Police officer accused of torturing former air force commander gets promoted
Elif Uzun Sümercan, a previous deputy chief of the Ankara Police Department’s counterterrorism unit who was accused of torturing former commander of the Turkish...
255 people killed, 306 maltreated, tortured in Turkey in May: report
Cases of human rights violations in Turkey in May included 255 deaths and 306 incidents of torture and maltreatment, with 87 of them taking...
Lawyers’ report on torture in police custody not published, causes rift in bar association
A report by lawyers from the Ankara Bar Association’s human rights committee on allegations of torture made by detainees held at a police detention...
Book tells story of teacher who died in Turkish prison due to lack of...
A recently published book tells the story of teacher Halime Gülsu, who died in a Turkish prison in 2018 due to deprivation of a...
Documentary series sheds light on plight of child victims of Turkey’s purge
The Tenkil Museum, a civil initiative dedicated to sustaining the memory of the victims of Turkey’s massive crackdown on the Gülen movement, has launched...
Prison guards refer to notorious torturer while mistreating inmates in SE Turkey
Prison guards in a Gaziantep prison allegedly beat inmates İlhami İşçi and Uğur Ürün over an argument, making reference to a military officer accused...
We face threats, prosecution for reporting on abuses in prisons: human rights lawyer
Nagehan Avçil, a human rights lawyer from the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD), said in an interview that lawyers face arrest and prosecution...
Turkey jails 4 border guards for life for torturing Syrian migrants to death
A Turkish court has sentenced four border guards to life in prison for torturing two Syrian migrants to death along the Syrian border in...
Suspicious deaths and suicides on the rise in Turkey with 54 people in last...
Against the background of massive crackdown on critics and opponents in Turkey and widespread torture practices in detentions and prisons, 54 people were reported...
Turkey’s main opposition leader says expelled educators on hunger strike being forced to die
Leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has broken his silence about two educators who went on a hunger strike...
Latest Reports
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...
Dehumanizing a Legacy: How Fethullah Gülen’s Death Triggered a Campaign of Hate Speech in...
Download PDF
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
Download PDF
This report focuses on how the Turkish government, under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has used family punishment against his opponents.
Sippenhaft, also known as...