Erkan in the Army now...: EFD Rights Watch: Barbaros Şansal (@barbarossansal) is back at his home…

Not worse than 1990s yet but Turkish police shows signs of increasing arbitrary arrests and undocumented acts. People have been wondering whereabouts of Barbaros since last night and finally he tweeted that he is back at home… Designer and Gezi Park protester Barbaros Şansal claims to have been kidnapped Barbaros Şansal claims to have been kidnapped on the night of Aug. 3 Scores detained as police take over Istanbul’s Gezi Park Scores of people have been detained as result of a police intervention against a small group on Istanbul’s İstiklal Avenue as forces attempted to disperse crowds until the morning hours of Aug. 4 ***************** Istanbul Police launch operation against neo-nationalist group …Trend.az Teams from İstanbul Police Department raided premises of the neo-nationalist Turkey Youth Union (TGB) early on Saturday ahead of what is to be the final How do Turkish citizens participate in decision-making ? The Gezi Protests have shown us that the Turkish government must urgently adopt concrete mechanisms to ensure citizen participation in decision-making processes. Can the EU help? Turkey’s lack of democracy is storing up problems | Observer editorial Prime Minister Erdogan has much to boast about, but the vision of hope is fading fast It is proving a long, turbulent summer for Turkish democracy. The chaos of Gezi Park may have abated after judges conveniently stopped building work there; but the fundamental reasons for protest haven’t gone away – just as tourists, alarmed by demonstrations spreading far beyond Istanbul, haven’t come back. And the crisis of Turkish journalism – too many reporters in prison, far too many sacked for telling their readers what happened in Taksim Square – grows worse, not better, in a climate of fear where even the most distinguished professionals, such as Yavuz Baydar, ombudsman of the daily Sabah, or Derya Sazak, editor of Milliyet, can suddenly find themselves out of a job.   Ruling AKP deputy head lashes out at Istanbul governor over Silivri hearing announcement Mehmet Ali Şahin has lashed out at Istanbul Governor for his remarks over Ergenekon hearing Related posts: Barbaros Şansal among 40 detained tonight Police show of force in Taksim… #OccupyGezi EFD Rights Watch: “Turkish court gives green light to destruction of Gezi Park… İftar in the Taksim Square by the municipality… while rights violations continue increasingly… EFD Rights Watch #universitelileriozgurbırak EFD Rights Watch: At least 30 more (mostly University students) detained in Istanbul in Gezi Park operations this morning… EFD Rights Watch: EFF says Online and Off, Information Control Persists in Turkey….