Joint Monitoring Report on Enforced Disappearances in Turkey

Sümeyye Yılmaz, Fatma Betül Zeybek, Aycan Kaya, Zehra Genç Türkmen, Nilüfer Irmak, Mikail Ugan, and Nuray Tunç filed applications with the Human Rights Center of the Ankara Bar Association on 25.04.2019, 03.05.2019, 13.05.2019, 17.05.2019, 24.05.2019, 14.05.2019, and 29.08.2019 respectively, and lawyers that are member to the Human Rights Center of the Ankara Bar Association recorded these applications. Pursuant to Article 5/1/a of the Directive of the Human Rights Center of the Ankara Bar Association, when the Center receives an application on violation of human rights, it conducts a preliminary review of these applications, and upon receiving approval of the Board of Directors of the Ankara Bar Association related to applications that are in its purview, takes relevant decisions and actions. The preliminary review has revealed that the allegation of enforced disappearance under the knowledge and authorization of public officers indicates a structural problem, and these applications in fact play a critical role in the fight given to protect human rights since it is possible that the right to live and prohibition on ill-treatment might have been violated. Therefore, Human Rights Center of the Ankara Bar Association determined that these applications are in its purview. The Board of Directors of the Ankara Bar Association decided on 22.05.2019 that necessary inquiries should be made on Sümeyye Yılmaz’s application and a report should be issued. The Human Rights Center of the Ankara Bar Association issued the report on 14.06.2019 and submitted and published the report on 27.06.2019. Following the developments that occurred upon finding six of the relatives of the applicants, the Human Rights Center decided to consolidate similar applications of Fatma Betül Zeybek, Aycan Kaya, Zehra Genç Türkmen, Nilüfer Irmak, Mikail Ugan, Nuray Tunç and to issue a joint monitoring report.