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 documented credible allegations of widespread and systematic abuses by security forces and authorities. A deepening culture of impunity appeared to embolden law enforcement and prison officials, leading to arbitrary practices. Investigations into allegations of torture remained largely ineffective, reinforcing concerns about institutional tolerance for abuse. Reflecting the severity of the situation, the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) ranked Turkey as the second highest-risk country worldwide for torture in its 2025 Global Torture Index, published in June.
Ill-treatment by security forces became particularly visible during interventions in peaceful protests of the government and its policies. In March the detention of Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor of İstanbul and the main opposition Republican People’s Party’s presidential candidate, sparked mass demonstrations across the country. Excessive use of force by the police attracted strong criticism from international human rights bodies including those of the UN and the Council of Europe.
Inside Turkey’s prisons, degrading and inhuman treatment persisted despite rulings by domestic courts and the Constitutional Court. Strip-searches continued to be reported, even as the government maintained that such practices do not occur. Prison administrations frequently denied inmates their right to probation on questionable grounds. Conditions in high-security “pit-type” facilities remained especially controversial, with reports of serious rights violations prompting hunger strikes by inmates. The government took no meaningful steps to address these concerns.
Turkey’s prison population reached a record high of 433,000 inmates, pushing facilities to 42 percent over capacity. Chronic overcrowding further strained access to healthcare, hygiene and basic living standards, exacerbating already poor detention conditions. Human rights groups and legal experts have called for comprehensive legislative and judicial reforms to address the crisis. The government’s sole response has been to construct additional prisons.
Throughout 2025 numerous cases were reported involving severe torture in police custody, detainees developing chronic illnesses due to poor prison conditions and preventable deaths linked to inadequate access to healthcare. Victims frequently reported being denied timely medical examinations or pressured to refrain from filing complaints. These abuses disproportionately affected members of the Gülen movement, Kurdish detainees and government critics.
Here are some of the most important developments from 2025 regarding torture, inhuman treatment and prison conditions in Turkey:
Turkey labeled high risk in global torture index
Turkey was classified as a high-risk country for torture and ill-treatment in the first edition of a new international index. The Global Torture Index 2025, released by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) in June, put Turkey in the second-highest risk tier among 26 countries assessed, citing widespread allegations of torture, unchecked police violence and legal and institutional barriers that block accountability. More…
Turkish human rights watchdogs warned of widespread mistreatment and torture in detention centers
Marking the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV) and the Human Rights Association (İHD) issued a joint statement in Istanbul, warning that mistreatment and torture remain alarmingly widespread in detention centers. More…
More than 1,400 sick prisoners were held in Turkish penal institutions: report
At least 1,412 sick inmates, including hundreds who were critically ill, were being held in Turkish prisons under conditions that exacerbated their health problems, according to a new report released by the İHD. More…
Rights group alleged systematic abuse in Turkish prisons
The Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD) said prisoners in several of the country’s high-security facilities were facing systematic rights violations, including prolonged solitary confinement, denial of medical care and arbitrary obstruction of parole. More…
Turkey’s prison population continued to surge, operating at 42 percent over capacity
Turkey’s prison population climbed to 433,543, exceeding official capacity by 42 percent, according to a report by the Civil Society in the Penal System (CISST), a prisoners’ rights group. More…
822 children under the age of 6 lived in Turkey’s overcrowded prisons: report
A report by CISST revealed a growing number of children living behind bars with their mothers, while the inmate numbers continued to rise in Turkey’s overcrowded prisons. According to CISST, in October 822 children under the age of 6 were living with their mothers in prison, up from 759 a year ago. More…
Turkey’s ‘pit-type’ prisons under fire amid hunger strikes, rights concerns
Rights groups and inmates stepped up criticism of Turkey’s high-security “pit-type” prisons, saying detainees face overcrowding, lack of sunlight and medical neglect. More…
İstanbul Bar called for closure of ‘pit-type’ prisons, citing human dignity violations
The İstanbul Bar Association called for the closure of so-called “pit-type” prisons and urged the authorities to address the demands of inmates on a hunger strike, citing serious rights violations documented in a new report. More…
UN rapporteurs warned Turkey over disproportionate use of force and torture during İmamoğlu protests
United Nations special rapporteurs expressed serious concerns regarding allegations of disproportionate use of force and torture by Turkish police during demonstrations in March protesting the arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor of İstanbul. More…
Turkish top court struck down suspended sentence mechanism, citing torture ban
Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled that a court mechanism that allowed some convictions to be effectively suspended can no longer be used, striking down parts of Article 231 of the Code of Criminal Procedure that let judges defer verdicts in cases where prison sentences did not exceed two years. More…
Turkey’s top court again ruled against prison surveillance practices
Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled that the recording of prison visits and the uploading of inmate letters to the judiciary’s digital system violated inmates’ rights to privacy and freedom of communication. Despite similar rulings in recent years from both the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights, the practice of recording prison communications and uploading private correspondence continued in some Turkish prisons. More…
Turkish prosecutor rejected general’s complaint of torture despite evidence aired publicly
A Turkish prosecutor rejected a complaint alleging torture filed by a former lieutenant general who was serving an aggravated life sentence over a 2016 coup attempt, despite images published by the state-run Anadolu news agency showing him with visible injuries hours after his detention. More…
Witness detailed torture of former teacher in Turkish custody, said ‘clothes were soaked in blood’
A witness testified in court in April, describing signs of apparent torture inflicted on a former teacher while he was in detention following a coup attempt in Turkey in 2016.
The witness claimed the teacher was sexually assaulted, beaten and insulted while in custody at the Antalya Police Station. More…
Turkish prison board denied probation to ousted Kurdish mayor of Diyarbakır
A Turkish prison administration rejected an application for probation filed by Selçuk Mızraklı, the ousted co-mayor of Diyarbakır. The board rejected his application in September and although he recently reapplied, it once again denied his request on the grounds that he had not declared that he had “disassociated himself from a terrorist organization.” More…
Lawyers raised alarm over conditions for women in Turkish prisons
The İstanbul Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Assembly and Women’s Rights Center expressed concern over conditions for women in Turkish prisons, citing overcrowding, poor hygiene and a lack of support for pregnant inmates. More…
Women visitors strip-searched, headscarves removed at Turkish prison: report
The Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD) accused prison authorities in southeastern Turkey of systematically subjecting visitors to the facility, particularly women and children, to degrading and unlawful searches, including forced removal of clothing and invasive physical contact. More…
Turkish woman jailed over Gülen links described repeated sexual abuse in custody
A woman who was jailed in Turkey over alleged ties to the faith-based Gülen movement claimed she was subjected to repeated strip-searches and sexual abuse while in custody. More…
Young Turkish protesters endured harsh treatment in police custody
After rising up to rally against the arrest of İstanbul’s powerful opposition mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, young Turkish protesters were forced to wake up to the reality of police custody. Lawyers and politicians supportive of İmamoğlu, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s top political challenger, slammed the “police brutality” suffered by students detained for taking part in the country’s worst unrest for more than a decade. More…
UN special rapporteurs urged Turkey to end mistreatment of human rights lawyers
United Nations human rights special rapporteurs raised serious concerns over the imprisonment and mistreatment of human rights lawyers in Turkey and expressed concern that the charges against them were politically motivated and that they had been subjected to unfair trials and mistreatment in prison. More…
Gülen-linked educator paralyzed in prison amid medical neglect
Uğur Öztaş, an 88-year-old educator imprisoned over alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement, became paralyzed in prison allegedly due to the neglect of his medical needs. More…
Family blamed prison conditions for death of former Turkish inmate after serving Gülen-related sentence
The family of Akif Şimşek, who died of leukemia in 2024 after serving more than seven years in prison for alleged ties to the faith-based Gülen movement, came forward publicly, saying poor conditions during his incarceration severely damaged his health and contributed to his death. More…
DEM Party deputy revealed police torture of former academic during post-coup crackdown
A former assistant professor at Harran University in southeastern Urfa province was subjected to torture during a 2017 police interrogation, Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) MP Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu revealed on his YouTube channel. More…
Elderly Alzheimer’s patient jailed over Gülen links died in Turkish prison after repeated pleas for release
İbrahim Güngör, a 73-year-old Alzheimer’s patient imprisoned over alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement, died in a Turkish prison on September 7, after months of repeated pleas from his family for his release on health grounds were ignored. Turkish authorities refused to allow his jailed daughter to attend the funeral. More…
Dismissed teacher, denied release from prison until too late, succumbed 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 alleged ties to the faith-based Gülen movement, died of late-stage pancreatic cancer in June shortly after a delayed release from prison despite his doctor’s earlier warnings. More…
LGBTQ detainees held in one-person cells in Turkish prison, denied medical care
Six LGBTQ inmates in pretrial detention at Turkey’s Aksaray Prison were held in single-person cells and denied access to medical care, under conditions their lawyers said violated Turkish law and amounted to systemic discrimination. More…
Elderly inmate in Turkish prison lost eyesight after being denied medical treatment
Ömer Yaman, a 70-year-old inmate in Turkey’s Tokat province, went blind in his left eye after being denied treatment for cataracts. He told his lawyers that he had not received any medical treatment for the past six months, which ultimately led to the loss of vision in his left eye. More…
Chronically ill inmate in Izmir died due to alleged negligence
A chronically ill inmate in a prison in Turkey’s İzmir province died due to alleged negligence. Kadir Coşkun, 65, was arrested and sent to a minimum-security prison in March after being sentenced to five months for a traffic accident. His family revealed that Coşkun suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a condition caused by lung damage. More…
Torture and intimidation in a Turkish detention center: Former detainee shared details of harrowing interrogation
Hayati Uysal, a 29-year-old Turkish man who was imprisoned for alleged links to the Gülen movement, shared his harrowing account of torture in detention that ultimately left him blind. Uysal said during detention he endured severe beating, threats to his life and psychological abuse. More…
Teacher abducted by Turkish intelligence denied surgery for 16 months after arm broken during torture
A Turkish educator abducted from Kyrgyzstan by Turkish intelligence in 2021 told an opposition lawmaker that he was denied surgery for 16 months after his arm was broken in three places during torture while in custody. More…
Elderly inmate died of cancer in Turkish prison after release denied
A retired imam diagnosed with advanced lymphoma died in Kırşehir Prison in January after Turkish authorities repeatedly denied his requests for the postponement of his sentence on grounds of health. More…
