Turkish authorities detained at least 8,477 people and arrested 1,112 during protests and public gatherings in 2025, the Human Rights Association (İHD) said in a report, describing the figures as part of a systematic suppression of the right to peaceful assembly.
The İHD said the right has been restricted through a three-stage pattern of blanket bans by administrative authorities, direct use of force by law enforcement and judicial harassment of protesters.
The report said the constitutional right to peaceful protests has effectively been turned into a permit-based system through Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations and broad powers granted to provincial governors. Governors in 13 provinces imposed blanket bans on all public events for a total of 126 days in 2025, while at least 306 planned demonstrations were prevented before they could take place.
The association said restrictions that intensified after the 2013 Gezi Park protests and expanded under the post-2016 state of emergency have since become embedded in law and administrative practice. It said the result has been a shrinking of public space aimed at discouraging social and political dissent.
Police intervened in at least 268 demonstrations in 2025, the report said. At least 1,036 people were subjected to physical violence and 131 injured, according to figures compiled from media reports. Law enforcement officers who used disproportionate force faced no sanctions, pointing to a continued policy of systematic impunity.
The report cited mass detentions following the March 19, 2025, detention of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu as evidence of shrinking space. At least 1,879 people were detained, with 260 arrested and 468 released under judicial supervision.
İmamoğlu, a leading figure in Turkey’s main opposition and widely seen as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s strongest political rival, was arrested days later on corruption charges. Critics and international observers say the case is politically motivated, aimed at sidelining a major challenger ahead of the 2028 general election.
In 2025, at least 419 people were detained and six arrested during İstanbul’s May Day demonstrations, while at least 132 were detained during International Women’s Day protests on March 8.
The association said judicial harassment was used against people exercising their right to protest, adding that even when no penalties are imposed, lengthy trial processes create a deterrent effect. Investigations were launched into 7,987 people under Law No. 2911, with prosecutors filing criminal charges against 4,035 of them. Courts convicted 502 people on charges such as participating in unlawful demonstrations, refusing to disperse and resisting law enforcement.
Even when convictions are overturned by higher courts, the association said, the rulings often come years later, by which time the deterrent and societal impact of the prosecutions has already taken effect.
The İHD called for urgent legal reforms to bring Turkey’s legislation in line with international standards to ensure the protection of the right to peaceful assembly.
