Saturday Mothers

[1] Mainly composed of mothers of victims, and renowned as a model of civil disobedience,[2][3] they combine silent sit-in with communal vigil as their method of protest against the forced disappearances and political murders by the deep state in Turkey during the military coup-era of the 1980s and the OHAL-era of the 1990s.

It has faced repression from the state, including police violence and prosecution, most recently in November 2020.

According to the Human Rights Association, between 1992 and 1996, 792 state-forced disappearances and murders have been reported in the east of Turkey, with many more missing persons who remain unreported[4][5] (see also, OHAL).

Following the announcement, in their 700th peaceful protest, Saturday Mothers were faced with police violence and several of the participants were detained.

Erdoğan said that as government he will do everything he can to alleviate the suffering of the family members, but also mentioned that it will not be easy to achieve results in cases that are older than 30 years.