International PEN member arrested at airport in İstanbul
Gökhan Yavuzel, a UK-based member of PEN International who has been accused of insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and who signed a peace...
20,571 military personnel summarily dismissed from Turkish Armed Forces over alleged Gülen links
A total of 20,571 military personnel have been summarily dismissed from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) since a coup attempt on July 15, 2016...
İstanbul mayor’s alleged use of Wickr Me cited as ‘ByLock-like’ evidence in espionage probe
A Turkish prosecutor has cited jailed İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu’s alleged use of the encrypted messaging app Wickr Me as critical evidence in a...
Leader of far-right party launches campaign to deport Syrian refugees from Turkey
Ümit Özdağ, leader of the far-right and anti-refugee Victory Party (Zafer Parti), has launched a new campaign dubbed "Bus to Damascus" aimed at deporting...
Inmates subjected to torture in padded cells in Turkey’s Menemen Prison
Inmates held in Menemen Prison in the western Turkish province of İzmir have been subjected to torture in padded cells, according to the wife...
Turkey’s foreign minister’s university degree under scrutiny after accusations of irregularities
The academic credentials of Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan have come under scrutiny after a lawmaker from the country’s main opposition Republican People’s Party...
Press Freedom in Turkey: 2022 in Review
The Turkish government renewed its assault on press freedom in 2022 ahead of the 2023 presidential election, including imprisoning journalists, using the regulatory authorities...
Prison administration bans Kurdish publications and notebooks
In a letter to pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit, female inmates at Van’s T-Type Prison complained of unlawful bans on...
Lawmaker disputes Turkey’s claim of high rate of compliance with European rights court rulings
Turkish independent lawmaker Mustafa Yeneroğlu has accused Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç of misleading the public by misrepresenting Turkey’s rate of compliance with judgments issued...
EU to host donor conference on Syria, Turkey quake aid
The EU plans to host a donors conference in March to mobilize international aid for Syria and Turkey following this week’s devastating earthquake, EU...
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...