Turkey’s RTÜK pressures TV stations not to televise famous singer Sezen Aksu’s song referencing...
Turkey's broadcasting watchdog, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), has made phone calls to Turkish television stations, pressuring them not to televise a...
Turkey blocks X accounts of 2 pro-Kurdish news agencies over ‘national security’
Turkish authorities on Thursday blocked the X accounts of two pro-Kurdish news agencies, citing concerns over “national security” and “public order,” the Freedom of...
Journalist Aslan re-detained by Turkish gov’t after release from prison
Journalist Arif Aslan, whose recent release from prison was appealed against by a prosecutor, was re-detained and taken to a local police department.
According to...
4 journalists arrested for reporting on Kurdish villagers thrown from military helicopter
Four journalists who reported on two Kurdish villagers who had allegedly been thrown out of a military helicopter were arrested on Friday, Turkish media...
Turkish prosecutors present toddler’s photo as evidence of terrorist propaganda
A photograph of Turkish journalist Sibel Hürtaş's one-year-old son has been included as evidence against her that prosecutors say shows she had incited hatred...
Rights defender, Özgür Gündem staff convicted of spreading terrorist propaganda
The İstanbul 14th High Criminal Court on Tuesday handed down prison sentences to Eren Keskin, a leading Turkish human rights defender, and six former...
Pro-Kurdish HDP’s Demirtaş: Europe has abandoned Turkey’s democratic forces
Selahattin Demirtaş, the former co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) who has been behind bars since November 2016 and is running as...
Journalist Kaya accused of being ‘Gülenist’ by ex-husband in prison for 10 months
Tuba Kaya, a 27-year-old reporter from the now-closed Zaman daily, was arrested on Sept. 19, 2016 after her ex-husband lodged a complaint claiming that...
Turkish prosecutor requests lifting of journalist and MP Şık’s immunity
A Turkish prosecutor has filed a summary of proceedings requesting the lifting of the parliamentary immunity of independent deputy and journalist Ahmet Şık over...
Case of jailed journalist Şirin Kabakçı – A prototype of persecution in Erdoğan’s Turkey
Şirin Kabakçı (53), who used to be the provincial bureau chief in Konya for the Zaman newspaper, Turkey’s most highly circulated newspaper before the...
Latest Reports
Human Rights in Turkey: 2025 in Review
Download PDF
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
Download PDF
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
Download PDF
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
Download PDF
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...
Download PDF
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
Download PDF
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
Download PDF
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
Download PDF
This report focuses on the inflammatory rhetoric and illegal acts motivated by prejudice faced by refugees who fled the civil war in Syria...