Human rights defender Enes Hocaoğulları due to appear before the Ankara 86th Criminal Court of First Instance
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.
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.
