Girls' Trial

Girls' Trial (Kız Çocukları Davası) is a court case in Turkey that began following police operations on 7 May 2024 in Istanbul, Turkey. The investigation included middle school, high school, and university students who were charged with terrorism and drew strong criticism from human rights organizations in Turkey and internationally, including European Parliament. The case involves 41 defendants and was first heard on 23 September 2024 at the 24th High Criminal Court of Istanbul.

Girls' Trial
Natali Avazyan with the girls involved in the trial.
Court	Istanbul 24th High Criminal Court
Full case name	Girls' Trial (Turkish: Kız Çocukları Davası)
Decided	September 18, 2025
Verdict	11 defendants convicted of membership in a terrorist organization 8 defendants convicted of aiding a terrorist organization 19 defendants acquitted
Charge	Membership in an armed terrorist organization (Article 314/2 of Turkish Penal Code)
Case history
Prior action	Police operations on May 7, 2024; Indictment accepted July 8, 2024
Subsequent action	First hearing held from September 23–27, 2024
Court membership
Judge sitting	Şenol Kartal (Presiding Judge)

Background

Main article: Arrest of teenage girls on terror charges in Istanbul

On 7 May 2024, in the early morning hours, the Organized Crime and Counterterrorism branches of the Istanbul Police Department conducted a large-scale operation in the Beylikdüzü district. The investigation concerned individuals alleged to have links to the Gülen movement and included female university students. During the operation, homes were searched and 38 people were detained. Reports indicated that the individuals detained were alleged to have links with the Gülen movement based on activities such as studying together or participating in social events. Allegations were made that some statements were taken in the absence of legal counsel and that psychological pressure was exerted during detention. After four days in custody, on 10 May 2024, 28 people were formally placed under arrest. In the same operation, 15 girls aged 13 to 17 were taken to the Üsküdar Juvenile Police Department for what authorities described as 'information gathering'. According to reports, they were questioned for approximately 16 hours without the presence of parents or lawyers, and were later released to their families. Two of the girls who were taken to the Üsküdar Juvenile Police Department reported that the police entered their homes around 5:00 a.m., placed them in police vehicles, and brought them to the Juvenile Branch for questioning. They stated that they were questioned without access to legal counsel, were not given food, were not allowed to communicate with each other, and experienced psychological pressure during the interrogation. Eren Keskin, co-chair of the Human Rights Association and a lawyer, said that the treatment of the girls was unlawful. Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, an MP from the DEM Party, filed a parliamentary question to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, regarding alleged unlawful practices at the Üsküdar Juvenile Police Department. In his written reply on 23 August 2024 to a parliamentary question submitted by MP Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya stated that 14 children and their families were informed by a social worker and a psychologist, and that the children were returned to their families after the procedures. In response to a parliamentary question by MP Gergerlioğlu regarding the case of a 17-year-old identified as N.Z.B., Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya replied that her statement had been recorded for 'information purposes' and that she was not treated as a suspect. In his written response on 23 August 2024 to a parliamentary question from MP Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç stated that the 15-year-old girl referred to in the motion was not a party to the case and had not been subjected to any deprivation of liberty.

Indictment

Following the investigation, on 10 June 2024 the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office filed an indictment against 41 individuals, accusing them of membership in an armed terrorist organization. The 529-page indictment stated that, based on intelligence information requiring verification, the defendants were considered part of a current student network associated with the Gülen movement. It alleged that female university students stayed in so-called 'organization houses' and that 13 parents (10 women and 3 men) were charged for permitting their daughters to visit such houses. The indictment further claimed that the girls met in shopping malls, chatted, played bowling, went to cinemas, and ordered food via Yemeksepeti, portraying these everyday social activities as criminal acts. As evidence, the indictment cited telephone wiretap records, surveillance reports concerning the girls and university students, and statements from minors aged 13 to 17 that had been taken at the Juvenile Police Department under the pretext of "information gathering".

Judicial process

The indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office was accepted on 8 July 2024 by the 24th High Criminal Court in Istanbul, which scheduled the first hearings for 23–27 September 2024. The court also ordered that 15 minors aged 13 to 17, who had previously given statements at the Üsküdar Juvenile Police Department, be brought by law enforcement to testify as witnesses during the hearings. The first hearing of the trial commenced on 23 September 2024 in the courtroom of the 24th High Criminal Court at the Çağlayan Courthouse in Istanbul and lasted for five days. On the second day, MP Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, who was observing the proceedings, was expelled from the courtroom by order of the presiding judge due to his critical posts on social media. Gergerlioğlu filed complaints with the Council of Judges and Prosecutors and the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, alleging that the presiding judge, Şenol Kartal, had compromised his impartiality. According to SEGBİS transcripts, one of the defendants, S.N.B., stated in her testimony that she had been subjected to strip searches both during police custody and while in prison. At the hearing held on Friday, 27 September, the court ordered the release of 11 of the 19 detained defendants and adjourned the trial until 12–13 December 2024. At the second hearing held on 12 December 2024, the court ordered the release of two of the eight detained defendants and adjourned the trial to 18 February 2025. Defendant A.Ö.B., who had undergone a liver transplant prior to the investigation and was living with Parkinson's disease, was released on 7 February 2025 by an interim court decision. At the hearing held on 18 February 2025, the court ordered the release of three of the five remaining detained defendants and adjourned the trial to 25 April 2025. During the session, the young female defendants were questioned about reports prepared from communication surveillance, including records of messages and phone calls. The hearing was observed by Rebecca Cataldi, director of the International Center for Religion & Diplomacy in Washington, D.C., American human rights observer Andrea Barron, and Anaïs Lefort, a criminal lawyer registered with the Paris Bar. At the fourth hearing on 25 April 2025, the court ordered the release of the last two detained defendants, leaving no one in custody. The next hearing was scheduled for 13 June 2025. At the final hearing on 18 September 2025, the court acquitted 19 defendants, while 11 were convicted of membership in an armed terrorist organization and sentenced to prison terms ranging from six years and three months to seven years and six months. Eight defendants were convicted of aiding a terrorist organization and sentenced to three years, one month, and fifteen days in prison.

Reactions

Professor Antonio Stango, president of the Italian Federation for Human Rights (FIDU), described the trial of the young girls on terrorism charges as "surreal". According to Stango, the defendants' ordinary social interactions, such as meeting with friends, living in shared apartments, and praying together, had been classified as terrorist activities. He stated that the indictment was not supported by concrete evidence and that the judge’s style of questioning put pressure on the defendants, leading one of them to cry. Stango further claimed that prosecutors and judges appeared to act in coordination rather than independently, and argued that the proceedings were not compatible with fair trial principles and fundamental human rights.

FIDU published a report assessing the first hearings of the Girls' Trial, held between 23 and 27 September 2024. In its Interim Trial Monitoring Report dated 14 November 2024, FIDU stated that the charges were related to activities such as teaching, social interactions, and the use of common messaging applications. According to the report, the indictment relied on police documents and intelligence notes without presenting corroborating evidence, and included references to the use of digital platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram as evidence of wrongdoing. FIDU also expressed concern that minors aged 13 to 17 were detained in early-morning operations, in some cases without access to legal counsel, and questioned about their peers. The report further noted that the presiding judge posed questions that suggested an assumption of guilt, that defense lawyers faced restrictions in presenting arguments, and that courtroom conditions were insufficient. It also stated that pretrial detention was extended without clear justification.

Nacho Sánchez Amor, the European Parliament's rapporteur on Turkey, stated in a speech on 27 November 2024 at the 81st EU–Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee session — also published on his YouTube channel — that there had been no progress in Turkey regarding the rule of law and fundamental rights. Addressing Turkish officials and politicians, he said:

You have reached such a low level of democratic standards that it cannot get worse" citing the Girls' Trial as an example."You are prosecuting 14-year-old girls for terrorism. In the courts, your judges are asking a girl why she went to study with her neighbor and treating it as a terrorist activity."

Rebecca Cataldi, director of the International Center for Religion & Diplomacy, who attended the 18 February 2025 hearing as an observer, presented her observations on the case before the United States Congress. Cataldi stated that although the case had been brought on terrorism charges, the judge did not ask a single question related to terrorism or acts of violence during the hearing:

This was supposed to be a terrorism trial, yet the judge did not ask a single question about terrorism. There were no questions about armed training, bomb-making, or planning violent acts. Instead, the questions were: Did you study math together? Did you go for tea? Who was your roommate? Why did you spend so much time with this person? Why did someone else pay your rent? What this showed me is that this case was not about terrorism but about a religious movement. A peaceful religious movement was not allowed to exist in the country."

In letters addressed to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, members of the International Religious Freedom Roundtable (IRF Roundtable) highlighted concerns over the case. One such letter, dated 17 July 2025, bore 365 signatures, and another letter, dated 17 September 2025, bore 400 signatures. The letters emphasized that 41 women and girls, some of whom were minors, faced prison sentences ranging from six to fifteen years for peaceful religious activities such as Qur’an lessons, study groups, and faith-based meetings. They also pointed to irregularities in the proceedings. The final letter, signed by 79 organizations and 321 individuals, called for the defendants' immediate acquittal, condemned the misuse of anti-terror laws, and urged international monitoring of the case.