As Saturday Mothers/People held their 954th weekly rally at Istanbul's Galatasaray Square, the authorities' disregard for Constitutional Court rulings and ongoing maltreatment of protests continue to be under scrutiny of human rights groups
İstanbul - Four human rights organizations - Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), Truth, Justice, and Memory Association (Hafıza Merkezi), Amnesty International Turkey, and the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV), have joined forces to oversee the 954th weekly gathering of a protest group known as Saturday Mothers/People in Istanbul's Galatasaray Square.
The observing rights groups have said they plan to maintain their combined efforts to monitor these peaceful protests until an existing unfair blockade, which has been in place since 2018, is lifted.
The Saturday Mothers/People, a group composed of relatives whose loved ones disappeared, presumed victims of state violence, have been holding a peaceful sit-in at the square every Saturday since 1995. They demand justice for their missing relatives and accountability from the government.
During the past 10 weeks, these organizations have documented a range of human rights infringements stemming from hurdles faced during these peaceful gatherings. The authorities have shown a consistent disregard for the implementation of rulings by Turkey's Constitutional Court in cases related to the group, specifically involving the applications of Maside Ocak and Gülseren Yoleri.
Furthermore, the organizaitons point out that the violations suffered by the families of the disappeared have become a chronic issue. The ongoing infractions, rooted in the treatment by authorities of the group, hamper their essential demand for justice for their missing relatives.
In a continuation of events over the previous three weeks, the 954th weekly gathering was obstructed by a direct ban enacted by the Beyoğlu District Governor's office. The decision, signed by Şişli District Governor Ahmet Gazi Kaya, breached the Regulation on Procedures and Principles to be Applied in Official Correspondence, and resulted in the detention of several Saturday Mothers/People. These individuals were reportedly subjected to police maltreatment during and after their arrest.
