Turkey recorded at least 3,254 cases of torture or ill-treatment in 2024 that occurred in police custody, at protests and in prisons, the Human Rights Association (İHD) said Thursday in a new report.
The association’s “2024 Human Rights Violations Report,” which covers incidents documented between January and December, draws on court files, news reports and complaints submitted to the association.
The group said 501 people were subjected to torture or degrading treatment while in police custody or other detention facilities, including 14 minors, 15 journalists and 101 migrants. Another 102 people faced similar abuse outside official custody in homes, streets or vehicles.
Police interventions at public demonstrations accounted for the largest share of cases. The association documented the torture or ill-treatment of at least 2,651 people during interventions at 191 peaceful protests, including 27 children and 46 journalists.
The group identified 223 incidents of torture or ill-treatment affecting at least 660 inmates, along with 1,176 people who got food poisoning in correctional facilities. At least 20 inmates died under suspicious circumstances, 13 of them recorded as suicide. The report said 1,412 inmates were seriously ill, 335 of them in critical condition, and that 855 prisoners were sent to facilities far from their families.
Authorities imposed protest bans for a combined 458 days in 24 provinces and intervened in at least 313 demonstrations, detaining 1,811 people. The bans affected Kurdish Newroz celebrations, May Day gatherings, Pride events and protests over trustee appointments to Kurdish-run municipalities.
Restrictions on expression also expanded. Prosecutors opened 1,607 investigations into social media posts, detaining 738 people and arresting 127. Courts and regulators issued widespread broadcast bans and fines, including 81.5 million lira in penalties levied by the media regulator. Seven radio and TV licenses were revoked, including that of Açık Radyo, a long-established independent station.
The association recorded 4,911 arbitrary detentions and 611 arbitrary arrests. More than 500 members of pro-Kurdish parties were taken into custody. Turkey’s parliament received 80 summaries of proceedings seeking to lift the immunity of 12 lawmakers, and government-appointed trustees replaced elected mayors in eight municipalities.
The lifting of parliamentary immunity allows prosecutors to pursue criminal investigations and file charges against lawmakers. Opposition figures have long accused the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of using such cases to silence opposition politicians.
At least 106 racist or discriminatory assaults left 14 people dead and 40 injured. Riots in Kayseri in June targeted Syrian refugees and displaced nearly 3,000 people, the report said, with homes and businesses damaged across the city.
The association documented 38 people who were threatened, abducted or pressured to become informants and noted that some enforced disappearance cases remain unresolved, with the fate of long-missing individuals such as Gülistan Doku and Yusuf Bilge Tunç still unknown.
Deaths linked to unsafe working conditions remained high. At least 1,897 workers died in workplace accidents and 71 minors lost their lives while working, including 22 under the age of 14. Ninety-four migrant workers died on the job.
The association said its figures reflect only cases that reached the public or were reported to its offices and warned that the true scale of violations is likely higher.
