17 May 2024 - The Truth Justice Memory Center, the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV), and Amnesty International have released their observation report on the 998th weekly gathering of the Saturday Mothers/People held on May 11, 2024.
The Saturday Mothers/People, a group advocating for justice for their forcibly disappeared relatives, faced police intervention and detentions during their 941st gathering on April 8, 2023, following a ruling by Turkey's Constitutional Court (AYM) in the Maside Ocak case. Since then, they have continued to encounter restrictions every Saturday except for May 13, 2023. On November 4, 2023, during their 971st gathering, the group was surrounded by security forces but not detained for the first time. Since November 11, 2023, they have been allowed to hold press statements in Galatasaray Square as long as the gathering is limited to 10 people.
The report on the 998th gathering highlights the persistence of restrictions and the normalization of such measures. It states:
"As known, the gatherings of the Saturday Mothers/People in Galatasaray Square are peaceful press statements demanding the whereabouts of their forcibly disappeared relatives and the identification of perpetrators. The interventions and restrictions observed in this report negatively impact the group’s efforts to raise public awareness about the fate of their loved ones, as noted by the Constitutional Court. Furthermore, these interventions represent an ongoing effort to criminalize the activities of the Saturday Mothers/People, which the Constitutional Court has deemed to deserve respect. The restrictions over the past 27 weeks have become routine, showing that the police's interventions are increasingly varied and have reached a level of administrative harassment."
The report also points out the increased police presence near the Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Association (İHD), where plainclothes officers conspicuously monitor the route between the İHD office and Galatasaray Square. Other restrictions include limiting the number of participants at Galatasaray Square to 10, monitoring compliance with this limit, recording the press statement with multiple cameras, and filming attendees and journalists. These actions create a deterrent effect on the freedom of assembly for the Saturday Mothers/People and human rights defenders, which constitutes an infringement on their rights.
