Turkiye

The Gezi Park Activists

Mass protests broke out in Istanbul in May 2013, initially to protect Gezi Park from development and later as a broader anti-government movement. Known as the Gezi protests, they prompted a harsh state response and in 2022, 8 men were convicted of “attempting to overthrow the government” for their alleged role in these protests.

A retrial of 3 of the protesters, Mücella Yapıcı, Hakan Altınay and Yiğit Ekmekçi, resulted in their release in September 2025. Meanwhile however, Çiğdem Mater, Tayfun Kahraman, Mine Özerden, Can Atalay and Osman Kavala remain in prison.

Amnesty has described Turkey’s justice system as a tool of political repression since the prosecuting authorities have repeatedly failed to provide credible evidence to substantiate the baseless charges against them.