The Truth Justice Memory Association (Hafıza Merkezi), Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV), and Amnesty International shared their observation report on the 990th weekly gathering of the Saturday Mothers/People held on March 16, 2024.
The Saturday Mothers/People, a group demanding justice for their forcibly disappeared relatives, faced police obstruction for the first time on April 8, 2023, during their 941st week gathering at Galatasaray Square, following a ruling by the Constitutional Court in the case of Maside Ocak. Since then, they have been consistently hindered by the police every Saturday, except for May 13, in their peaceful demonstrations. Starting from the 972nd week gathering on November 11, 2023, they have been permitted to read their press statements at Galatasaray Square, albeit limited to 10 people.
In their report on the 990th week gathering, the organizations highlighted the continuation and routine nature of the previous weeks' restrictions:
"The Saturday Mothers/People were under surveillance during their press statement. The police presence in the street where the İHD (Human Rights Association) Istanbul Branch is located, multiple points of plainclothes police along the route between İHD Istanbul Branch and Galatasaray Square, the limitation of the number of participants to 10, continuous monitoring of compliance with this limitation during the gathering, and the recording of the statement with several cameras are the main indicators of restrictions by the law enforcement during the 989th week gathering.
As known, the gatherings of the Saturday Mothers/People in Galatasaray Square consist merely of issuing press statements demanding the whereabouts of their disappeared relatives and the identification of the perpetrators. The interventions and restrictions identified in this observation report adversely affect their efforts to raise public awareness about the fate of their disappeared relatives, as also indicated by the Constitutional Court. Moreover, such interventions and restrictions continue the efforts to criminalize the activities of the Saturday Mothers/People, which the Constitutional Court has recognized as deserving respect. When considered together with the previous weeks' obstructions and interventions, these restrictions have become a routine by law enforcement for 19 weeks. This situation demonstrates that the interventions against the Saturday Mothers/People continue in a differentiated manner and have reached the level of administrative harassment."
