Saturday Mothers/People at court for second hearing
On 12 July 2021, the case against the 46 human rights defenders and activists, which includes the families of the disappeared and supporters of Saturday Mothers/People, continued at the Istanbul 21st Criminal Court of First Instance. They were charged with violating the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations for “unarmed participation in an unauthorised assembly and refusal to disperse after warnings” (Article 32 of the Law 2911). The case was filed following the violent arrest of the 46 people and one minor by the police during the 700th gathering of the Saturday Mothers/People on 25 August 2018.
On 18 November 2020, an Istanbul court of first instance filed a lawsuit against 46 people who were arrested on 25 August 2018 during the violent police intervention at the 700th gathering of Saturday Mothers/People in Istanbul’s Galatasaray Square.
On 25 August 2018, police forcibly dispersed the Saturday Mothers’ weekly vigil and detained 47 protesters, including families of the victims of enforced disappearances in the 90s. The detained protesters were released from police custody later that day.
Saturday Mothers/People is a human rights group, comprised of human rights defenders and families of victims of enforced disappearance in Turkey in the 1990s. They began organising weekly vigils at Galatasaray Square after the detention of Hasan Ocak on 21 March 1995 and the subsequent discovery of his tortured body in a common grave. Human rights defenders and the families of the victims gathered in Galatasaray Square for the first time on 27 May 1995, demanding an end to enforced disappearances, seeking information on the whereabouts of those who have disappeared and justice for the victims.
On 12 July 2021, the case against the 46 human rights defenders and activists, which includes the families of the disappeared and supporters of Saturday Mothers/People, continued at the Istanbul 21st Criminal Court of First Instance. They were charged with violating the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations for “unarmed participation in an unauthorised assembly and refusal to disperse after warnings” (Article 32 of the Law 2911). The case was filed following the violent arrest of the 46 people and one minor by the police during the 700th gathering of the Saturday Mothers/People on 25 August 2018.
Before the Court started hearing the human rights defenders’ statements, human rights lawyer and chair of Human Rights Association Öztürk Türkdoğan requested the Court to rule for the acquittal of all without further delay. He reminded the Court that the Saturday Mothers/People were able to gather without any interruptions, even the day after the coup attempt and during the state of emergency, and said that “banning such a legitimate gathering is illegitimate.” The judge denied his request and continued with the proceedings. The Court also rejected the Istanbul Bar Association’s request to monitor the case.
The hearing continued with the testimonies of the human rights defenders. Besna Tosun, member of Human Rights Association and the daughter of Fehmi Tosun, who was kidnapped and forcibly disappeared in 1996, gave an account of how the police stopped and attacked the Saturday Mothers/People who arrived early at the Galatasaray Square to prepare for the 700th gathering. She said “the gathering was at 12.00, and we were already beaten, arrested, handcuffed and tucked in a bus by 10.30. When we arrived at the square at 10.00, the police told us that the gathering was banned by the Ministry of the Interior and that we should immediately leave. Before we were able to process and decide what to do, they started to attack us. We asked them to allow us to take the mothers who are old with chronic diseases away from the place, but they didn’t even let us do that. They dragged our elderly mothers in front of the detention bus where we were being held in handcuffs and then dragged them away again.” She told the Court that despite the medical reports and images corroborating the police violence, their complaints have resulted in a non-jurisdictional decision, and now they stand trial as the people whose rights were violated, rather than the violators standing trial.
Besna Tosun finished her statement saying “Galatasaray Square, which is banned to us for 151 weeks now, is my only connection with my father. It is the only place that I meet with my father. To ask us to give up on Galatasaray Square is to ask us to give up on our loved ones. I will not!”
During another human rights defender’s statement, the judge showed a photo of the human rights defender during the police attack and asked for his comment. His lawyer objected to the request saying that the photo was not taken lawfully, therefore it could not be used as evidence. The human rights defender protested and denounced the Court’s actions of exposing photos of the mothers being dragged on the streets, as the mothers are highly respected. His outburst triggered the audience to begin protesting the judge in agreement with the human rights defender. In response, the judge asked for security to intervene for “disruption of the Court order”. A member of parliament who was in the audience accused the judge of using his authority unlawfully, resulting in the judge leaving his seat, adjourning the hearing and banning the MP from entering the courtroom again.
When the session resumed, the human rights defenders on trial did not enter the courtroom, in protest of the judge. The lawyers requested the judge to recuse himself from continuing to hear the case, but he rejected. In response to the rejection, the lawyers demanded the disqualification of the judge from the case, but this request was also rejected by the Court, arguing that the request aims to prolong the prosecution. The judge noted that the Court’s decision is subject to appeal. The next hearing session will be held on 24 November 2021.
Front Line Defenders is deeply concerned that the hearing falls short of fair trial standards due to the arbitrary conduct of the judge, which restricts the right to defence, and raises questions regarding the independence and impartiality of the Court. The organisation believes that the 46 human rights defenders must be acquitted and calls on the Turkish authorities to ensure that the Saturday Mothers/People have the freedom to exercise their right to peaceful assembly at the Galatasaray Square, which has a symbolic significance for the families of the disappeared and where they were able to gather for 699 weeks.
On 18 November 2020, an Istanbul court of first instance filed a lawsuit against 46 people who were arrested on 25 August 2018 during the violent police intervention at the 700th gathering of Saturday Mothers/People in Istanbul’s Galatasaray Square. The 46 were charged with violating the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations for “unarmed participation in an unauthorised assembly and refusal to disperse after warnings” (article 32 of the Law 2911). Among the accused are families of the disappeared and human rights defenders, trade unionists, journalists, and students who were there to show solidarity with Saturday Mothers/People. The first hearing will be held on 25 March 2021.
Saturday Mothers/People is a group comprised of human rights defenders and families of victims of enforced disappearances in Turkey during the 1990s. Human rights defenders and the families of the victims gathered in Galatasaray Square for the first time on 27 May 1995, calling for an end to enforced disappearances, seeking information on the whereabouts of those who have disappeared and demanding justice for the victims. In 1999 the group had to cease their gatherings due to persistent attacks by security forces. Ten years later, on 31 January 2009, Saturday Mothers/People resumed their peaceful gatherings in Galatasaray Square without any disruption, until 25 August 2018.
The indictment refers to the approval of Beyoglu District Governorate of the request of the Beyoglu District Security Directorate for a ban on the gathering based on that the fact that local authorities had not been notified 48 hours before the demonstration. It also quotes the incident report prepared by the police who collided with the group and arrested 46 protestors using force on 25 August 2018. The indictment lists eight riot police officers as complainants.
On 25 August 2018, Saturday Mothers/People and their supporters started walking towards Galatasaray Square to participate in the 700th gathering. However, the protesters’ peaceful march was blocked by the police on the grounds that the assembly had not been approved by the local authority. Shortly after, as the group of protestors insisted on continuing their march, they were attacked by police with tear gas, water canons and rubber bullets. According to video footage and eye witness accounts, the protesters, including the families of those who were forcibly disappeared, human rights defenders, trade unionists, journalists and parliamentarians, were beaten and manhandled by the police
A number of protesters were injured as a result of the excessive use of force by the police and 46 people were handcuffed and taken into police custody. After being forced to wait in a police bus for seven hours, the detained were released following medical examinations. While the 46 people, including human rights defenders, who attended the gathering face a lawsuit for attempting to exercise their right to peaceful assembly, to date, no action is known to have been taken against police officers who used excessive force during the demonstration.
Front Line Defenders believes that the charges brought against the 46 who were arrested are politically motivated, and is seriously concerned by the attempts to criminalise Saturday Mothers/People in response to their peaceful gatherings. Front Line Defenders reminds the Turkish authorities that the right to peaceful assembly is guaranteed under domestic and international law, including the European Declaration of Human Rights, to which Turkey is a party.
Front Line Defenders calls on the authorities in Turkey to drop all the charges against Saturday Mothers/People and their supporters, and guarantee their right to peaceful assembly. It also urges the authorities to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the allegations concerning excessive use of force by the police in Galatasaray Square on 25 August 2018, with a view to bringing the responsible police officers to justice in accordance with international standards.
On 25 August 2018, police forcibly dispersed the Saturday Mothers’ weekly vigil and detained 47 protesters, including families of the victims of enforced disappearances in the 90s. The detained protesters were released from police custody later that day. So far no action has been taken against the police officers who used excessive force against the peaceful protesters.
Saturday Mothers is a civil society initiative, comprised of human rights defenders and the families of victims of enforced disappearances in Turkey in the 90s, which organises weekly vigils at Istanbul’s Galatasary Square to demand justice. The vigils started after the detention of Hasan Ocak on 21 March 1995 and the subsequent discovery of his tortured body in a common grave. The families of the victims and human rights defenders gathered in Galatasary Square for the first time on 27 May 1995, demanding an end to enforced disappearances, information on the whereabouts of the forcibly disappeared and justice for the victims. The group decided to cease its weekly vigils on 13 March 1999 due to increased attacks from police. After a 10 year break, the vigils resumed on 31 January 2009. On 25 August 2018, the initiative marked its 700th week of protests. In accordance with data released by Truth Justice Memory Center, since the military coup on 12 September 1980 at least 1,352 people have been forcibly disappeared in Turkey. Among the 344 people for whose disappearances a complaint was lodged, perpetrators were only convicted in 2 of the cases, a figure which has been condemned by the European Court of Human Rights.
On 25 August 2018, a group of protesters, including human rights defenders and the families of victims, many of whom were elderly women, started to march towards Galatasaray Square. The protesters’ peaceful march was blocked by the police on the grounds that it was not approved by the Governorate. Shortly after, police attacked the protesters, who insisted on continuing their march, with tear gas, water canons and rubber bullets. According to video footage and eye witness accounts, the protesters, including the families of those who were forcibly disappeared, human rights defenders, and parliamentarians were beaten and manhandled by the police. A number of protesters were injured as a result of excessive use of force by the police and 47 protesters were handcuffed and taken into police custody. The detained protesters were taken to a police bus where they were detained for approximately seven hours, before being taken to Istanbul Police Headquarters following health examinations. By 8:20 p.m. that evening, all of the detained protesters had been released. An investigation has been opened into whether the protesters violated the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations, however no action has been taken against police officers who used excessive force during the demonstration.
On 27 August 2018, the Ministry of Internal Affairs accused the Saturday Mothers of “being exploited by terrorist organisations” and “using the concept of motherhood to create victimisation, masking terrorism and polarising society”. Additionally, the spokesperson of the governing AKP party stated that “it is not a stance against these mothers, but a response to terrorist groups openly taking advantage of this space”.
Front Line Defenders is seriously concerned at the criminalisation of the Saturday Mothers’ weekly vigils and the use of excessive force against peaceful protesters. Front Line Defenders reminds the Turkish authorities that the right to peaceful assembly is guaranteed under domestic and international law, including the European Declaration of Human Rights, to which Turkey is a party. We call on the Turkish authorities to guarantee the right to peaceful assembly of the Saturday Mothers and other protesters and carry out an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the allegations of use of excessive force by the police.
