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...
Opposition MP calls on justice ministry to respond to his questions on deaths in...
Human rights defender and Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) lawmaker Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu has called on Turkey’s justice ministry to respond his parliamentary questions on...
5,361, including 80 minors, mistreated or tortured in Turkey in 2022: report
An annual report on human rights violations in Turkey drafted by main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmaker Sezgin Tanrıkulu has revealed 5,361 incidents...
Turkish police allegedly strip naked, beat detainee accused of gun trafficking
Police in southern Turkey have allegedly stripped naked, hosed down and beat up a 20-year-old detainee suspected of trafficking unregistered firearms, the Evrensel newspaper...
NGO report documents more than 7,000 violations in central Turkey prisons in 2023
The Human Rights Association (İHD), one of Turkey’s major advocacy groups, has released a report on prisons located in the Central Anatolian region that...
Turkish court rejects former general’s allegations of torture despite public evidence
A Turkish court has dismissed allegations of torture and abuse filed by former Air Force Commander Akın Öztürk, who is serving a life sentence...
Turkish police chief who oversaw torture protected by Erdogan gov’t: report
A police chief who authorized horrific torture sessions against critics of the authoritarian regime of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quietly allowed to...
Kurdish politicians including HDP co-chair to go on hunger strike in protest of prison...
Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Co-chairperson Selahattin Demirtaş, HDP Hakkari deputy Abdullah Zeydan and Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Co-chairperson Sebahat Tuncel will go on...
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...