At least 70 violations targeting Kurdish language and culture were documented in Turkey in 2025, spanning public spaces, media, arts and prisons, according to an annual report by the Kurdish Language Rights Monitoring and Reporting Platform.
According to the report, education in Kurdish is largely limited to elective courses and private institutions, since the right to education in Kurds’ mother tongue is not recognized in Turkey. Artistic and literary works face arbitrary bans, and artists are often targeted. Kurdish newspapers, magazines and social media accounts are censored or blocked. Public signage in Kurdish is removed, while traditional Kurdish music and dance at weddings are criminalized. Speeches by lawmakers in Kurdish in parliament are cut off, with official minutes labeling the language as “unknown.”
The “Report on Systematic Violations Against Kurdish Language and Culture in Turkey, 2025” documents 25 violations in public spaces, 15 in the media, 18 in the arts and culture sector and 12 in prisons. It was prepared in partnership with the Geneva-based Mesopotamia Observatory of Justice (Mojust), drawing on open-source information, press coverage, statements from civil society organizations and direct reports.
The suppression of Kurdish language and culture in Turkey has become a systematic policy that touches every corner of public life, the platform concludes.
Prisoners using Kurdish face strict restrictions: Letters and books in Kurdish are confiscated, and inmates insisting on communicating in Kurdish may face visitation bans, communication restrictions or revoked parole.
The report includes specific incidents, including the detention of young people singing in the street in Hakkari province; the imprisonment of an 86-year-old religious scholar for delivering a sermon in Kurdish; and the banning of the phrase “Hebûn” (Existence) on the jerseys of Amedspor, a football club based in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır.
