Turkey’s Saturday Mothers have convened once again in Istanbul’s Galatasaray Square, in this, their 985th vigil, to voice their unwavering demand for justice for their disappeared relatives.
This week, the focus of the Istanbul vigil was on the case of Mehmet Nezir Duman, who was abducted in 1993 and has not been heard from since. The gathering was marked by the presence not only of the Saturday Mothers, but also of activists from the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV) and the Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Association (İHD), all united in their call for accountability.
The TİHV Istanbul spokeswoman Ümit Efe stressed the urgent need for the judicial authorities to revisit Duman’s case, pressing for the removal of statutes of limitations standing in the way of the pursuit of due process. “A thorough investigation and prosecution must be conducted to expose the truth and ensure justice,” she said.
The vigil was also a platform for the personal stories of those affected, and included a heartfelt letter from Duman’s wife, who currently lives in Germany. She shared the harrowing reality of living under constant threat, and the relentless but futile search for her husband after his disappearance.
The Istanbul event concluded with the symbolic laying of carnations in the square, a gesture that highlighted the ongoing struggle for justice faced by families of the disappeared.
Similar vigils took place across Turkey, including in Diyarbakir (Amed), Batman (Êlih), Hakkari (Colemêrg) and İzmir, where activists reiterated their demands to be told the whereabouts of others who have vanished under similar circumstances, such as Mehmet Tekdağ, Av.Metin Can, Dr.Hasan Kaya, Maksut Tepeli and Nezir Tekçi.
The tragic case of Nezir Tekçi, a shepherd who became a victim of violence in 1995 allegedly for wearing traditional Kurdish attire, was highlighted in Hakkari. His family’s calls for justice were echoed by Sibel Çapraz of the Hakkari branch of the İHD, who pledged to continue advocating for truth and accountability in Tekçi’s case.
The vigil in İzmir, meanwhile, highlighted the case of Maksut Tepeli, who disappeared in 1984, and whose case spotlights the persistent policy of impunity that has shielded those responsible for such enforced disappearances from facing the consequences of their actions.
