Emine Ocak, a pioneering activist with the Saturday Mothers movement who joined the first protest in Istanbul’s Galata Square on May 27, 1995 in search of her missing son, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 89 following a heart attack.
Her death was announced on social media by the Saturday Mothers, a group of activists seeking the fate of loved ones who disappeared in police custody in the 1980s and ’90s, a period that saw a military coup and state of emergency in Turkey. The group has held silent vigils every Saturday for decades demanding accountability for the disappearances.
The period was marked by forced disappearances, political murders, police violence and torture. Reports vary on the number of people who went missing during the state of emergency in the 1990s. However, according to a 2020 report by Turkey’s Human Rights Association, 1,352 people were forcibly disappeared after the military coup on September 12, 1980, and mostly in the country’s predominantly Kurdish southeastern provinces. Many others were victims of politically motivated killings.
Over the years, authorities have attempted to restrict or ban the Saturday Mothers demonstrations; however, the group has persisted with their vigils despite threats of police intervention, detention and legal action.
“We announce with great sorrow that we have lost Emine Ocak, the strongest voice of our struggle for truth and justice with her courage, persistence and determination,” said the Saturday Mothers.
Emine Ocak’s son, Hasan, was a teacher when he disappeared on March 21, 1995. Despite the family’s desperate search, they found no trace of him for weeks. Later, witnesses reported seeing Hasan in detention, where he was allegedly tortured. Nearly two months after his disappearance, the family discovered photographs of his body in the archives of the Institute of Forensic Medicine, his face and body bearing clear signs of severe beating and torture.
In 2019, in a public letter Emine Ocak said her son’s face was nearly unrecognizable. His remains had been found in an unmarked grave, exhumed and reburied in the family cemetery. Hasan’s body had been left in the woods, where local villagers discovered it and buried him without identification.
After recovering her son’s remains, Emine Ocak connected with human rights organizations, where she learned that many other families had also lost loved ones in police custody. In solidarity with those still searching, she organized and joined the Galata Square sit-ins and continued to do so until her final days.
“Other families who learned that we were gathering at Galatasaray started to join us. We grew large in Galatasaray. We became siblings, children and friends to one another. As our voices began to be heard, the number of disappearances also decreased. Thanks to our struggle, more people could not be disappeared in custody. We became a safeguard for people’s right to life. During our 300th, 400th, 500th, 600th weeks, thousands of people came to stand with us. They quietly carried our photos with us. They didn’t even applaud, because everyone knew we sat in silence,” she said about the Saturday Mothers.
Following her death Emine Ocak was commemorated by her children and fellow activists.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Emine Ocak. Another one of the Saturday Mothers has passed away without seeing justice served for her son, who was forcibly disappeared in custody. Emine Ocak’s courage, persistence, and determination over 30 years in the struggle for truth and justice will continue to guide our fight for rights,” said the Human Rights Association.
“Mother Emine played a vital role in bringing the truth about enforced disappearances to the world. To live a lifetime with the pain of a lost son — we rebel against the system that caused this pain!” said human rights advocate Eren Keskin.
“Emine Ocak, one of the emblematic figures of the Saturday Mothers, has passed away. She was beaten, detained and tried countless times while seeking the fate of her son. Yet she never gave up. She empowered other mothers and fought so that no more politically motivated murders would remain unsolved and the perpetrators would be brought to justice,” said journalist Onur Öncü. https://x.com/oencueeonure/status/1947876016485241156
