Turkish police admit nonexistence of ‘secret witness’ whose statements led to many imprisonments
The Diyarbakır Police Department has revealed that an anonymous witness codenamed “Venüs” whose testimony led to the detention and imprisonment of scores of people...
Report: Soon-to-be-displaced residents of Turkey’s ancient Hasankeyf have nowhere to go
The Ilısu Dam, nearing completion in southeastern Turkey, will soon displace residents of the ancient settlement of Hasankeyf, but many of them will be...
Turkish rapper detained for allegedly encouraging drug use in songs
Ömer Sercan İpekçioğlu, a Turkish rapper also known as Ezhel, was detained on Thursday, accused of encouraging drug use in his songs, the Hürriyet...
Occupational safety expert sparks outrage for trying to fit dead worker with safety harness...
An occupational safety expert sparked outrage after he tried to fit a safety harness on the lifeless body of a 19-year-old dockyard worker who...
AKP, MHP reject motion to investigate police officer suicides
Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its ally, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), have rejected a parliamentary motion to investigate a rising...
Moldovan migrant worker dies after brutal assault in İstanbul leather workshop
Nicolai Palamarciuc, a Moldovan national working in Turkey, died after being bound and brutally beaten by the relatives of his employer in İstanbul’s Başakşehir...
The Year in Review: Press Freedom
The Turkish government continued to muzzle the press in 2020 in a variety of ways, including imprisoning journalists, eliminating media outlets, overseeing the purchase...
CoE’s Muižnieks expresses dismay at conviction of activist Çelikkan in Turkey
Nils Muižnieks, the Council of Europe’s (CoE) commissioner for human rights has voiced his disappointment over a court decision on Monday to hand down...
Turkish police detain 10 for attending Pride march in central Turkey
Turkish police on Sunday detained 10 people at a Pride march in the central province of Eskişehir despite a ban imposed by the governor’s...
Turkey’s Erdoğan calls for expanded witch hunt against Gülen followers
Having purged more than 150,000 people from state jobs and jailed over 50,000 due to alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement, Turkey's autocratic...
Latest Reports
New report exposes widespread, systematic rights violations in Turkey’s crackdown on the Gülen movement
STOCKHOLM— The Stockholm Center for Freedom today released a new report, “UN Findings on Turkey’s Crackdown on the Gülen Movement: Widespread and Systematic Rights...
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...