Adekan mural, 2015. All rights reserved.
Thirteen human rights defenders were detained in Turkey on November 16 and Yiğit Aksakoğlu, an activist working on children rights, was imprisoned related to charges against Anadolu Kültür, a cultural association founded by philanthropist Osman Kavala. Kavala himself has been in prison for more than a year without an indictment. This is not the first time human rights defenders and civil society representatives have been put behind bars in Turkey. This time, however, political violence has reached new heights; even peaceful resistance and civil disobedience are now criminalised by the security forces.
Selective targeting of activists and pre-trial detentions are pernicious strategies to restrict civic space. Turkey is not alone in this practice. In recent years, human rights defenders suffer from unprecedented psychological, economic and social harm worldwide. If they refuse to back down, they also suffer physical harm. According to Frontline Defenders, 300 activists were murdered last year. Physical attacks, killings and forced disappearances mainly target rights-defenders demanding environmental protection and labour rights or activist journalists revealing corruption and abuse of power.
