On November 25, Ali Malikov and Parvin Alakbarli participated in a protest in Istanbul, Turkey, on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

At approximately 7:00 PM, both were detained by the police. According to witnesses at the scene, both were subjected to violence during their detention, handcuffed behind their backs, and taken to a police car.

After news of their detention became public, both were provided with lawyers by the Istanbul Bar Association at the request of the November 25 Women’s Platform.

26th of November

It took 11 hours to establish contact with Ali and Parvin. Lawyers who met with them at the Beyoğlu district police station reported that:

• they were held in the police car with their hands handcuffed behind their backs for hours.
• During this time, they underwent a medical examination in the car, and a doctor’s report stated there were no visible injuries on them. However, they were later taken to a hospital and re-examined.
• Subsequently, both were transferred to the Vatan district police station, where they were held until 5:00 AM, and then were brought to the Beyoğlu district police station at 7:00 AM.

During the meeting, the lawyers provided each of them with written phone numbers to facilitate communication.

Ali has Tourette’s syndrome, which requires them to take sedatives regularly. Despite the lawyer’s request, Ali’s medication was not delivered to them due to the lack of a prescription. Additionally, although Ali’s vegetarian diet was mentioned, providing food from outside was impossible, and they were only given food supplied by the police.

The lawyers were informed that at 3:00 PM on November 26, both Ali and Parvin would be sent to the Arnavutköy Repatriation Center, where they would be held for two days before appearing in court.

During this time, Parvin could make two phone calls, but no contact could be made with Ali, nor was there any information about their whereabouts.

27th of November

Based on the assumption that Ali was at Arnavutköy, a lawyer assigned to them attempted to meet them at the repatriation center at 9:00 AM. However, it was reported that Ali had been transferred to the Çatalca İnceğiz Repatriation Center.

At approximately 1:00 PM, Ali’s assigned lawyer refused to continue representation and withdrew from the case.

Throughout the day, attempts to determine Ali’s exact location included contacting the İnceğiz Repatriation Center and Turkey’s Ministry of Interior, but calls remained unanswered.

5:15 PM
Finally, 33 hours after initial contact, it was possible to reach Ali.
They called a friend and stated that they and Parvin were currently at the İnceğiz Repatriation Center for Women.
Ali revealed that before being brought to this center, them and Parvin were held at the Arnavutköy center, where the conditions were dire.
To avoid being separated, they posed as a family and were placed in the same room. Ali added that their room’s door later was broken by approximately 20 men. When asked for more details about their experiences, Ali hesitated to speak openly but stated they were subjected to inhumane treatment and physical violence.
Ali also mentioned spending the night on a ground filled with mud and trash.

7:40 PM
Later, at around 7:30 PM, a call to one of their friends indicated that Ali, Parvin, and another detainee, Tarlan Zeyinli, would be transferred to a camp in Kocaeli that night.
According to lawyers and local human rights activists, the Kocaeli camp is notorious for its harsh conditions, brutal officials, and for housing detainees primarily arrested in the context of counter-terrorism operations.

9:15 PM
After 8:00 PM, there were several phone calls with Ali and Parvin.
In one of these calls, when asked whether they had been subjected to physical violence at Arnavutköy, both remained silent, indicating they could not speak about it.
Parvin confirmed that he had been beaten during her arrest, saying the police threw him to the ground, kicked him multiple times, and broke two umbrellas on him.

In another call at 8:29 PM, Ali mentioned that their transfer to Kocaeli was temporarily delayed because the vehicle had broken down after they boarded.

In a call at 9:00 PM, Ali stated that the vehicle had been repaired, and they were scheduled to leave for the Kocaeli camp at around 9:30 PM.

28th of November

12 PM
The lawyer met with them.
According to the lawyer, their conditions are very poor. They state that they do not want to stay inside. Although the process requires them to stay there for 4-5 days, they mentioned they cannot endure it for that long.
Ali stated that they desire to go to a third country.