Turkish communication authority to have power to block social media on national security grounds
A new draft regulation would give Turkey’s top telecom authority the power to block access to social media platforms like Facebook, X, WhatsApp and...
Trustees appointed to municipalities upon Erdoğan’s instructions, interior minister says
Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu has said trustees in municipalities in Kurdish-majority southeastern Turkey were appointed by his ministry upon instructions from President Recep Tayyip...
Turkey disappointed at EU summit outcome: Foreign Ministry
Turkey on Friday expressed disappointment after an EU summit ended with a critical statement about Ankara’s rights record and no clear progress on a customs...
COMMENTARY — Turkey’s intel agency trafficked drugs and stolen vehicles to jihadists in Syria
By Abdullah Bozkurt
A hushed-up investigation in Turkey’s capital city of Ankara in early 2014 reveals how intelligence officers on the payroll of the National...
6 convicted in Afghan refugee’s death, but rights groups slam lenient sentences
A Turkish court has convicted six people in connection with the death of an undocumented Afghan refugee, but human rights advocates have condemned the...
Erdoğan invokes 2016 coup, causes concern about peaceful transition of power
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sparked controversy on Friday, using Twitter to call for support in Sunday’s elections and comparing the situation to an...
Turkey’s top court says jailed former lawmaker’s rights were violated
Turkey’s Constitutional Court on Thursday ruled that Turkey violated the rights of Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, a former pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) lawmaker and...
Turkish prosecutors label Guardian, Foreign Policy articles as ‘terrorist propaganda’
Turkish prosecutors listed articles published on the websites of The Guardian newspaper and Foreign Policy magazine as evidence of "terrorist propaganda" in an indictment against...
Syrian refugees in Turkey beaten, deprived of basic needs, coerced to sign ‘voluntary’ return...
Syrian refugees detained in Turkey have been beaten, denied food and medical care and coerced into signing “voluntary” return documents, according to a new...
Known number of people affected by disasters has jumped 80-fold since 2015: UN official
The known number of people affected by disasters has jumped 80-fold since 2015, UN General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi said during a UN meeting in New...
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...