Turkish comedian detained over joke about Ottoman sultan
Turkish comedian Tuba Ulu was detained after making a joke about Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent during a stand-up performance, Turkish Minute reported.
The İstanbul...
Turkey drops trial of 3 defendants in Sivas massacre trial due to statute of...
A Turkish court, citing the expiration of the statute of limitations, ruled on Thursday to drop the legal proceedings against three defendants who were...
12 arrested among 33 detained in operation targeting main opposition-run municipality
Turkish courts have arrested 12 of 33 people detained in an operation targeting a district municipality run by the main opposition Republican People’s Party...
Court bans more online content upon demand from controversial jurist
A Turkish court has imposed an access ban on 17 more news reports concerning bribery allegations made by a mobster against a member of...
Turkey deepened rights crackdown, impunity in 2025: Amnesty International
Turkey saw worsening restrictions on human rights, mounting prosecutions of rights defenders, growing political pressure on the judiciary and a deepening culture of impunity...
Opposition party vice chair acknowledges systematic torture of supporters of the Gülen movement
Ahmet Zeki Üçok, vice chair of the nationalist opposition İYİ (Good) Party, after a visit to two journalists who were recently imprisoned, said they...
HRW criticizes Turkey over jailing of environmental activist ahead of COP31
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday criticized Turkey’s detention of an environmental activist, warning it raises concerns about whether the country will uphold the...
Turkey detains lawyers based on anonymous tip
The Ankara police have carried out house raids to detain 20 people, including lawyers from the Progressive Lawyers’ Association (Çağdaş Hukukçular Derneği, ÇHD), on...
Turkey arrests Kurdish journalist for alleged links to terrorism
A court in southeastern Turkey has ruled to arrest Selahattin Kaygusuz, a Kurdish journalist who was detained last week for alleged membership in a...
18 rights, media organizations condemn Turkish journalist’s arrest over report on corruption
Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) have joined 16 other media and human rights organizations in condemning the arrest of a...
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...