Amnesty International has expressed approval over the recent acquittal of 45 members of the Saturday Mothers, concluding a protracted seven-year legal battle. The individuals faced charges for their participation in their 700th peaceful vigil, which took place in August 2018 and was subsequently met with violent disruption by the police. Dinushika Dissanayake, Deputy Regional Director for Europe at Amnesty International, described the prosecution as “baseless” and emphasized that it “should have never seen the light of day” (Amnesty International).
The Saturday Mothers represent relatives of individuals who were forcibly disappeared during the 1980s and 1990s in Türkiye. Their activism is inspired by Argentina’s Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo. These relatives have held weekly vigils at Istanbul’s Galatasaray Square since 1995, advocating for justice and visibility for their missing loved ones. The 700th vigil, however, was met with excessive force including tear gas and water cannons by the authorities, resulting in the arrest of 46 individuals who were later indicted in 2020 for “attending illegal meetings and marches without weapons and not dispersing despite warning.” The trial officially commenced in 2021 (JURIST).
In response to the court’s decision, Amnesty International has called on Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya to immediately lift all restrictions on gatherings at Galatasaray Square and allow the Saturday Mothers to resume their peaceful protests. The organization stressed that the group serves as “a powerful symbol of the importance of peaceful protest.”
The ban on the 700th vigil, along with the preceding police actions, stand in violation of the right to peaceful assembly, which is protected under both the Turkish Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), to which Türkiye is a signatory. The situation of the Saturday Mothers reflects an ongoing tension within Türkiye regarding restrictions on freedom of assembly. Despite multiple bans and arrests, the Saturday Mothers remain steadfast in their pursuit of justice and accountability.