As intense fighting between government forces and militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) continue unabated in the southeastern province of Hakkari, bianet reporter Nilay Vardar has travelled to the heart of the conflict zone to relate the developments there which mainstream media has given only superficial coverage to.

As intense fighting between government forces and militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) continue unabated in the southeastern province of Hakkari, bianet reporter Nilay Vardar has travelled to the heart of the conflict zone to relate the developments there which mainstream media has largely ignored.

A court finally decided to release Sevil Sevimli, a student who was arrested after she arrived in the northwestern province of Eskişehir from France as part of the Erasmus student exchange program. There are still 2824 more students serving time in jail, however.

A court in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır ruled to release Ozan Kılınç, the former chief editor of the Kurdish daily Azadiya Welat, in compliance with new amendments that came into force following the ratification of the Third Judicial Reform Package in early July.

Alevi Elder Muharrem Ercan questioned how their community would be able to construct licensed Alevi cem houses while the Turkish state still refuses to grant them recognition as official houses of worship, in response to a recent statement by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan who called the Karacaahmet Cem House a “freak.”

The prosecutor in the trial on Engin Çeber, a journalist tortured to death under police custody in 2008, requested aggravated life imprisonment for two arrested suspects as in the first trial and the release of two other defendants. The court rejected the latter demand.

The gains scored in the struggle against violence toward women in June, the penalties incurred on the offenders and sample court verdicts...

The Diyarbakır Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that the villagers who died in last year’s Roboski massacre were clearly discernable in footages obtained from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV.) 34 villagers had lost their lives in the deadly air strike that took place in the southeastern province of Şırnak.

Cabinet authorized two government agencies and certain municipalities to enact the “express nationalization” of estates to make way for the construction of hydroelectic dams. Critics have underlined the fact that such a measure is normally reserved for times of war.

Medical officials declared 11 year old M.A. brain-dead on Thursday, after a gas bomb fired by the police during a demonstration landed on his head while he was on his way back home in the southern province of Adana.

The Turkish Georgians Platform (TGP) issued a press release demanding Georgians’ right to education in their mother language as well as constitutional guarantees for all native languages spoken in Turkey.

Officials arrested the traditional Ramadan drummer as part of their investigation into the attack against an Alevi-Kurdish family in the eastern province of Malatya. Opposition deputies who arrived in the province also castigated the authorities for their inadequate response to the incident.

Sophomore college student Kayhan Tüney has remained under arrest for a year and a half in connection with terrorism related charges. Among the accusations leveled against him in the police report is “battery” despite the fact that Tüney’s right arm and left leg are 70 percent disabled.

The Council of State ruled to dismiss Mayor Selim Sadak of the southeastern province of Siirt from his post following an appeal by the Ministry of Interior in relation to a 10 month long prison sentence he received on terrorism related charges.

An Istanbul court ruled to adjourn the case of sociologist and writer Pınar Selek, who has gone through a grueling 14 year long trial in connection with a blast in Istanbul’s Spice Bazaar in 1998, despite three verdicts of acquittal in her favor. The court also denied suspect Maşallah Yağan the right to plea in Kurdish.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) sentenced Turkey to pay a fine in the amount of 45,000 euros in respect of non-pecuniary damages to Tamer Taylan, a casino operator who was tortured by the police in 2000.

Around 500 locals have abandoned their homes in the district of Şemdinli in the southeastern province of Hakkari due to the Turkish military’s ongoing aerial strikes in the area, according to District Mayor Sedat Töre.

Turkey’s first conscientious objector to mandatory military service passed away at the age of 54 due to a heart attack on Monday night. A doctor by training, Tayfun Gönül had made critical contributions to the antimilitarist movement in Turkey, according to his friends.

Front Line Defenders (FLD) has launched a campaign called “Olympic Dreams” to draw attention to 15 human rights advocates around the world, including Osman İşçi who remains under arrest in connection with the ongoing Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK.)

An Istanbul court accepted the indictment against journalist Ahmet Şık in relation to a brief speech he delivered on March 12 immediately upon his exit from Silivri Prison where he had spent a year under arrest in connection with the OdaTV trial.