They have been in prison for thousands of days
The government, which throws its opponents into prison, adds a new operation every day. From politicians to journalists, from lawyers to artists, hundreds of citizens have been held in prisons on remand for thousands of days.
Twenty-three years ago, the AKP came to power with a promise to “end bans”, yet during its time in office press and freedom of expression were wiped out step by step.
In Turkey, pressure on social opposition has increased exponentially every year.
Everyone who was opposed to or a rival of the AKP was detained one by one and thrown into prison. Citizens who took to the streets to use their constitutional rights also faced detention and arrest. Numerous investigations that proved lawyers’ criticism that “the judiciary has been turned into an instrument of the government” caused public outrage.
In recent years, as repression intensified, prisons have overflowed with hundreds of people, from politicians to journalists, from lawyers to artists and citizens. Some of those held on remand include:
• Gezi detainees: Osman Kavala has been detained for 2,974 days, Can Atalay for 1,338 days, Tayfun Kahraman for 1,338 days, Mine Özerden for 1,338 days and Çiğdem Mater for 1,338 days.
• Politicians: Selahattin Demirtaş for 3,333 days, Figen Yüksekdağ for 3,333 days, Elif Atayman for 278 days, Rıza Akpolat for 255 days, Alaattin Köseler for 214 days, Ekrem İmamoğlu for 277 days, Mehmet Murat Çalık for 277 days, Resul Emrah Şahan for 273 days, Hakan Bahçetepe for 202 days, Utku Caner Çaykara for 202 days, Hasan Akgün for 202 days, Tunç Soyer for 180 days, Muhittin Böcek for 169 days, Zeydan Karalar for 165 days and İnan Güney for 126 days.
• Journalists: Fatih Altaylı for 182 days, Merdan Yanardağ for 58 days and Enver Aysever for 10 days.
• Lawyers: Lawyer Selçuk Kozağaçlı has been deprived of his freedom for 2,959 days, Lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan for 185 days and Lawyer Atilla Özen for 96 days.
Alongside these people, 16 students have been away from their schools for 17 days for protesting MESEM. From those arrested for speaking in a street interview to citizens deprived of their freedom for expressing their views on social media, hundreds of people are in prison.
Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Binlerce gündür hapishanedeler, published in BirGün newspaper on December 22, 2025.
