Urgent Intervention Request – Violations of Right to Life, Housing, and Freedom from Torture in Istanbul, Türkiye

Dear United Nations Human Rights Office,

I am submitting this urgent intervention request concerning severe and ongoing violations of my human rights by Turkish state authorities, including my right to life, right to adequate housing, and freedom from torture and ill-treatment.

I. Executive Summary

Turkey has systematically violated my rights to life, adequate housing, and freedom from torture by:

• Forcing me to reside in a structurally unsafe building ("Moda Suç Apartmanı") officially declared unfit for habitation since March 2023, despite imminent earthquake risks.
• Retaliatory judicial harassment through an 18-month guardianship case initiated the same day I filed a criminal complaint, using the complaint as its basis, violating freedom of expression and constituting psychological torture.
• Judicial obstruction preventing accountability for state, municipal actors, and building management, including dismissing criminal complaints and refusing to enforce the evacuation legally mandated within one month by the March 21, 2023, Kadıköy Municipality report.

Urgency: The April 23, 2025, 6.2-magnitude Istanbul earthquake underscores imminent risks, as experts warn of larger quakes (≥7.0) along the North Anatolian Fault.

II. Legal Grounds for UN Action

• Right to Life (ICCPR Art. 6, UDHR Art. 3): The state's inaction violates its duty to prevent foreseeable threats (Portillo Cáceres v. Paraguay, UNHRC, 2019).
• Right to Adequate Housing (ICESCR Art. 11): Forced residence in an unsafe structure breaches UN guidelines on safe housing (A/77/190).
• Freedom from Torture (UNCAT Art. 1): Prolonged exposure to life-threatening conditions and retaliatory guardianship constitute psychological torture under UNCAT [as they cause severe mental distress (General Comment No. 3)].
• Freedom of Expression (ICCPR Art. 19): Retaliatory judicial actions violate whistleblower protections.

III. Key Facts

• Structural Risks & State Negligence: The building, constructed with banned sea sand and broken column-beam connection in the basement and another column in the basement through which a large pipe was run, was declared unfit by Kadıköy Municipality (March 21, 2023) but remains occupied, still unaddressed post the April 23, 2025 earthquake. [This reflects widespread negligence in addressing substandard buildings in Istanbul, endangering thousands, as seen in the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake.]
• Judicial Misconduct and Retaliatory Judicial Harassment: On December 1, 2023, I filed a criminal complaint against municipal officials and building management. The same day, a guardianship case was launched against me, alleging "mental incapacity" citing my criminal complaint as evidence, causing severe mental distress. Prosecutor Hüseyin Önelge dismissed my complaint even though the Chief Prosecutor's Office had already started a criminal investigation. The Interior Ministry blocked prosecution of the former Mayor, which resulted in the dismissal of my complaint by the Chief Prosecutor's Office, to which I objected. There are two different dismissals by two different prosecutor offices for the same criminal complaint. One was an immediate dismissal and basis of the guardianship case, the other was due to the criminal investigation being blocked by the Interior Minister.
• Systemic Discrimination: This case reflects Turkey's judicial repression of whistleblowers, as noted in the 2020 UPR (A/HRC/44/14).
• Judicial Obstruction: Judicial obstruction to prevent accountability for state and municipal actors, including dismissal of criminal complaints and refusal to enforce legal evacuation requirements per the official municipality report. [Domestic remedies have been ineffective due to judicial retaliation and the Interior Ministry's obstruction, rendering further appeals futile (ICCPR Art. 2(3)).]

IV. Requested Actions

Immediate Measures:

• Evacuate residents of "Moda Suç Apartmanı" and provide safe housing.
• Terminate the guardianship case and investigate judicial misconduct.

Investigations:

• Deploy UN Special Rapporteurs on Housing, Torture, and Human Rights Defenders.
• Refer this case to the UN Human Rights Council via Special Procedures or the 1503 mechanism.

Accountability:

• Address this case in the 2025 UPR Review of Turkey.
• Issue public condemnation of municipal corruption and judicial repression.

V. Supporting Evidence

Attached are the following documents:

• Municipal inspection report (March 21, 2023)
• Correspondence evidencing cover-up attempts
• Criminal complaint (Dec 1, 2023), dismissal notices from both prosecutor offices, and objection
• Guardianship case file
• Timeline of events (March 8, 2023 – May 20, 2025)

VI. Submission Channels

This submission is also being sent via:

• Online Portal: https://spsubmission.ohchr.org/
• CC: freedex@ohchr.org (Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression)