Top Turkish court rules former teacher was tortured in police custody
Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled on May 18, 2021 that a former teacher arrested for links to the Gülen movement was tortured in detention and...
148 people including 5 inmates died, 281 maltreated or tortured in Turkey in March:...
Cases of human rights violations in Turkey in March included 148 deaths and 281 incidents of torture or maltreatment, with 51 of them taking...
3 Turkish policemen arrested for allegedly beating 14-year-old Kurdish boy during Nevruz celebrations
Three Turkish police officers have been arrested for allegedly beating a 14-year-old Kurdish boy during Nevruz celebrations in the predominantly Kurdish province of Diyarbakır,...
School named after officer accused of torturing Kurds during 1980s military rule draws ire
The revelation that a primary school in the western province of İzmir was named after Esat Oktay Yıldıran, a military officer who was accused...
Kurdish journalist claims she was subjected to strip-searches in prison
Esra Solin Dal, a Kurdish journalist who was previously arrested and released pending trial, was allegedly subjected to a number of rights violations including...
Turkish prosecutors drop torture case despite statute of limitations exemption
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has declined to pursue a torture complaint, citing the passage of seven years since the alleged incident, despite...
COMMENTARY — Jihadists who decapitated priests in Syria got help from Turkey’s intelligence
By Abdullah Bozkurt
Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) had willingly and deliberately helped known Jihadists of Russian nationals who decapitated Aleppo’s Greek Orthodox Bishop Boulos...
Turkish prosecutor accuses hunger striker educator of ‘playing guitar’
Academic Nuriye Gülmen and teacher Semih Özakça, who have been on hunger strike for 76 days following months of their sitt-in protest in Ankara...
Turkey’s Justice Minister Bozdağ says 50,504 arrested since coup attempt
Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ said on Friday that since a controversial coup attempt last July, 50,504 people have been arrested and 168,801 are...
HDP deputy’s mother removed from grave after racist attack in Turkey
The body of Hatun Tuğluk, mother of jailed Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Aysel Tuğluk, was on Wednesday removed from the grave after an...
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...