Human Rights

Artist and activist Sona Tatoyan wrote a piece about Osman Kavala and share with Agos readers.

French journalist Mathias Depardon was detained and has been kept in Gaziantep for 18 days to be deported. Recently, he went on hunger strike.

Amnesty International, in a report concerning dismissed public sector workers, stated: "The blanket nature of the dismissals, the fact that the dismissed include trade union, political or human rights activists and known critics of the government from conservative sections of society, and the broader crackdown on dissent that has included the jailing of more than 120 journalists awaiting trial since the 2016 coup attempt, increase concerns that a great many dismissals were arbitrary, unfair and/or politically motivated."

Dismissed academic Nuriye Gülmen and teacher Semih Özakça are on the 75th day of their hunger strike, which they started with the demand of being returned to their jobs. Last night, police raided their houses and detained Gülmen and Özakça. Lawyer Selçuk Kozaağaçlı stated that the ground of detention is the following: “the protest might turn into an indefinite hunger strike or trigger events like Gezi Park protests or Tekel strike.”

The state of emergency declared after the coup attempt on July 15 resulted in a purge in universities that has never been seen before in Turkey's recent history. The emergency decrees have been used for dismissing both experienced academics who carried out many researches in universities and young academics whose careers had just begun. However, despite everything that happened, some academics hold on to their profession, which they define as “reason for being”. In this regard, Kocaeli Solidarity Academy is a precursor and guiding initiative. Having completed its first term of “alternative education”, it has also the purpose of establishing an open and free school of life for people with a new two-tear program.

70-year-old Kemal Gün is on hunger strike in Dersim for 82 days, demanding to take his son's body. Gün is fined to 18,387 lira due to “occupation of public space”.

The people who put black wreath in front of Agos on April 24, 2015 and made threatening statements were acquitted. The Court of Appeals reverse the decision of acquittal on the ground that the statement incite hatred and enmity.

Today is May 3, World Press Freedom Day. In Turkey, where crackdown on media is increasing day by day, 159 journalists are currently in jail and almost 2,500 journalists are unemployed. Press organizations from Turkey and other countries released solidarity messages on the occasion of May 3.