COMMENTARY — Radical Islamists tapped to be judges and prosecutors in Turkey
By Abdullah Bozkurt
A key pro-government association rooted in religious fanaticism and a jihadist mindset has been serving as a springboard for staffing Turkey’s judiciary...
HDP calls Turkish prisons ‘torture centers,’ urges EP, EU and UN to take action
Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) on Friday called on the United Nations, the European Parliament and the European Commission to "urgently" take action...
4,464 more public servants purged in new gov’t decree in Turkey
With a new state of emergency decree issued on Tuesday, the Turkish government has dismissed 4,464 more public servants. The relentless purge that gained...
Journalists Müyesser Yıldız and İsmail Dükel face up to 31 years, 6 months in...
A Turkish prosecutor is seeking a jail sentence of up to 31-and-a-half years for journalists Müyesser Yıldız, Ankara news director of the ultranationalist OdaTV...
Turkey defies pressure to keep philanthropist Kavala in jail
A Turkish court on Friday kept civil society leader Osman Kavala in jail despite Western pressure and the risk the case could further harm...
Phone seized in fraud investigation reveals bribery involving prosecutors
A mobile phone that was confiscated as part of a fraud investigation in central Turkey has revealed messages indicative of bribery involving the suspects...
Turkey unable to implement its own laws: annual human rights report
The Human Rights Association (İHD) has introduced its annual report covering human rights violations in 2022, which it presented as evidence of Turkey’s inability...
HRW urges Turkey to use Öcalan’s call as ‘catalyst’ to end rights abuses
Human Rights Watch has called on Turkey to use a landmark call from a jailed militant leader telling his organization to lay down its arms as...
11 Turkish doctors get lengthy prison sentences for supporting terrorism
The Ankara 32nd High Criminal Court on Friday handed down lengthy jail sentences to 11 former executive board members of the Turkish Medical Association...
Turkey’s main opposition leader: Government uses emergency rule to fight opposition
Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has slammed the intention to extend the state of emergency for the sixth time...
Latest Reports
Turkey’s Crackdown on the Main Opposition and the Kurdish Political Movement: 2025 in Review
Turkey's political opposition faced intensifying pressure in 2025, with the judiciary emerging as the primary instrument for targeting dissenting voices. The most far-reaching measures...
Torture, Ill-treatment and Prison Conditions in Turkey: 2025 in Review
Turkey's record on torture and ill-treatment continued to deteriorate in 2025, despite its commitments under international human rights conventions.
Throughout the year human rights organizations...
Turkey’s Transnational Repression: 2025 in Review
Turkey's campaign of transnational repression against critics abroad continued throughout 2025. Since a coup attempt in July 2016, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s long arm...
Turkey’s Crackdown on the Gülen Movement: 2025 in Review
During the year Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan continued to relentlessly pursue anyone with alleged links with the faith-based Gülen movement, which he described...
Women’s rights in Turkey: 2025 in Review
The state of women’s rights in Turkey showed no meaningful improvement in 2025, as longstanding problems persisted and new challenges emerged. Femicides, institutional failures...
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...