On the 19th of February 90 education workers and others involved in trade union activism were sentenced to five months imprisonment. The activists had been involved in a 2015 protest by the Education Workers’ Union (Eğitim-Sen) Izmir branch and Alevi association. They advocated for education in the mother tongue of ethnic and religious minorities. The criminalisation of ethnic … Read more
Ten students arrested in 2017 have now been sentenced to prison terms of up to seven and a half years. The students had been accused of “membership of an illegal organisation” for having “celebrated Newroz, protested the arrest of HDP deputies, possessed books and magazines” and protesting against Turkish air strikes in Iraq. The severe sentencing … Read more
Annual protests against the Turkish state’s imprisonment of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan took place across Europe and the rest of the world this month. ‘Long Marches’ took place in several cities such as Marseilles, Helsiniki, Malmö, Athens and Copenhagen. These marches covered a great distance and lasted for several days. Many marches ended with rallies … Read more
The action took place inside the Landsvetter Airport in Gothenburg, Sweden, as part of the boycott of Turkish tourism. The Turkish occupation of Northern Syria and Rojava was condemned by activists who called on travellers to think twice about holidaying in Turkey. Activists also called on people to boycott Turkish products. The action was promoted by … Read more
Hundreds of protesters marched in the Greek town of Lavrio on the anniversary of the illegal Turkish invasion of Afrin. The march organised by the Revolutionary Youth Movement was attended by the Kurdish community and Greeks alike. The protesters marched to the town square to condemn the Turkish state’s continued attacks against the democratic system … Read more
The protests took place as part of an action carried out in the Swiss city of Bern protesting the Davos economic forum. In Bern 5,000 demonstrators protested the World Economic Forum attended by world leaders including US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Kurdish and Turkish refugees and migrants marched together with … Read more
The Turkish president faced protests from feminist, civil society groups and Kurdish community groups during his visit to Berlin starting on Sunday the 19th of January. Erdoğan’s visit is part of a conference on the on-going Libyan civil war which the Turkish state has been criticised for intervening in. A coalition of groups and activists … Read more
Recent air strikes by the Turkish military in the area of Northern Iraq known as Shengal (or Sinjar in Arabic) have prompted a wave of protests across Europe. Such air strikes have occurred before and often target Kurdish political groups including fighters who defended the Yazidi community in the area against ISIS’ genocidal attacks. Such … Read more
After the arrests of four journalists in Turkey, the International Observatory of Human Rights (IOHR) reiterated its concerns regarding Turkey’s crackdown on the press. Following this news the IOHR noted how “Turkey remains the worst jailer of journalists globally.” The recent arrests were justified through rhetoric by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan painting his political opponents and … Read more
Members of the EZLN expressed their solidarity with the gender revolution in Rojava and Syria. The call for solidarity occurred during the Zapatistas’ “Second International Meeting of Women Who Fight” attended by 3,500 women from across the world. The Zapatistas have held their autonomous territories in the Mexican state of Chiapas since their uprising in … Read more