Human Rights Watch urges Turkey to halt deportation of Turkmen activist
Human Rights Watch has called on Turkish authorities to immediately release Turkmen activist Umidajan Bekchanova, who is currently detained in İstanbul and faces deportation...
Kurdish elective course enrollment hits record high in Turkey as barriers remain
Nearly 60,000 students in Turkey have enrolled in Kurdish elective courses in middle schools this year, a record high that reflects growing interest in...
Turkey’s religious authority granted power to censor, destroy ‘improper’ Quran translations
Turkey’s top religious authority, the Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), has been granted sweeping new powers to oversee religious content and censor Quran translations...
Turkish prosecutors seek prison terms for 12 defendants over CHP congress allegations
Turkish prosecutors have filed charges against 12 people, including İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, over alleged irregularities during the main opposition Republican People’s Party’s congress...
Turkish journalist questioned over article on Armenian youth released after brief detention
Tuğçe Yılmaz, an editor at the independent Turkish news outlet Bianet who was detained by police during an identity check in İstanbul on Tuesday...
Ex-MP, 5 mayors among 22 arrested in corruption probe targeting Turkish opposition
A Turkish court has ordered the arrest of 22 people, including five district mayors from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and a...
Turkish political and civic leaders say rule of law ‘effectively suspended’ under presidential system
A coalition of prominent Turkish political and civic leaders declared Tuesday that the country’s rule of law has been “effectively suspended,” citing constitutional amendments...
Dismissed teacher, denied release from prison until too late, succumbs to cancer
Ramazan Aktaş, a former history teacher dismissed under an emergency decree in the aftermath of a 2016 coup attempt in Turkey and imprisoned over...
İstanbul city staff perp walked in front of media, sparking condemnation
Footage showing opposition mayors and İstanbul city officials being led single file in handcuffs by police has attracted backlash from the main opposition party...
Former teacher dismissed for opposing impact of Turkish military operations on children dies of...
A former teacher who was fired by government decree in 2016 for participating in a public campaign critical of military operations’ impact on children...
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...