Police have detained 26 people, including activists and family members of the Saturday Mothers, during the group’s 969th weekly demonstration in İstanbul’s Galatasaray Square, where they were demanding justice for their loved ones who disappeared in police custody in the 1990s.
Despite previous rulings by the Constitutional Court deeming the police interventions a violation of the right to freedom of assembly, the police have continued to obstruct the Saturday Mothers’ protests.
According to a tweet by the group, at least 26 people were detained, including rights activist lawyer Eren Keskin and Gülseren Yoleri, İstanbul chair of the Human Rights Association (İHD).
#CumartesiAnneleri969Hafta buluşmamızda 26 kişi, AYM kararlarına rağmen bir kez daha kelepçelenerek gözaltına alındı. Destek için gelenlerin arkadaşlarımızla buluşmaları engellendi.
Mikail Kırbayır
Gülseren Yoleri
Besna Tosun
Ali Newroz Tosun
İrfan Bilgin
Maside Ocak
Eren Keskin pic.twitter.com/vkT78LYonZ— Cumartesi Anneleri (@CmrtesiAnneleri) October 21, 2023
The Saturday Mothers, who first gathered on May 27, 1995, in Galatasaray Square on İstanbul’s İstiklal Street and have continued meeting there every Saturday for a silent protest since then, has staged the longest-running protest Turkey has ever witnessed.
The vigils, which saw the participation of larger numbers of people on landmark dates such as the 500th and 600th week, had been held peacefully without any restrictions by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government until the 700th week in 2018, when dozens of protestors were detained after police broke up the protest.
The trial of the 46 people who were detained during the 700th gathering and are facing charges of “participating in unlawful meetings and marches and refusing to disperse despite warnings and the use of force” is ongoing.
The Constitutional Court ruled on Nov. 16, 2022 that the police intervention in the 700th-week vigil was a violation of the right to freedom of assembly.