Turkish activists demand end to impunity for crimes against women after brutal murders
Turkish women’s rights organizations held demonstrations in İstanbul and several other cities over the weekend in the wake of the brutal murder of two...
Wife of police chief, suffering from COVID-19, detained in hospital, handcuffed to bed
Esmahan Demirhan, the wife of a former police chief who led corruption investigations in Turkey in 2013, was detained in the hospital where she...
Turkish citizens under UN protection feared to have been abducted by Turkish intelligence in...
Seven Turkish citizens are feared to have been abducted by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) due to their links to the Gülen movement after...
Man gets suspended sentence for sharing ‘Dictator Erdoğan’ story on Facebook
A Turkish court has convicted a man of insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan by posting a news story on social media by the...
Rights groups urge Turkey’s parliament to reject espionage amendment
Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) have called on Turkey’s parliament to reject a proposed legislative amendment that could...
Wife of imprisoned Kurdish leader Demirtaş criticizes prolonged COVID-19 restrictions in prisons
Başak Demirtaş, the wife of jailed Kurdish leader Selahattin Demirtaş, criticized prolonged COVID-19 restrictions in prisons preventing families from having physical contact with their...
Turkish court issues arrest warrant for Germany-based Kurdish journalist on terrorism charges
A Turkish court issued an arrest warrant for journalist Ayşe Kara on charges of being a member of an armed terrorist organization after she...
Jailed philanthropist says will no longer attend hearings as a fair trial is unlikely
Prominent philanthropist and businessman Osman Kavala, who has been behind bars on politically motivated charges since 2017, has said he will no longer attend...
UN’s Guterres vows ‘active advocacy’ for refugees facing refoulement after Turks deported from Kenya
UN Secretary-General António Guterres reaffirmed the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) commitment to advocating against the forced return of refugees, in comments...
Ex-intelligence chief says Turkish officials killed 18 for money in ’90s
Mehmet Eymür, former head of the counterterrorism unit of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), has confirmed the previous existence of a clandestine military organization...
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...