The Truth, Justice, and Memory Studies Association (Hafıza Merkezi), Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV), and Amnesty International have shared a public observation report regarding the 986th-week gathering of the Saturday Mothers/People on February 17, 2024.
The Saturday Mothers/People, who seek answers about the fate of their forcibly disappeared relatives, have faced repeated police interventions. Their first attempt to gather at Galatasaray Square on April 8, 2023, after the Constitutional Court's decision in the Maside Ocak case, was met with police obstruction and detentions. Since then, apart from May 13, they have persistently tried to hold their peaceful demonstrations every Saturday at Galatasaray Square. Although they were encircled by security on the 971st week (November 4, 2023) and effectively prevented from gathering, they were not detained. Since the 972nd week gathering (November 11, 2023), they have been permitted to read their press statement at Galatasaray Square, provided that the group does not exceed ten people.
The observation report on the 986th-week gathering included the following statements:
"The Saturday Mothers/People’s gatherings at Galatasaray Square are essentially to organize a press statement demanding answers about the fate of their disappeared relatives and the identification of the perpetrators. The interventions and restrictions identified in this observation report, as also indicated by the Constitutional Court, negatively affect their efforts to raise public awareness about the fate of the forcibly disappeared. Moreover, these types of interventions and restrictions continue the trend of criminalizing the activities of the Saturday Mothers/People, which the Constitutional Court has identified as deserving respect. When considered alongside the obstructions and interventions of previous weeks, these restrictions have become routine for law enforcement over the past 15 weeks. This demonstrates that the police interventions against the Saturday Mothers/People are continuing in a differentiated form and have reached the level of administrative harassment.
Additionally, the police presence in the street where the İHD (Human Rights Association) Istanbul Branch is located, the conspicuous waiting of plainclothes officers at multiple points along the route between the İHD Istanbul Branch and Galatasaray Square, the limitation on the number of people who can attend the press statement, and the recording of the statement are administrative harassment and restrictions by law enforcement. These actions can have a deterrent effect on the Saturday Mothers/People and human rights defenders in exercising their freedom of assembly, and this deterrent effect itself constitutes an intervention in the right to freedom of assembly."
Background:
The Saturday Mothers/People have been a symbol of peaceful protest in Turkey, gathering weekly since the 1990s to demand justice for relatives who disappeared during political unrest, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s. Their continued struggle, often met with police intervention, highlights ongoing challenges in Turkey regarding freedom of assembly, expression, and the pursuit of justice for human rights abuses. The Galatasaray Square in Istanbul, where they gather, has become a significant site for these demonstrations. The case of Maside Ocak, mentioned in the report, pertains to one of the Saturday Mothers whose legal struggle has been emblematic of their broader fight for justice and accountability.
