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Out of respect for the forcibly disappeared, we tried to make sure that the data we share is verified and correct. However, no matter how thoroughly we have been working on our sources, there might be missing or incorrect information presented in the database. We highly appreciate your input to the database, please contact us through the form below to correct or add information.

Hafıza Merkezi strives to support and make the deeds of the victim relatives, human rights organizations, activists, lawyers and researchers working on enforced disappearances more visible and accessible. Thus, we welcome all information sharing and collaboration proposals.

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The crime of enforced disappearance in Turkey has been a frequently used method of state violence throughout the history of the Republic during the coup periods (especially before and after the 1980 coup d'état) and in the 1990s. The first organized reaction to this crime was the campaign launched by the Human Rights Association (İHD) in 1992 with the slogan "Find the Disappeared". This campaign turned into a nationwide movement with the persistent struggle of the Saturday Mothers/People who started the sit-ins in 1995.

The Saturday Mothers/People gathered in Galatasaray Square for the first time on 27 May 1995 to ask about the fate of their relatives disappeared in custody, like the mothers of the missing who gathered in their Argentina counterpart, Plaza de Mayo, by holding a silent sit-in, repeated every Saturday. The activists, who always carry the photographs of their disappeared relatives, had two basic demands: The first was a request for concrete and reliable information on what happened to their children, spouses or siblings. In other words, Saturday Mothers, who demanded the bodies of their children from the state also tried to keep the collective memory of these rights violations alive. The second demand was the identification of the perpetrators and the initiation of a fair trial process regarding both this state policy and the perpetrators who went unpunished. In this context, the first dynamic memorialization initiative in Turkey's political history was initiated by the Saturday Mothers/People, who have been regularly and patiently struggling to put thousands of enforced disappearances on the public agenda. Their actions, which continued despite all the attempts to prevent and ban by the security forces over the years, were not limited to Istanbul either; the initiative also spread to provinces such as Diyarbakır, Şırnak (Cizre), Batman and İzmir over the years.

You can support the struggle and demands of the Saturday Mothers/People by participating in the sit-ins and contribute to the spread of their calls by following the developments on social media accounts.