UN committee to review Turkey’s record on torture and ill-treatment
The United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT) is set this week to review Turkey’s record of torture and ill-treatment amid growing concerns from human...
Syrian refugee’s health in peril due to bureaucratic barriers in Turkey
A Syrian refugee in Turkey was temporarily denied critical HIV treatment due to bureaucratic hurdles, sparking concerns about human rights violations and public health...
Former Ankara mayor targets minorities in controversial tweet
Melih Gökçek, the former mayor of Ankara and a prominent politician, has targeted Turkey’s ethnic and religious minorities, claiming that millions of Greeks, Armenians...
Critically ill man dies after being sent to prison despite end-stage cancer
Ahmet Zeki Özkan, a 67-year-old architect who was arrested despite his end-stage cancer, died on Monday, the TR724 news website reported.
Özkan was arrested in...
Turkish gov’t misuses ECtHR decision to justify routine strip-searches: UN rapporteur
The Turkish government misused a European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decision to justify routine strip-searches in prisons, a UN rapporteur revealed during a...
Top judge secured release of detainees in exchange for bribes: secret witness
A secret witness has made allegations of bribery involving a high-ranking Turkish judge, claiming detainees were released in exchange for large sums of money,...
Former AKP mayor of Kurdish city arrested on bribery charges
A former mayor from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) who replaced a democratically elected district mayor in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish southeast in...
Turkey bans access to social storytelling platform Wattpad
Turkey has become the first country to impose a ban on access to Wattpad, a popular digital publishing platform with over 90 million monthly...
Worker held captive and brutally mistreated by employers desperately seeks justice
Vedat Kurt, a 22-year-old man who was allegedly taken prisoner and tortured by his employers after complaining about his unpaid wages, has called on...
Turkish opposition MP raises concern over rising child mortality
Kayıhan Pala, a lawmaker from Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), has drawn attention to a visible uptick seen in child mortality in...
Latest Reports
Women’s rights in Turkey: 2025 in Review
The state of women’s rights in Turkey showed no meaningful improvement in 2025, as longstanding problems persisted and new challenges emerged. Femicides, institutional failures...
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...