04/03/2025 | Writer: Kaos GL
Human Rights Defenders Solidarity Network called for the release of human rights defenders arrested within the scope of the investigation against HDK, including KaosGL.org Editor-in-Chief Yıldız Tar.
Photo: Serra Akcan / csgorselarsiv.org
In a press statement, Human Rights Defenders Solidarity Network demanded the immediate release of human rights defenders arrested within the scope of the investigation against the Peoples' Democratic Congress.
Among those arrested are KaosGL.org Editor-in-Chief Yıldız Tar and Kaos GL Association member Ayşe Panuş.
The full statement of the Solidarity Network is as follows:
"Yıldız Tar, coordinator of Kaos GL's Media and Communication Programme; Ayşe Panuş, member of Kaos GL; human rights defenders Yakup Kadri Karabacak, Berfin Azdal and Nurcan Kaya are among the 30 people who were arrested in the process that started after the detention warrant issued against 60 people. It is understood from the news reports in the press and the questions asked that these people, who were detained on charges of ‘membership of a terrorist organisation’, were arrested on the grounds of their phone calls and wiretap recordings made in 2012 and 2013. When the wiretaps and phone calls are examined, it is clear that peaceful, legal and legitimate daily activities are criminalised and people are deprived of their freedom. No decision has been made on the objections to their detention. Considering the fact that the investigation file numbers are dated 2025, although the questions asked are related to recordings in 2012 and 2013; there are valid reasons to believe that one of the illegal and illegitimate conspiracy investigations carried out by the Gülen community when it dominated the judiciary and security bureaucracy was the investigations in which the technical surveillance decisions justifying the arrest of our friends were taken.
On the other hand, the fact that a technical surveillance of a person 13 years ago can be used as grounds for suspicion of ‘membership of a terrorist organisation’ today constitutes a new example of the use of the Anti-Terrorism Legislation for judicial harassment, as the Solidarity Network for Human Rights Defenders has emphasised in its statements on various occasions. We ask the authorities the legitimate and justifiable question as to why, if the law enforcement forces and prosecutors' offices had sufficient evidence 13 years ago to arrest these individuals for “membership of a terrorist organisation”, they did not take action, but today they put forward this as a justification for the arrest of our friends.
We call out to the authorities!
Release the detained human rights defenders and all those unjustly and unlawfully detained or arrested. Stop using the anti-terrorism legislation for misuse and intimidation of human rights defenders."
Signatory organisations
17 May Association, Civil Rights Defenders, Initiative Against Thought Crime, Association for Monitoring Equal Rights, Rights Initiative Association, Truth Justice Memory Centre, Human Rights Association Istanbul Branch, Human Rights Agenda Association, Kaos GL, Women's Human Rights Association, Women's Time Association, Women's Culture, Arts and Literature Association, Lambda Istanbul LGBTI Solidarity Association, Media and Law Studies Association, Association of Lawyers for Freedom Istanbul, P24 Independent Journalism Association, Research Institute on Turkey, Rosa Women's Association, Romani Godi-Roman Memory Studies Association, Star Women's Association, Social Policy, Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Studies Association, Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, Society and Law Research Foundation, TLSP, UniKuir, Life Memory Freedom
Tags: human rights, media
