İstanbul mayor to appear in court in June for ‘targeting’ expert witness
İstanbul’s popular Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu is set to appear in court in June after an indictment filed against him for allegedly targeting an expert...
Gov’t proposes law restricting gender transition, criminalizing expression of LGBTQ+ identity
Turkey’s Justice Ministry is proposing sweeping legal changes that would restrict gender transition procedures and criminalize public expression of LGBTQ+ identity, according to a...
Rights group reports widespread abuses in Turkish prisons in 2024
Prisoners in Turkey’s northwest Marmara region endured alleged mistreatment, severe overcrowding and medical neglect in 2024, according to a new report published by the...
Kurdish journalist gets suspended sentence for social media posts
A Turkish court has handed down a suspended sentence of one year, six months to journalist Mahmut Altıntaş on conviction of “spreading terrorist propaganda”...
Amnesty welcomes acquittal of former Turkey chair, laments new crackdown on rights activists
Amnesty International has welcomed the acquittal of Taner Kılıç, a prominent Turkish human rights defender and former chair of Amnesty International’s Turkey branch, after...
Syrian Kurdish-led forces say Turkish airstrikes killed 12
Kurdish-led forces that control large swaths of northern and northeastern Syria said 12 people were killed Wednesday in airstrikes it blamed on Turkey, Agence...
Opposition mayor among 21 detained in İstanbul dawn raids in bid-rigging probe
Turkish police detained another main opposition party mayor in İstanbul along with 20 others in pre-dawn raids, part of a bid-rigging and corruption investigation,...
Bar association executives acquitted for 6th time in Armenian genocide commemoration statement
A court has acquitted 11 executives of the Diyarbakır Bar Association in southeastern Turkey of charges stemming from a 2021 statement commemorating the victims...
Turkish journalist gets suspended sentence over YouTube interview with Syrian Kurdish leader
A Turkish court on Thursday handed down a suspended 15-month sentence to journalist Nevşin Mengü on conviction of disseminating “terrorist propaganda” in a YouTube...
Turkey among top 10 countries with sharpest decline in freedoms: Freedom House
Turkey is among the top 10 countries that have seen the sharpest decline in freedoms over the past decade, according to the “Freedom in...
Latest Reports
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...
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...