Turkey’s Constitutional Court has ruled that authorities unlawfully imprisoned a man who allegedly leaked documents showing that a youth foundation close to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had compiled lists to place loyalists throughout government institutions.
According to the Bold Medya news website, the court said the six-month pretrial detention of Ramazan Aydoğdu in 2021 violated his constitutional rights and ordered compensation of 100,000 Turkish lira (about $2,286) and a retrial, a rare rebuke in a case that fueled allegations of political patronage in Turkey’s judiciary, police, military and civil service.
The case stems from a 2021 controversy involving the Turkey Youth Foundation (TÜGVA), an organization widely described as being close to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Bilal Erdoğan, a son of President Erdoğan, has served on the foundation’s high advisory board.
That year, journalist Metin Cihan published documents on social media that allegedly showed internal lists indicating that individuals linked to the foundation had been placed in positions across public institutions, including the judiciary, police, military and district administrative offices.
According to reports about the leaked materials, the documents included the names of individuals affiliated with the foundation along with their identification and contact details, the universities they attended, the state institutions or security branches where they sought appointments, interview dates and the names of references, often individuals linked to the foundation or members of the ruling AKP.
Separate documents circulating at the time also alleged that properties belonging to institutions closed during the government’s post-2016 coup attempt crackdown were transferred to TÜGVA and several other nongovernmental organizations with ties to the government.
TÜGVA officials denied the authenticity of the documents, though the foundation’s then-chairman, Enes Eminoğlu, said at the time that the materials had been obtained internally and leaked. Prosecutors later alleged that Aydoğdu, a former TÜGVA official, was responsible for the leak.
Aydoğdu was arrested on November 24, 2021, and charged under criminal provisions related to unlawfully obtaining or sharing personal data and interfering with information systems. The Istanbul 22nd Criminal Court of First Instance later sentenced him to two years in prison after he had already spent six months in pretrial detention.
Aydoğdu filed two separate individual applications with the Constitutional Court, a mechanism introduced in 2012 that allows individuals to challenge alleged rights violations after exhausting ordinary legal remedies.
The foundation, which says it aims to “raise a generation who stand for the right and for justice,” operates dozens of student dormitories and hundreds of offices across Turkey and organizes youth programs, conferences and educational activities.
The publication of the alleged staffing lists drew nationwide attention in 2021 and fueled debate in Turkey over claims of political patronage and influence in public-sector appointments, an issue frequently raised by opposition parties and civil society groups.
