Turkey promotes police chief connected to allegations of brutal torture
The Turkish Interior Ministry has promoted Yaşar Gidiş, a police chief whose precinct has in recent years been implicated in several allegations of torture,...
PACE expresses concern about increase in torture allegations in Turkey
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Wednesday adopted a resolution on torture and ill-treatment in places of detention across Europe,...
Quarterly NGO report alleges 1,596 rights violations in northwestern Turkey prisons
The Human Rights Association (İHD) has released a report on alleged rights violations in prisons located in the Marmara region in northwest Turkey, which...
Kurdish Alevi university student allegedly brutalized in apparent hate crime
A university student in İstanbul has been allegedly brutalized by roommates due to his Kurdish and Alevi identities, according to local media reports.
The student,...
Name of torturer removed from school after public outrage
The name of a military officer who was accused of torturing Kurdish political prisoners following a 1980 military coup in Turkey was removed from...
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...
Watchdog investigation contradicts defense of prison administration accused of mistreatment
An investigation conducted by the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Turkey (TIHEK) in an Ankara prison has found factual inaccuracies in the prison...
Turkish gendarmes assault lawyer for speaking in Kurdish with clients
Gendarmes in southeast Turkey verbally and physically assaulted lawyer Ahmet Atış for speaking in Kurdish with clients, the Mezopotamya news agency reported on Friday.
The...
HEDEP youth member physically assaulted by police
Edanur İbrahimoğlu, a youth spokesperson for the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (HEDEP), was physically assaulted by police who intervened in a press...
Turkey’s top court rules in favor of purge victim and mother over ‘inhumane’ police...
The Constitutional Court has found rights violations in the treatment of prominent human rights activist Veli Saçılık and hismother, Kezban Saçılık, who were subjected...
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...
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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...