Report shows Turkish democratic backslide worst of 41 states
During a period of democratic downturn in industrialized states around the world, Turkey’s backsliding from democracy has been the worst out of 41 countries...
Turkish authorities detain 286 more people over alleged Gülen links: minister
Turkish authorities have detained 286 people and arrested 154 of them in an ongoing crackdown on the faith-based Gülen movement, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya...
Council of Europe renews call for release of Demirtaş, Yüksekdağ and Kavala
The Council of Europe’s (CoE) Committee of Ministers has renewed its call for the immediate release of jailed former pro-Kurdish politicians Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen...
Turkish court orders main opposition leader to pay damages to controversial prosecutor
A Turkish court has ordered Özgür Özel, leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), to pay non-pecuniary damages to İstanbul Chief Public...
Famous Kurdish poet sentenced to prison for insulting Erdoğan
A local court has sentenced famous Kurdish poet, writer and journalist Yılmaz Odabaşı to nearly a year in prison on conviction of insulting Turkish...
Turkish Embassy spied on critical journalist in Denmark, helped build false criminal case, secret...
Abdullah Bozkurt
The Turkish Embassy in Copenhagen profiled and monitored a Denmark-based Turkish journalist who was critical of the government in Ankara and had been...
Academic in western Turkey shoots family members in murder-suicide
Yusuf Yılmaz, an academic working at a university in the western Turkish province of İzmir, shot his mother-in-law, his 4-year-old daughter and his wife,...
Erdoğan’s security detail attack on DC protesters puts gun sale to Turkey at risk
The US sale to Turkey of $1.2 million in semiautomatic handguns for use by its security force appears to be in jeopardy due to...
Targeted by Erdoğan, Turkey’s LGBT community face ‘tsunami of hate’
Murat has watched for years as LGBT people who face persecution in the Middle East have found refuge in his cosmopolitan neighborhood of İstanbul.
Today,...
Conservative US group calls on Turkish gov’t to release Pastor Brunson
The American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ), a politically conservative, Christian-based social activism and corruption watchdog in Washington, has launched a campaign to...
Latest Reports
UN Findings on Turkey’s Crackdown on the Gülen Movement: Widespread and Systematic Rights Violations...
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This report analyzes UN findings on Turkey’s post-2016 counterterrorism measures targeting people with alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement.
Drawing on opinions of...
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...