Former judge, dismissed after 2016 coup attempt, dies of cancer
Abdurrahman Sakar, a former judge who was summarily dismissed from his job by a government decree in the aftermath of a 2016 coup attempt...
Authorities detain shopkeepers protesting dam construction in northeastern Turkey
Three shopkeepers were detained following protests against the construction of a dam that will submerge a town and villages in the Yusufeli district of...
Hate speech against Syrians in Turkey on the rise thanks to upcoming elections, says...
Xenophobia, hate speech and hate crimes against Syrian refugees are increasing in Turkey as the country prepares for upcoming elections, the Istanbul-based Asylum Seekers...
Inmate on hunger strike kept in unsanitary conditions in hospital, lawyers say
Sibel Balaç, an inmate in Ankara’s Sincan Prison who has been staging a hunger strike since December 2021, is being kept in unsanitary and...
Organizers cancel speech by ‘gay imam’ Mohamed Zahed in İstanbul
A speech that was planned to be given in İstanbul in November by Dr. Ludovic Mohamed Zahed, a French-Algerian imam and scholar of Islam...
Turkey detains 22 people in another operation targeting Gülen followers
Turkish police have detained 22 people out of 25 named in detention warrants as part of an Ankara-based probe into academics and civil servants...
Dismissed police officer forced to work as deliveryman dies in traffic accident
Former police officer Hasan Önal (31), a victim of purges that followed a July 15, 2016 coup attempt in Turkey who was fired from...
Turkey misuses counterterrorism legislation to target human rights defenders: UN special rapporteur
Mary Lawlor, the UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders, said in a statement on Monday that she is deeply concerned by the apparent...
Retired general serving life sentence issued a ‘good health’ report 3 weeks before his...
Vural Avar, 85, a retired general who died in prison on Tuesday, was issued a medical report 22 days before his demise that said...
Top prosecutor portrays pro-Kurdish party as ‘recruitment office’ for PKK
A top Turkish prosecutor who is seeking to close down the country’s second largest opposition party, the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), has accused...
Latest Reports
Human Rights in Turkey: 2025 in Review
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This report highlights the most important developments in the area of human rights in Turkey in 2025, a year marked by continued democratic...
Weaponized Diplomacy: How Erdoğan Uses Turkish Missions for Transnational Repression
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This report reveals how the Turkish government has transformed its embassies and consulates into instruments of repression over the past decade. Once seen...
The Forgotten Victims: Children of Turkey’s Post-Coup Purge
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This report examines how children from families targeted in Turkey’s unprecedented post-coup purge have endured the devastating consequences of persecution, social exclusion and...
Human Rights in Turkey: 2024 in Review
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This report highlights the most important developments in the area of human rights in Turkey during the year 2024.
Throughout the year Turkey continued...
Dehumanizing a Legacy: How Fethullah Gülen’s Death Triggered a Campaign of Hate Speech in...
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This report examines the surge of hate speech following the death of Fethullah Gülen, a US-based cleric whose followers have been systematically persecuted...
Family Punishment in Turkey: How Erdoğan Uses the Nazi Practice of Sippenhaft
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This report focuses on how the Turkish government, under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has used family punishment against his opponents.
Sippenhaft, also known as...
Human Rights in Turkey: 2023 in Review
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This report highlights the most important developments in the area of human rights in Turkey during the year 2023.
The May 2023 re-election of...
Hate speech and hate crimes against Syrian refugees in Turkey
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This report focuses on the inflammatory rhetoric and illegal acts motivated by prejudice faced by refugees who fled the civil war in Syria...