NEWS

AGENDA 20 arrests following May 1

20 people detained during the May 1 demonstrations were arrested this morning following the completion of investigations.
TURKEY Grave May 1 outcome after new Internal Security Package

The Lawyers for Justice group has prepared a preliminary report on the rights violations that took place on May 1, Workers’ Day. The report states that 452 people were detained, that the duration of arbitrary detention had been extended, and that lawyers were prevented from receiving information regarding detentions. Rights’ violations continued in May 4 as the lawyers that gathered at the Çağlayan Court House to make a statement on May 1 along with unions, associations and mass organizations were met with brutal police intervention.
TURKEY Police once again turns Istanbul into Emergency Zone on May 1, 2015

Workers’ Day celebrations in Istanbul were once again met with extreme security measures and brutal police intervention targeting organizations, groups and the public wanting to exercise their right to demonstrate. Taksim Square, Beşiktaş and main roads leading to the area were sealed off as 20 thousand police officers were placed on duty.
DIASPORA Catholicosate of Cilicia demands its properties back

The Catholicosate of Cilicia in Antelias, Lebanon, the second largest centre of the Armenian Apostolic Church, has formally applied to the Constitutional Court of Turkey for the return of its properties in Sis (Kozan). The Catholicosate has demanded the return of its identified properties, and in the event of failure of identification, the payment of 100 Million TL compensation. This also constitutes the first instance where a case on the seizure of properties by the State will be ruled by the Constitutional Court.
TURKEY Armenak Bakırcıyan mausoleum unveiled in Dersim

On the 100th anniversary of the Genocide, a mausoleum in memory of Armenal Bakırcıyan, a leading member of TİKKO, the Liberation Army of the Workers and Peasants of Turkey, has been unveiled in the Nazımiye District of Dersim.