HRW examines what constitutional reforms mean for human rights situation in Turkey
Turkey will hold a referendum on April 16, 2017, on constitutional amendments that would change the structure of governance in the country from a...
Int’l law associations urge UN to pressure Turkish gov’t over persecution of legal professionals
Three international law associations have urged the United Nations to enter into urgent dialogue with the Turkish government with a view to ending the...
Turkish businessman and civil activist Kavala detained at İstanbul airport
Osman Kavala, one of Turkey’s most prominent businessmen and chairman of the İstanbul-based Anadolu Kültür Association, was taken into custody by Turkish police upon...
HRW: EU should tell Erdoğan no deeper economic cooperation without end to crackdown
A meeting planned for Thursday between European Union leaders and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan should signal that discussion of upgraded economic cooperation is...
Turkish student gets 2-years suspended prison sentence over popular anti-Erdoğan video
Twenty-one years old university student Ali Gül, who appeared in a popular No campaign video in the run up to the April 16 presidential...
Çiçek Otlu, chairperson of socialist party ESP, arrested by Turkish court
Çiçek Otlu, the Chairperson of Socialist Party of Oppressed (ESP) in Turkey was arrested by a Tunceli (Dersim) court on Tuesday. Otlu, who has...
Turkey’s Erdoğan slams Europe over ‘headscarf ban’
Turkish autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday strongly criticized European countries over headscarf bans, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
“The headscarf ban is...
Turkish gov’t renames embassy street to protest US support for Kurdish PYD
The Ankara Metropolitan Municipality on Monday changed the name of the street on which the US Embassy is located to “Olive Branch,” the name...
No demotion for Turkish prosecutor under investigation for misconduct
Turkey’s Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) has failed to demote a prosecutor who is under investigation for his alleged links to a criminal...
Bomb threat in German town that cancelled Turkish minister’s speech
German police on Friday called for the evacuation of the city hall in the southwestern German town of Gaggenau after it received a bomb...
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...