Background
Hayrettin Eren had been part of the youth movement of the 1970s. After the military coup of 12 September 1980 a warrant was issued for his arrest and he was a wanted man. In the weeks after the coup thousands of people were detained, and custody records were often not kept, leaving families without information.
Eren was 26 when he disappeared. His family is still searching for him.
What happened
According to published accounts, Eren was detained with a friend on 21 November 1980 near the Haşim İşcan Passage in Saraçhane, Istanbul. He was taken first to the Karagümrük police station and then, together with eight others held in the same operation, to the Political Branch at Gayrettepe police headquarters.
His mother went to Gayrettepe and saw her son's car, which belonged to his father, in the Political Branch's yard, yet police told her nobody of that name was in custody. The eight others detained in the same operation told a prosecutor that Eren had been held with them.
Investigation and legal process
Every application by the family received the same answer: Eren had not been detained and was still wanted. Despite witness statements, officials never acknowledged his detention.
The family and the Saturday Mothers/People have applied repeatedly for the case to be clarified, but the legal process produced no effective result. The Saturday Mothers raise his case each November.
Where it stands today
More than four decades later, Hayrettin Eren's fate remains unknown. His relatives say those responsible are protected by impunity despite multiple witnesses. His brother İkbal Eren continues to call for the case to be investigated.
The case is regarded as one of the earliest examples of enforced disappearance in Turkey and is archived here so that it is not forgotten.
The Saturday Mothers/People emerged from a silent sit-in that families of the forcibly disappeared began in Istanbul's Galatasaray Square on 27 May 1995. After pausing in 1999 the vigil resumed in 2009 and is held weekly, each time turning attention to one file. Families argue that enforced disappearance is a continuing violation and should therefore not be closed on grounds of limitation.
In the period after the coup, martial law allowed long detention periods and custody records were not kept consistently. This made it very hard for families to learn where their relatives were. The Hayrettin Eren file reached a deadlock in that atmosphere, with officials declining to acknowledge his detention.
This page summarises Hayrettin Eren's disappearance using information from the press and statements by human rights organisations. Because officials did not acknowledge his detention, much of what is described rests on statements by his family and witnesses. The aim is to remember a young man's name and story and to give space to the call for his fate to be explained.
Eren's family has never stopped searching for him. His brother has spoken at the Saturday Mothers' vigils each November, reminding the public of the witness statements about him. The family sees the file remaining closed, despite several witnesses who saw him in custody, as the biggest obstacle to the truth coming out.