Objective 

Through this program, our main objective is to bring visibility to the trials and investigations faced by human rights defenders working at risk in Turkey, as well as the pressures faced by human rights organizations. We wish to disseminate up-to-date information about the field. 

Rationale 

The shrinking of the civil space, which forms the basis of democratic values and the struggle for human rights in Turkey, has become a significant factor influencing our work. Following the end of the peace process in 2015, a period of intense conflict ensued. The failed coup attempt in 2016 led to the declaration of a state of emergency, instrumentalized to suppress all opposition. In response to the pressing needs arising from these developments, we expanded our monitoring and documentation activities to include recent human rights violations. 

The reflections of increasing authoritarianism in Turkey are observed as the criminalization of civil society work with a particular focus on the struggle for human rights; restrictions on freedom of expression, organization, and peaceful assembly; various forms of judicial or administrative harassment of human rights defenders; smear campaigns against them and dissemination of false news. 

Activities 

The website "Sessiz Kalma" (Keep the Volume Up) was initiated in 2018 by three organizations working in the field of human rights in Turkey: Association for Monitoring Equal Rights, Hafıza Merkezi, and Netherlands Helsinki Committee. The purpose of the project was to protect and empower human rights defenders in Turkey, considering the challenging environment they face due to their work. From 2021 onwards, as Hafıza Merkezi we continued our activities with the support of the Consulate General of Sweden and ProtectDefenders EU. As of 2022, we continue our work with the support of Consulate General of Sweden. 

1. Monitoring and Dissemination 

As part of the program, we established the website https://www.sessizkalma.org. Through this website, our main aim is to bring visibility to the trials and investigations faced by human rights defenders working at risk in Turkey, as well as the pressures faced by human rights organizations. On the website, you can access summaries and trial calendars related to the main cases we monitored within our work. 

• You can follow recent developments in the news section,
• Explore profiles of human rights defenders whose situations we closely follow 
• Access reference documents, resources, published reports, and support programs for human rights defenders from the relevant sections of the website. 

2. Publications 

Intimidation Policies Against Rights Defenders 2015-2021: This report provides an analysis of administrative and judicial obstacles, as well as media defamation, faced by human rights defenders at risk, whose profiles are featured on the Sessiz Kalma website. 

Çünkü Umurumuzda: 11 Sivil Toplum Başarısı (Because We Care: 11 Civil Society Successes - available only in Turkish): This compilation, written by journalist Gökçer Tahincioğlu, presents success stories from various fields of human rights conveyed by witnesses of the struggle. 

3. Solidarity 

Another dimension of our work is to support communication, solidarity, and collaborative efforts among human rights organizations. In this context, we are an active part of the Solidarity Network for Human Rights Defenders, established as a coordination network in 2019 to act collectively in response to pressures on civil society and human rights.