SCF, IOHR partner to celebrate World Press Freedom Day with a focus on Turkey
The Stockholm Center for Freedom (SCF) has partnered with the London-based International Observatory of Human Rights (IOHR) to commemorate World Press Freedom Day at...
EU leaders tell Turkey’s Erdoğan they have common interests but also challenges
The European Union is worried about autocratic Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s adherence to the rule of law at home and his actions in...
Turkish teacher investigated for recommending novel by Nobel Prize winner Pamuk
A literature teacher in İstanbul revealed to the BirGün newspaper that they had come under investigation for recommending “The Museum of Innocence” by Orhan...
Erdoğan adviser: New presidential system resembles joint-stock company
Mehmet Uçum, a top aide of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, described a new executive presidential system in Turkey as “a one-man government in...
Erdoğan’s Islamist Maarif Foundation pushes further to replace Gülen science schools in Africa
A Turkish state-run educational foundation has signed memorandums of understanding with 26 countries in Africa to take control of schools belonging to people from...
Prison sentence sought for Turkish cartoonist for ‘insulting sacred values’
An indictment is seeking up to 18-month jail sentence the cartoonist Seyfi Şahin, who used to work for the closed-down popular humor magazine Gırgır,...
Germany accuses Turkey of ‘unacceptable’ spying against Gülen supporters
Boris Pistorius, the Interior Minister for Lower Saxony State of Germany, has accused Turkey of carrying out “unacceptable” spying on its soil amid allegations...
Turkey’s main opposition leader tweets caricature that caused arrest of 4 ODTÜ students
Turkey's main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu on Tuesday posted a caricature on Twitter called “Tayyipler Âlemi” (World of Tayyips), which...
Turkey’s top court annuls interior minister’s broad powers over civil society organizations
Turkey’s Constitutional Court has cancelled certain provisions of a 2020 law that granted the authority to the interior minister to suspend board members and...
Turkey detains 261,000, arrests 91,000 in post-coup crackdown on Gülen followers
Turkey has investigated 559,064 people for alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement, which is accused of masterminding a 2016 coup attempt despite its...
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...