PEN Turkey bestows women’s rights award on academic attacked by Erdoğan
The PEN Turkey Writers’ Association has granted its annual Duygu Asena Women’s Rights Award to Professor Ayşe Buğra, who was recently targeted by Turkish...
Turkish authorities arrest disabled bomb disposal expert on terrorism conviction
Bilal Konakçı, a bomb disposal expert with the police who lost his hand and was blinded in an explosion, was arrested yesterday after Turkey's...
Top court decision to uphold sentence of rights advocate MP draws global outrage
Politicians, journalists and human rights activists from around the world have reacted on social media against a recent decision by Turkey’s top court to...
Elite navy commando who fought against pirates in the Gulf of Aden tortured in...
A sergeant in Turkey’s special naval unit who fought against pirates in the Gulf of Aden was subjected to brutal torture by a team...
Ankara police accused of abducting 3 university students in broad daylight
Ankara police have been accused of abducting three university students today and abandoning them in distant parts of the city after threatening and beating...
Jailed Kurdish leader denounces killing of PKK hostages, blames gov’t for botched rescue attempt
Jailed Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş has denounced the killing of 13 Turkish nationals held hostage by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), blaming the...
Inmates suffer from overcrowding and gross rights violations, says parliamentary committee
Inmates are experiencing gross rights violations and the negative effects of overcrowding in Turkish prisons, according to a report drafted by the Turkish Parliament's...
One in every four journalists in Turkey suffered physical violence in 2020: report
One out of every four journalists was subjected to physical violence and half of them received threats in 2020, a report recently released by...
Women’s group protesting Erdogan’s all-female university detained in Ankara
A group of women was detained yesterday in Ankara after they attempted to stage a demonstration against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's initiative for an...
Turkish authorities must end vindictive prosecutions of former staffers of Özgür Gündem: CPJ
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) asked Turkish authorities to drop all charges against former staffers of Özgür Gündem, a now-defunct newspaper that had...
Latest Reports
Torture, Ill-treatment and Prison Conditions in Turkey: 2025 in Review
Turkey's record on torture and ill-treatment continued to deteriorate in 2025, despite its commitments under international human rights conventions.
Throughout the year human rights organizations...
Turkey’s Transnational Repression: 2025 in Review
Turkey's campaign of transnational repression against critics abroad continued throughout 2025. Since a coup attempt in July 2016, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s long arm...
Turkey’s Crackdown on the Gülen Movement: 2025 in Review
During the year Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan continued to relentlessly pursue anyone with alleged links with the faith-based Gülen movement, which he described...
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...