Turkey has experienced a marked resurgence of torture and ill-treatment of people in custody since a coup attempt in July 2016. Lack of condemnation from higher officials and a readiness to cover up allegations rather than investigate them have resulted in widespread impunity for the security forces.
The enormous gulf between Turkey’s constitutional provisions for the protection of human rights and the grim reality on the ground continued to grow. Throughout the year, rights groups documented the systematic use of torture, inhuman treatment and degrading conditions by police, prison authorities and intelligence units. International scrutiny also intensified, with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) raising concerns in January about the alarming rise in torture allegations.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ongoing crackdown on the Gülen movement, along with increasing repression of the Kurdish political movement and some other dissident groups, has led to the imprisonment of tens of thousands on terrorism-related charges. As a result Turkey’s prisons are dangerously overcrowded. Inmates frequently lack adequate food, beds and hygiene products, while poor sanitation and limited access to healthcare have contributed to rampant illness and preventable deaths.
President Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the movement since the corruption investigations of December 17-25, 2013, which implicated then-prime minister Erdoğan, his family members and his inner circle.
Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan designated the movement as a terrorist organization and began to target its members. He locked up thousands, including many prosecutors, judges and police officers involved in the probes.
According to Ministry of Justice data, Turkey’s prisons now operate at 20 percent over capacity, with the country leading Europe in both total prison population and incarceration rates per capita. Since 2002 more than 5,300 inmate deaths have been reported, including 709 in the first 11 months of 2024 alone.
The government has also weaponized incarceration by denying parole to over 8,500 inmates since 2021, including many political prisoners. Meanwhile, the plight of children in detention remains dire — 759 children under the age of 6 are currently growing up behind bars with their mothers, enduring conditions that violate international human rights standards.
Here are the most significant developments from 2024 regarding torture, inhuman treatment and prison conditions in Turkey.
PACE expressed concern about increase in torture allegations in Turkey
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in January adopted a resolution on torture and ill-treatment in places of detention across Europe, addressing the increase in alleged incidents reported from Turkey in past years. More…
Widespread human rights violations reported in Turkish prisons in 2024
Turkish prison authorities committed multiple human rights violations against inmates in 2024, including torture, strip-searches and the denial of medical care, according to a report by the Freedom for Lawyers Association (ÖHD) and the Federation of Legal and Solidarity Associations for Families of Prisoners (MED TUHAD-FED). More…
TIHEK report detailed overcrowding and inhumane conditions in Turkish prisons
A visit by the Turkish Human Rights and Equality Institution (TİHEK) to Maltepe L-Type Prison revealed severe overcrowding and poor living conditions, highlighting the systemic issues plaguing the country’s penal institutions. More…
Turkey recorded 709 prison deaths in first 11 months of 2024
Turkey recorded 709 deaths in prison in the first 11 months of 2024, according to data from the Ministry of Justice shared in response to a parliamentary inquiry. More…
759 children under 6 live in Turkish prisons as incarceration rates soar
Turkish prisons house 3,690 children aged 12 to 18, including 165 girls. In addition, 759 children under the age of 6 live with their mothers in prison, among a total of 16,039 incarcerated women across the country, according to statistics from the Civil Society in the Penal System Association (CISST). More…
Turkey led Europe in prison population, number of inmates per capita
Turkey surpassed all European countries in both total prison population and inmates per capita as of 2022, signaling a significant upward trend in incarceration rates over the past decade, according to data from Eurostat released in April. More…
Man died in custody after alleged police brutality
Serhat Kahyaoğlu, a man who on the night of the March 31 local elections was detained in İstanbul for celebrating by firing a gun into the air, died in police custody after he was allegedly assaulted by officers. More…
Electric shocks, mock execution: Woman detained over Gülen links recounted torture by police
A woman detained for managing a dormitory affiliated with the Gülen movement described the torture she endured during her detention in the counterterrorism department of Turkey’s western Afyon province. More…
Jailed leftist band member’s arm broken due to mistreatment
Prison guards in western Turkey allegedly broke the arm of Bahar Kurt, a jailed member of the leftist Grup Yorum band. More…
Teacher abducted from Kyrgyzstan recounted torture, death threats in custody
A report drafted by a bar association in Turkey revealed how Orhan İnandı, a Turkish educator renditioned to Turkey from Kyrgyzstan by Turkish intelligence in 2021 due to his links to the Gülen movement, recounted instances of torture and death threats he was subjected to in custody. More…
Turkish police accused of beating 2 detainees
Two men detained in connection with a shooting incident in İstanbul said they were subjected to police abuse and coercion while in custody. More…
Turkey promoted police chief connected to allegations of brutal torture
The Turkish Interior Ministry promoted Yaşar Gidiş, a police chief whose precinct has in recent years been implicated in several allegations of torture, to 1st class commissioner, the highest rank. More…
6 inmates held in cells designed for 3 in NW Turkey prisons
The Association for the Freedom of Lawyers (ÖHD) published an annual report on prison conditions in Turkey’s northwestern Marmara region, which found that six prisoners were being held in cells designed for three. More…
Relatives of inmates reported mistreatment, lack of access to clean water in central Turkey prison
Inmates in Kırşehir Prison in central Anatolia were subjected to physical assaults and a lack of access to clean water. More…
Turkish prosecutors dismissed torture complaint by former dormitory director linked to Gülen movement
Turkish prosecutors dismissed a complaint of torture filed by Aysun Işınkaralar, the former director of a dormitory affiliated with the faith-based Gülen movement, who alleged she was tortured by police and neglected by doctors while in custody in 2018. More…
Dismissed teacher, denied release from prison until too late, succumbed to cancer
Cemal Altıparmakoğlu, a 48-year-old primary school teacher dismissed under a government decree, died on November 29 after a delayed release from prison despite his doctor’s warnings. More…
Prison authorities denied critically ill woman necessary medical care
Aysu Bayram, 46, a Turkish woman who suffers from Parkinson’s disease and also requires regular care for a liver transplant, said she has been denied critical medical attention during her incarceration in an Istanbul prison. More…
Prison authorities denied labor union official access to essential medication
İsmet Aslan, a Turkish labor union official battling a rare form of skin cancer, said he has been denied access to his prescribed medication in prison. More…
Turkish prison authorities denied parole to Kurdish inmate over ‘lack of remorse’
Prison authorities in southeastern Turkey delayed the conditional release of Besra Erol, a 66-year-old Kurdish inmate, by a year over allegations of a “lack of remorse.” More…
Kurdish inmate with ALS died in Turkish prison after release denied
Abdulkadir Kuday, a Kurdish inmate suffering from ALS, died in an İstanbul prison after authorities refused to release him. More…
Elderly Kurdish politician died in prison after his parole delayed
Abdülmelik Okyay, a 71-year-old Kurdish politician imprisoned for social media posts, died of a heart attack while incarcerated after his parole was delayed. More…
Turkish prisoner’s parole delayed after protesting strip-search
Turkish prison authorities delayed Mazlum Ari’s parole after he protested a strip-search. More…
Poor prison conditions sparked concern over human rights violations in eastern Van province
Reports of poor prison conditions have raised concerns about human rights violations in prisons in eastern Turkey’s Van province. More…
Unlawful strip-searches became common practice in Batman prison
Human rights abuses, in particular the use of unlawful strip-searches, became a common practice in the Batman M Type Prison. More…
Prisoner denied release for 6 years despite European rights court ruling
Fermani Çetin, an inmate serving a life sentence in northwest Turkey, saw his parole postponed by six years based on disciplinary penalties that the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) had ruled violated his rights. More…
NGO reported widespread discrimination, violence targeting LGBT individuals in Turkish prisons
Incarcerated LGBT individuals in Turkey frequently faced violence, isolation, slander and discrimination during their time behind bars. More…
NGO reported physical mistreatment, denial of meals in northern Turkey prison
The Human Rights Association (İHD) has released a report on a Turkish prison in the northern province of Samsun, documenting the alleged physical assault of 11 inmates who were later deprived of meals. More…
Female inmates in Çorum Prison struggled with overcrowding and poor conditions
Family members of female inmates in central Turkey’s Çorum Prison complained of poor conditions and overcrowding. Many inmates were sleeping on the floor or on filthy mattresses brought from the prison basement due to overcrowding. There were also frequent water outages, and some inmates claimed the guards had said the administration was turning off the water. More…
