Human rights defender Enes Hocaoğulları released after 35 days in pre-trial detention
On 8 September 2025, human rights defender Enes Hocaoğulları was released from pre-trial detention at the first hearing of the criminal case against him. He is unjustly charged with disseminating false information to mislead the public and inciting public hatred and hostility for a speech he made at a Council of Europe conference in March 2025. The human rights defender was detained at the Ankara Esenboğa airport upon his return to the country on 5 August 2025. On 8 August, the Ankara 2nd Criminal Judgeship of Peace placed the human rights defender under pre-trial detention, which lasted for 35 days. The next hearing is scheduled for 23 February 2026, until which the defender must report to the local police on a monthly basis.
On 8 September 2025, Enes Hocaoğulları is due to appear before the Ankara 86th Criminal Court of First Instance. The Court accepted the Ankara Public Prosecutor’s indictment dated 8 August 2025 and ruled for the continuation of the human rights defenders’ arrest pending trial. The indictment requests that the Court prosecute the human rights defender under article 217/A-1 of the Turkish Penal Code, which regulates the offence of disseminating false information to mislead the public, also known as the Defamation Law.
On 5 August 2025, human rights defender Enes Hocaoğulları was detained at the Ankara Esenboğa Airport, on his return to Türkiye due to an arrest warrant issued by an Istanbul court, in connection with ongoing investigations into a speech he made at the 48th session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe on 27 March 2025.
Enes Hocaoğulları is a youth and LGBTI+ rights defender based in Ankara, Türkiye. Since 2022, he works as the International Advocacy and Fundraising Coordinator at ÜniKuir Association, an LGBTI+ rights organisation in Türkiye. His focus is on diplomatic engagement, monitoring youth rights, reporting and advocacy. His climate activism during his high school years eventually evolved into a fight for human rights and democracy. In February 2025, he was selected as the youth delegate from Türkiye for the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.
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- 9 September 2025 : Human rights defender Enes Hocaoğulları released after 35 days in pre-trial detention
- 19 August 2025 : Human rights defender Enes Hocaoğulları due to appear before the Ankara 86th Criminal Court of First Instance
- 7 August 2025 : Human rights defender Enes Hocaoğulları arrested for a speech he made at a Council of Europe meeting
On 8 September 2025, human rights defender Enes Hocaoğulları was released from pre-trial detention at the first hearing of the criminal case against him. He is unjustly charged with disseminating false information to mislead the public and inciting public hatred and hostility for a speech he made at a Council of Europe conference in March 2025. The human rights defender was detained at the Ankara Esenboğa airport upon his return to the country on 5 August 2025. On 8 August, the Ankara 2nd Criminal Judgeship of Peace placed the human rights defender under pre-trial detention, which lasted for 35 days. The next hearing is scheduled for 23 February 2026, until which the defender must report to the local police on a monthly basis.
Enes Hocaoğulları is a youth and LGBTI+ rights defender based in Ankara, Türkiye. Since 2022, he works as the International Advocacy and Fundraising Coordinator at Ünikuir Association, a LGBTI+ rights organisation in Türkiye. He was elected as the youth delegate from Türkiye for the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. In March 2025, at the 48th session of the Congress, he gave a speech about the police violence against the protesters in Türkiye and called on the international community to act against the human rights violations, which was widely shared on social media and triggered a hate campaign and complaints to the officials calling for measures to be taken against him.
On 8 September 2025, the first hearing of the case heard by the Ankara 86th Criminal Court commenced with the participation of a large audience and official observers. Members of civil society organisations, human rights defenders, the media, parliamentarians and representatives from the EU delegation, and the embassies of France, the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Switzerland, Czechia, Finland, Norway and Sweden were present at the hearing.
Enes Hocaoğulları opened his defence statement by explaining the circumstances of his participation and the speech he made at the Congress in detail. He told the Court that he has personally experienced and witnessed the excessive use of force by the police during the protests he participated in between 19-21 March 2025. He further stated that he had closely followed the news and social media posts of peaceful protesters being violently arrested by the police and claims by lawyers, parliamentarians and human rights organisations of forced strip-searches.
The human rights defender emphasised that the speech he made at the session focused only on the dismissals and arrests of elected mayors and other officials in Türkiye, and that despite some of the official Türkiye delegation members also speaking and making similar remarks during that session, it was only his speech that was circulated and targeted. The human rights defender stated that his speech was incorrectly translated into Turkish and despite the fact that there was a correct version in the case file, this version was not taken into consideration by the decision making authorities.
Regarding the claim that Enes Hocaoğulları targeted the reputation of the country, he said, “democracy, human rights and the rule of law are fundamental elements of the Republic of Türkiye. They are guaranteed by the Constitution, and various institutions are responsible for preserving them. Speaking about the people exercising their right to peaceful protest to defend these values and about the human rights violations that have occurred does not target the country's reputation; it praises, elevates and honours it”. The human rights defender further explained that the aim of his speech was not to target the country's reputation, but to bring the unlawful practices to the fore and demand that those responsible be investigated and prosecuted.
He argued that he had only exercised his freedom of expression and reiterated that he had returned to Türkiye despite knowing that he would be arrested, and asked the Court for his release and acquittal.
The court ordered the release of the human rights defender, considering the stage the case has reached, the fact that the evidence has been gathered, and taking into account the period the defendant has spent in custody. The next hearing is scheduled for 23 February 2025.
Front Line Defenders welcomes the release of Enes Hocaoğulları from pre-trial detention, which he should never have been subjected to in the first place and believes that the Court will rightly exonerate him at the next hearing next February. Front Line Defenders would like to reiterate its call to the authorities in Türkiye to uphold international human rights standards and to ensure a safe environment for human rights defenders who monitor, protect and work peacefully to secure the full enjoyment of these rights by all, without fear of intimidation and reprisal.
On 8 September 2025, Enes Hocaoğulları is due to appear before the Ankara 86th Criminal Court of First Instance. The Court accepted the Ankara Public Prosecutor’s indictment dated 8 August 2025 and ruled for the continuation of the human rights defenders’ arrest pending trial. The indictment requests that the Court prosecute the human rights defender under article 217/A-1 of the Turkish Penal Code, which regulates the offence of disseminating false information to mislead the public, also known as the Defamation Law.
On 5 August 2025, Enes Hocaoğulları was detained at the Ankara Esenboğa Airport on his return to Türkiye in connection with the speech he made at the 48th session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe (CoE) on 27 March 2025. He was subsequently arrested pending trial and sent to Ankara Sincan Prison.
The indictment shows that the investigation by the Ankara Public Prosecutor’s Office was initiated following a post made by an X user on 4 April 2025, commenting on Enes Hocaoğulları’s speech at the Congress meeting. The tweet targets the human rights defender, saying that he is a provocateur and a liar who “complained about his country at a congress he attended in Europe and begged for help.” The post denounces Enes Hocaoğulları by stating that “in his slanderous speech, this individual, unable to have enough vileness, is targeting our police with the lie that strip searches were conducted. Necessary action must be taken against this provocateur.” The user tagged the cyber security police, Minister of Interior and the General Directorate of Security. A similar investigation was initiated by the Istanbul Public Prosecutor based on various statements made on social media platforms. This investigation was later merged with the investigation of the Ankara Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The indictment argues that the human rights defender acted in violation of article 217/A-1 of the Turkish Penal Code by making a speech which was misleading and not based on any factual data. The indictment further claims that the speech was aimed at creating division in society, pitting sectors of society against each other and disrupting public peace and order; that it targeted the reputation of Türkiye; and that the human rights defender had publicly incited hatred and enmity against a segment of the public.
Front Line Defenders is appalled by the accusations directed at the human rights defender solely for expressing his opinion in a peaceful way, without calling for any enmity or hostility against any sector of society. The organisation reiterates that Enes Hocaoğulları was carrying out his legitimate role as a human rights defender, exposing human rights violations he witnessed and was informed about.
Front Line Defenders believes that this criminal case is a reprisal against Enes Hocaoğulları’s legitimate human rights work and a show trial aiming to silence dissenting voices and human rights defenders in Türkiye.
On 5 August 2025, human rights defender Enes Hocaoğulları was detained at the Ankara Esenboğa Airport, on his return to Türkiye due to an arrest warrant issued by an Istanbul court, in connection with ongoing investigations into a speech he made at the 48th session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe on 27 March 2025.
Enes Hocaoğulları is a youth and LGBTI+ rights defender based in Ankara, Türkiye. Since 2022, he works as the International Advocacy and Fundraising Coordinator at Ünikuir Association, a LGBTI+ rights organisation in Türkiye. His focus is on diplomatic engagement, monitoring youth rights, reporting and advocacy. His climate activism during his high school years eventually evolved into a fight for human rights and democracy. In February 2025, he was selected as the youth delegate from Türkiye for the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.
On 5 August 2025, Enes Hocaoğulları was detained while going through passport control at the Ankara Esenboğa Airport based on an arrest warrant issued by an Istanbul court. He was transferred to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office for his statement to be taken. After taking Enes Hocaoğulları’s statement, the prosecutor referred the human rights defender to the Ankara 2nd Criminal Judgeship of Peace with a request for pre-trial detention under article 217/A of the Turkish Penal Code, which is also known as the Disinformation Law.
The judgeship ruled for the pre-trial detention of Enes Hocaoğulları, justifying the decision by stating that there is strong suspicion that the human rights defender might flee. This is despite the fact that he returned to Türkiye aware of the risk of arrest upon arrival. Following the pre-trial arrest decision, he was transferred to Sincan Prison in Ankara.
In February 2025, Enes Hocaoğulları was selected as the youth delegate of Türkiye for the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. On 24-27 March 2025, the human rights defender attended the 48th session of the Congress, where he delivered several speeches, including on 27 March 2025, when he gave a speech detailing police violence imposed on protesters in Türkiye, including attacks with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons, and the strip search of detained students. He called on the international community to act against the human rights violations in Türkiye.
The speech, which was recorded and posted online, went viral on social media. This led to a smear and hate campaign against the youth and LGBTI+ rights defender, accusing him of being a traitor, foreign agent and a queer who wants to “spread LGBTI+ ideology”. Additionally, investigations were initiated by Ankara and Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutors’ Office under articles 216 (inciting public to hatred and hostility) and 217/A (defamation law) of the Turkish Penal Code respectively, which were later consolidated under Ankara prosecutor’s office. An additional investigation was initiated by the Kırşehir Prosecutor’s Office under article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (insulting the Turkish nation, the Republic of Turkey, or the institutions and organs of the state).
Front Line Defenders believes that the human rights defender was solely arrested for his peaceful human rights work and for exercising his right to free expression to explain the human rights violations that he has personally witnessed. It is particularly worrying that he was targeted for a speech that he made at the Council of Europe, which Türkiye is a member of.
Front Line Defenders calls on the Turkish authorities to
- Release human rights defender Enes Hocaoğulları immediately and unconditionally;
- Ensure that his mental and physical health are guaranteed while he is deprived of his liberty;
- Stop using and repeal article 217/a, also known as the defamation law, to silence journalists, human rights defenders and opposition members who denounce human rights violations in a peaceful manner;
- Ensure that all human rights defenders in Türkiye are able to conduct their peaceful and legitimate activities without undue restrictions, fear of harassment, threats or retaliation, including judicial harassment and arbitrary arrest against them.
