out that the attack occurred as students were arriving at school and called for scrutiny of security measures at school entrances and surrounding areas, as well as the responsibilities of security personnel during a crisis.

Attack came a day after school security meeting

Karaca also drew attention to the timing of the attack.

A “School Security” meeting had been held on Sep 21 at the Interior Ministry’s Security and Emergency Coordination Center (GAMER), attended by Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi and National Education Minister Yusuf Tekin. Governors from all 81 provinces joined by video conference.

The meeting addressed a cooperation protocol prepared by seven ministries aimed at strengthening protective and preventive measures for children during their education.

Çiftçi had said security measures were increased after attacks during the previous school year and that 31,000 schoolyard personnel had been employed for the first time this year.

Karaca said the fact that a child was able to arrive near a school with a firearm the following morning and injure 11 students raised questions about how those measures were being implemented and whether existing security mechanisms were adequate.

“The incident clearly demonstrates that the measures announced following previous school attacks were not sufficient to prevent this attack in Turgutlu,” the notes said.

Karaca said access to firearms, early identification of risks, security at and around school entrances, counseling services and the responsibilities of security personnel during emergencies should all be examined in detail.

Following the health information provided during the delegation’s visit, authorities said on Sep 25 that eight of the injured students had been discharged, while three remained under treatment. (NÖ/VK)

The Court of Accounts concluded that the ministry’s 2025 financial reports and statements generally contained “accurate and reliable information in all material respects.” However, its findings on city hospitals were presented separately from its audit opinion on the financial statements, under the “Other Findings” section on pages 32-53.

Final completion process unresolved at 17 hospitals

City hospital contracts require the Health Ministry to issue a final completion certificate 24 months after the issuance of the practical completion certificate. The Court of Accounts found that, as of the end of 2025, the ministry had not completed this process at 17 city hospitals even though the 24-month period had expired.

Kütahya City Hospital entered its operating phase in Mar 2024 and had therefore not yet reached the two-year threshold by the end of 2025.

The failure to close the final accounts also left financial obligations between the ministry and the companies unresolved. The Court of Accounts cited unfinished or omitted construction work, missing medical equipment and furnishings, discrepancies involving commercial and administrative areas, VAT exemptions and timing differences caused by projects being completed early or late.

The Health Ministry said it introduced new arrangements for final account procedures in 2025 and that commissions began work on the Elazığ, Eskişehir and İzmir projects in Jan 2026. The Court of Accounts said the ministry had still not completed the process for any hospital as of 2026.

Construction began before official site handover at all 18 hospitals

The Court of Accounts found that companies began construction before the official site handover at all 18 city hospitals it examined.

At Ankara Bilkent City Hospital, the company started construction about six months before the formal site handover. The ministry deducted those six months from the hospital’s operating period.

It did not make the same adjustment at the other city hospitals.

The Court of Accounts called on the ministry to use the actual construction start date at the other hospitals as well and recalculate their operating periods accordingly.

Unfinished work not reflected in payments

The Court of Accounts identified work that had been included in projects but was later abandoned by the ministry or left undone, incomplete or unfinished by companies. Some equipment was also not delivered.

Despite these shortcomings, the ministry did not deduct the value of the missing work and equipment from the total fixed investment amount or the related service fees.

The Court of Accounts said the ministry should recalculate investment amounts and service payments to reflect unfinished work and missing equipment.

The Court of Accounts found that the ministry had not made these adjustments in projects benefiting from the exemption.

It also found that, at some hospitals, companies were responsible for heating and cooling costs in areas used for laundry, catering, laboratory, imaging and sterilization services, but the ministry had not deducted those expenses from service payments.

The ministry said it had initiated deductions at 17 hospitals. The Court of Accounts said the documents submitted to it allowed it to verify deductions only at the Adana, Bursa, Elazığ, Kocaeli, Kütahya, Manisa, Tekirdağ and Mersin city hospitals. It said the procedures had not been completed at the other 10 hospitals.

Some companies used areas outside approved projects

The Court of Accounts found that some companies carried out commercial activities in areas larger than those specified in approved projects.

At some hospitals, commercial operators also used storage areas that were supposed to be reserved for the administration.

At the Kütahya and Tekirdağ city hospitals, the ministry had also not completed the acceptance process for commercial areas or set the applicable commercial activity fees.

The Court of Accounts called on the ministry to identify the additional commercial areas and calculate the amounts companies should pay for using them.

Missing and noncompliant medical equipment

The Court of Accounts also found shortcomings in medical equipment and furnishings that companies were contractually required to provide.

Acceptance records at Kütahya City Hospital listed some medical devices as “noncompliant.” Some devices lacked records in the Product Tracking System or certificates of service competence from the Turkish Standards Institution, while integration of some devices into the Hospital Information Management System had not been completed.

The company also delivered some furnishings incomplete.

Missing medical equipment was also identified at Kayseri City Hospital.

Faulty medical devices remained out of service for extended periods

The Court of Accounts also found that the ministry and companies had been unable to agree on who should cover the cost of repairing faulty medical devices.

In some cases, the parties could not determine whether malfunctions were caused by the company, the administration or third parties. High insurance deductibles also delayed repairs.

As a result, some medical devices remained out of service for extended periods.

The Court of Accounts said this had caused “disruptions in the provision of health services.”

It also noted that the contracts require companies to provide uninterrupted service despite disputes between the parties.

The Court of Accounts called on the ministry and the companies to jointly determine the causes of equipment failures, establish responsibility and return the devices to service.

Most sterilization delays were not reported

The Court of Accounts found that sterilization of operating room equipment at some city hospitals exceeded contractual time limits.

Most of the delays were not reported to the help desk, and no service failure points were calculated.

The Health Ministry said it had issued warnings to contractors, imposed penalties and service fee deductions, and taken corrective action for previous periods.

The Court of Accounts said the ministry had not provided documents proving these measures and that sterilization delays and failures to report them were continuing.

Market testing was delayed

City hospital contracts require the prices of certain services to be subjected to market testing at specified intervals. The process is intended to determine the most economically advantageous price for services and equipment.

The Court of Accounts found that market testing had not begun at all at the Kayseri, Manisa, İstanbul Başakşehir and Tekirdağ city hospitals.

At the Mersin, Yozgat, Elazığ Fethi Sekin, Ankara and Bursa city hospitals, the ministry completed market testing for some services but had not finalized the process for building and land services, shared services management and the Hospital Information Management System.

The ministry also acknowledged delays in the market testing process.

The Court of Accounts called on the ministry to address the delays and complete the tests according to the contractual schedule.

(VC/VK)

The board concluded that feeding animals on the streets could “cause them to establish breeding and living areas” and imposed the ban on that basis.

District municipalities will monitor compliance with the decision.

The board decided that neighborhood heads should notify the relevant municipality when stray animals are identified in their neighborhoods.

The police and gendarmerie will also conduct inspections across the province. They were instructed to notify the relevant district municipalities “immediately” when animals are found.

Municipalities will assess reports submitted by police, gendarmerie units and neighborhood heads. District governor’s offices will report the work carried out each month to the Erzurum Nature Conservation and National Parks Directorate.

Collection of stray dogs across Turkey

Amendments to the Animal Protection Law adopted in 2024 require municipalities to take unowned stray dogs to shelters and keep them there until they are adopted.

Animal rights advocates have described the legislation as a “massacre law,” warning that removing animals from their living areas and confining them to inadequate shelters could lead to deaths.

Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi said on Sep 18 that 99.2 percent of stray animals across Turkey had been collected. The figure has not been independently verified, although the number of dogs living on the streets has been observed to decline. Cats, meanwhile, do not appear to have been targeted by the collection efforts so far.

The Union of Turkish Bar Associations (TBB) said in a statement in April that  had died because of inadequate health care and conditions at shelters. It also reported cases of neglect and mistreatment, including starvation, improper transportation and inadequate care.

Turkey’s parliament approves controversial euthanasia measure for stray dogs

29 July 2024

(NÖ/VK)

Reports examining links between some investment and portfolio management companies, their shareholders and public figures had been blocked. 

On Sep 17, the Capital Markets Board (SPK) placed 131 funds managed by Tera, Pusula, Hedef, Atlas, A1 Portföy, Pardus and Bulls Portföy into liquidation and restricted transactions.

Data from the Central Securities Depository (MKK) showed that 455,758 individual investors held assets in those funds.

Turkey’s investment fund crisis in 10 questions: Phantom returns and a market meltdown

21 September 2026

The restrictions were imposed under Article 8/A of the Internet Law No 5651, which allows allows the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) to impose access restrictions in urgent cases, upon requests from ministries or the Presidency, for purposes including protecting life, property, national security and public order. Such decisions are submitted for judicial approval after their implementation. 

The measures followed earlier restrictions on social media accounts discussing the same financial developments. İFÖD reported on Sep 22 that the BTK and courts had ordered access restrictions on numerous X accounts over allegations that they had published content intended to fuel speculation.

The 194 affected accounts in the initial wave included economists Uğur Gürses and Veysel Ulusoy, former Treasury undersecretary Bilge Yılmaz, and journalists Naz Yavuzarslan and Dinçer Gökçe. İFÖD estimated that the accounts had about 12 million followers combined.

Notably, the measures did not specifically target the content related to the investment fund crisis and entire accounts have been made inaccessible from Turkey.

Censored news articles

Coverage of the companies has also focused on their ownership and management structures. An investigation by the T24 news site based on corporate records found that boards of holding companies behind some of the fund managers included publicly known figures such as a university rector, a former ambassador and the spouse of a former deputy minister.

Gazete Pencere, citing its calculations based on fund data, reported that 15,964 investors redeemed more than 132 billion liras in fund shares during a period that began about two weeks before the liquidation decision. The timing prompted questions over whether some transactions may have involved insider information.

BIA Media Monitoring Reports

13 December 2024

(AEK/VK)

X complied with the decision and made the account unavailable to users in Turkey.

The restriction was imposed under Article 8/A of Turkey’s Internet Law No. 5651, which is commonly used by Turkish courts when ordering access blocks. 

“I have become the subject of the issue I constantly raise,” Akdeniz told bianet. “As a lawyer and a law professor, I do not know under which decision and on what grounds my account was blocked. I do not know which court issued this decision. I do not know why X made my account invisible with lightning speed. Since the decision has not been served on me, I cannot pursue legal remedies.”

“Of course, one day it will be everyone’s turn. I am not surprised, but I did not expect it,” he added, saying he would continue his work against censorship.

Article 8/A allows authorities to block online content on grounds including protecting the right to life, personal and property safety, national security and public order, preventing crime and protecting public health.

The provision has become a key legal basis for access restrictions after the Constitutional Court struck down Article 9 of the law, which concerned violations of personal rights, in Oct 2023.

The decision against Akdeniz follows a series of recent restrictions targeting the social media accounts of journalists, rights advocates, media outlets and women’s and LGBTI+ organizations.

Turkey blocks over 400 social media accounts belonging to journalists, rights groups

17 September 2026

Recently, the X accounts of the Mor Çatı Women’s Shelter Foundation, Lambdaistanbul, SPoD and numerous other women’s and LGBTI+ organizations were blocked under the same provision.

Evrensel newspaper, Amnesty International Turkey, Academics for Peace and the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) have also faced similar restrictions.

İFÖD has long monitored and reported on access bans targeting websites, news reports and social media content in Turkey. (HA/VK)

Kemal Türkyılmaz was elected acting mayor in the fourth round of voting held yesterday on the Büyükada island, receiving all five votes cast after opposition members withdrew in protest over the procedure.

The Republican People’s Party (CHP) won the Princes’ Islands mayoralty with 55.49% of the vote in the 2024 local elections, while the AKP candidate received 22.85%. The CHP had secured 10 of the 12 seats on the municipal council, with the AKP taking two.

The balance on the council changed after a corruption investigation was launched into the municipality in June. A total of five councik members from the CHP, including Mayor Ali Ercan Akpolat and his deputy, were suspended from office after being detained on allegations including bribery, extortion, forgery of official documents and abuse of office.

Thirty-one opposition mayors removed from office since 2024 elections

2 April 2026

The council elected CHP member Medine Pamuk as acting mayor on Jun 27. She resigned on Sep 14 citing health problems.

A new election scheduled for Sep 21 could not be held because CHP members did not attend, preventing the council from reaching the required count. The vote was rescheduled for yesterday.

Before yesterday’s vote, a substitute member joined the council in place of one of the suspended members. Seven of the nine members eligible to vote were therefore members of the CHP.

Despite that composition, the AKP candidate received five votes in the first round, while the CHP candidate received four. Arguments broke out in the council chamber after the vote, and the room was cleared.

Following the dispute, an MP from the New (Yeni) Party, a splinter movement from the CHP, told Halk TV that one of the council members detained in the initial investigation had been reinstated in exchange for voting for the AKP.

“Five of our friends were detained. Three are still in prison and two were released. However, among those two, the restriction on only one of them was lifted and he was reinstated so that he could vote for the AKP,” the official claimed.

Opposition members protested the process by withdrawing from the fourth round. AKP's Türkyılmaz then received all five votes cast and was elected acting mayor.

Ankara mayor resigns from CHP, citing disruption of opposition unity

23 September 2026

Eight districts changed hands after election

The result raised the number of İstanbul district municipalities controlled by the AKP to 21.

In the 2024 local elections, the CHP won 26 of İstanbul’s 39 district municipalities, while the AKP won 13. Eight municipalities in the city have changed hands since nationwide corruption investigations targeting the CHP began in March 2025.

Üsküdar, one of İstanbul’s major districts, also passed to AKP control on Sep 8 after some council members were detained and others changed parties.

New Party officials alleged that some council members who switched sides in Üsküdar had been threatened with imprisonment. The party also expressed concern that similar methods could be used to secure control of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was jailed pending trial in a corruption investigation in March last year and remains in custody. The metropolitan municipality is currently run by an acting mayor from the opposition.

Opposition concerned over İstanbul takeover as council member resigns

18 September 2026

(VK)

Samancı, who has lived mainly in Switzerland since 2008, was later released under judicial control with a ban on leaving the country.

After procedures at the airport, Samancı appeared by video link before a judge in Diyarbakır. The judgeship approved the prosecutor's request for judicial control and imposed the travel ban.

Her lawyer and human rights defender Eren Keskin announced the detention on social media.

(AEK/VK)

According to the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), the tremor occurred at a depth of 7.39 kilometers.

The earthquake was felt across surrounding provinces, prompting some residents to evacuate buildings and gather in open outdoor areas, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.

Boğaziçi University Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute (KOERI) reported the magnitude of the earthquake at 5.5 and its depth at 5.1 kilometers.

Urfa was one of the 10 provinces experienced destruction in the double earthquake in Feb 2023 that claimed more than 50,000 lives in Turkey and Syria's north. (VC/VK)

“The process that began on March 19 and continued with many legal and political debates, including discussions about absolute nullity, has brought politics in Turkey to a point that we all follow with regret,” Yavaş said in a written statement posted on social media.

His remarks referred to a sweeping judicial crackdown on CHP-run municipalities involving corruption investigations that began in March last year with the arrest of now-suspended İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and the removal of the party leadership by a court order in May this year. The court reinstated former leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, declaring a Nov 2023 leadership election null over alleged irregularities. 

Since the corruption crackdown began, more than 35 opposition mayors have been arrested and suspended from office, while some mayors and municipal council members have switched to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Opposition concerned over İstanbul takeover as council member resigns

18 September 2026

Özgür Özel formed the New (Yeni) Party in July after his court-ordered ouster, with most CHP deputies and mayors joining him. Yavaş, however, remained in the CHP.

In his resignation announcement, the mayor offered an implicit explanation for his decision not to switch to the New Party:

“If there is to be a democratic change of government in Turkey, the path to achieving it lies not in the opposition consuming itself, but in its ability to come together on shared principles.

"When people go to the polls, they vote not only for a name but also for a political will. For this reason, I did not, and still do not, consider it right to disregard the will of the voters or to move the positions obtained through their votes to political entities that the voters have not endorsed."

Yavaş was elected mayor of the capital in 2019 with more than 50% of the vote. He was re-elected in 2024, increasing his vote share to over 60%.

Hours after Yavaş'a announcement, six district mayors in Ankara also resigned from the CHP. The mayors of Kalecik, Beypazarı, Güdül, Polatlı, Ayaş and Şereflikoçhisar declared support for Yavaş and said that they will remain independent.

Yavaş's meeting with Erdoğan

Yavaş visited President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Presidential Complex on Sep 9, fueling speculation that he might follow other opposition mayors in resigning from the CHP or joining Erdoğan’s AKP.

He denied the speculation, saying the meeting focused solely on securing financing for large-scale projects planned in Ankara.

The timing of the meeting also drew attention, as Sep 9 marks the anniversary of the Turkish army’s capture of İzmir in 1922, a major turning point in the War of Independence. Yavaş met Erdoğan that day instead of attending events organized by the CHP, the founding party of the republic, prompting criticism.

Yavaş also addressed the criticism in his statement:

“Previously, I had stated that if there was any dissatisfaction within the party regarding me personally or the stance I have taken, I would take the necessary steps.

“And in light of certain statements made today, I am resigning from my membership in the Republican People’s Party and am submitting my decision to continue my political path as an independent to the public’s judgment.”

He did not specify which statements he was referring to. CHP spokesperson Müslüm Sarı indirectly criticized today without naming him, saying that the party’s institutional identity is above individuals and that mayors are expected to attend events organized by the party. (VK)

The Ankara 6th Penal Judgeship of Peace cited allegations of "violating the Law on Associations," "facilitating the publication of obscene material" and "obscenity in places visible to children" as grounds for Erdoğan and others' detention.

In a statement responding to the detentions, GALADER said, "Nedime Erdoğan is not only the mother of an LGBTI+ child, but also a committed rights advocate who has fought for equal citizenship and human rights for years. Defending rights is not a crime, but a fundamental right."

From ‘public morality’ to ‘My Family Is Safe’: 20 years of repression against Kaos GL

18 September 2026

'Aren't we families, too?'

GALADER Chair Atilla Dirim told bianet that the operations, Erdoğan's detention and rhetoric targeting LGBTI+s had heightened anxiety among their families.

"They say, 'My Family Is Safe,' but we are not safe. Aren't we families, too? Do we have to mistreat our children to be recognized as families? They act as if our children don't have families," he said.

Dirim said LGBTI+s were being portrayed as the cause of safety concerns in society. "Our children are being made scapegoats. The real reasons families are not safe are not our children, but the murders of women we witness every day, violence against women and growing poverty," he said.

Dirim added that they would continue to challenge policies he described as discriminatory against LGBTI+s.

Health Ministry cites ‘family values’ for hormone therapy access restrictions

11 September 2026

(DE/NÖ/VK)

Turkish Airlines and AJet currently show no flights to Iran in their booking systems through Mar 2027. Pegasus has also removed Iran services from its reservation system, with no Iranian cities appearing in flight searches.

The suspensions followed a Sep 8 decision by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to indefinitely suspend General License J-1.

The license had allowed foreign airlines to temporarily bring US-made aircraft, or aircraft containing significant amounts of US-origin parts and technology, into Iran. It enabled carriers to operate Airbus and Boeing aircraft on Iranian routes.

Its suspension exposed airlines whose fleets consist entirely of such aircraft to potential US sanctions.

The US also added 27 Iranian airlines to its sanctions list on Sep 8 and warned that foreign companies providing services to Iran’s aviation sector could face sanctions.

The US Treasury Department alleges that Iran’s aviation sector is used to transport weapons and personnel, citing those claims as the basis for the sanctions. (HA/VK)

The group said some of those arrested in the Sep 13 "My Family Is Safe" operations were being held in isolation without a medical basis.

Police raids, online censorship target Turkey’s LGBTI+ community in new crackdown

13 September 2026

"HIV status can never be grounds for isolation," Pozitif Alan said, noting that the virus is not transmitted through everyday contact, including sharing the same space or skin contact.

"This practice is contrary to scientific facts, discriminatory, and degrading to human dignity," it added.

Turkish Medical Association condemns targeting of health groups in anti-LGBTI+ operations

21 September 2026

Medication access

Pozitif Alan also raised concerns about possible disruptions to medication and treatment for people living with HIV in prison.

"Continuity of HIV treatment is vital," the statement said. "Any delay or interruption in access to medication would seriously endanger the health of those imprisoned."

The group called on prison administrations and the Health Ministry to guarantee uninterrupted access to medication and necessary healthcare services for imprisoned people living with HIV.

Pozitif Alan further said some of the jailed rights advocates had worked to improve access to HIV testing, treatment and prevention services. It warned that treating such work as criminal activity could undermine HIV prevention efforts and public health. (NÖ/VK)

An 15-year-old suspect were taken into custody after the attack as judicial and administrative investigations were launched.

The Manisa Governor’s Office said the incident occurred around 8 am local time (GMT+3) near İnci Üzmez Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School in the Turgutlu district.

Following the attack, Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi and National Education Minister Yusuf Tekin traveled to Manisa.

Speaking to reporters there, Çiftçi said the school where the attack took place was classified by authorities a high-risk school:

"I wish a speedy recovery to our injured children. Three of our children are still undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit.

"The school where the attack took place is classified as a level 1 high-risk school. We do not view school safety as limited to police measures alone. Parents have a responsibility as well. They must monitor whether their children go to school, where they go, and which websites they visit when they return home from school.

"The weapon used in the incident was registered to the grandmother; the perpetrator picked up the child from the grandfather’s home and carried out the attack."

Police detain 27 in incel group probe over alleged school shooting plans

11 September 2026

Broadcast ban

Following the attack, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) issued a broadcast ban, prohibiting the media from covering the scene of the incident.

RTÜK called on media organizations to rely strictly on official statements and avoid publishing unverified information.

The watchdog requested that outlets refrain from broadcasting violent, traumatic, or frightening imagery and respect the privacy of students and families. Legal sanctions will be applied otherwise, it warned.

Secutity measures

Security measures for the 2026-2027 academic year had been announced by the Manisa Governor’s Office on Sep 18. Under the plan, 531 courtyard security personnel were assigned across 507 schools in the province, with 118 personnel in 59 teams deployed during school entry and exit hours.

Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi and National Education Minister Yusuf Tekin also held a School Security meeting via video conference with governors from 81 provinces one day before the attack to discuss protective and preventive measures for student safety.

School safety concerns increased in Turkey, where such shootings are traditionally rare, after two consecutive deadly incidents in April, in Urfa and Maraş.

Nine killed in second school shooting in Turkey in two days

15 April 2026

(NÖ/VK)