US lawmakers sharply criticized Turkey’s human rights record during a congressional hearing on Tuesday, pointing to widespread abuses under the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, including mass imprisonment of political opponents, harassment of minorities and threats to journalists and critics abroad.
During the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing, a bipartisan body in the US House of Representatives that promotes and advocates for internationally recognized human rights, lawmakers and witnesses detailed severe abuses, including arbitrary detention, torture and transnational repression targeting Turkish critics outside the country.
“Thousands remain imprisoned unjustly,” Rep. Chris Smith, a Republican from New Jersey and co-chair of the commission, said. He noted specifically that over 15,500 people remain in pretrial detention due to alleged connections to the faith-based Gülen movement.
Turkish President Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the movement, inspired by the late Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, since corruption investigations revealed in 2013 implicated then-prime minister Erdoğan as well as some of his family members and inner circle.
Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and a conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan began to target the movement’s members. He designated the movement as a terrorist organization in May 2016 and intensified the crackdown on it following an abortive putsch in July of the same year that he accused Gülen of masterminding. The movement strongly denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
Following the failed coup, the Turkish government declared a state of emergency and carried out a massive purge of state institutions under the pretext of an anti-coup fight. Over 130,000 public servants, including 4,156 judges and prosecutors, and more than 24,000 members of the armed forces were summarily removed from their jobs for alleged membership in or relationships with “terrorist organizations” by emergency decree-laws subject to neither judicial nor parliamentary scrutiny.
Former NBA player and activist Enes Kanter Freedom testified, emotionally recounting his personal experiences of persecution by Turkish authorities, which include multiple arrest warrants, death threats and near-abductions in countries such as Indonesia and Romania. “It’s crucial for the United States to take bolder steps,” Freedom urged lawmakers, advocating for targeted sanctions and greater accountability for Turkey’s human rights abuses.
Kanter Freedom also shared the stories of inmates imprisoned over alleged links to the movement and suffering under extreme circumstances: İbrahim Güngör, a 71-year-old Alzheimer’s patient who could not recognize his own daughter and was denied release despite being unable to care for himself; Özlem Düzenli, a laboratory technician and young mother, imprisoned with her seven-month-old baby in unsanitary conditions, where the infant developed a high fever and received no care; Hatice Doğru, five months pregnant and suffering from a chronic heart condition, denied medical attention despite serious risks to her life and that of her baby; Kamil Acar, a 61-year-old teacher with kidney failure and internal bleeding who remained imprisoned despite being eligible for parole.
Dr. Alp Aslandoğan, executive director of the Alliance for Shared Values, detailed the Turkish government’s crackdown on the Gülen movement. According to him, over 125,000 people have been convicted of alleged ties to the movement, based on evidence as minor as downloading a messaging app or making charitable donations. He also highlighted systematic repression of civil society and the closure of hundreds of schools, media outlets and NGOs.
According to a statement from Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç ahead of the eighth anniversary of the coup attempt last July, a total of 705,172 people have been investigated since the failed coup on terrorism or coup-related charges due to their alleged links to the movement.
The figure is thought to have increased over the past 10 months since the operations targeting Gülen followers continue unabated. Erdoğan and several government ministers said on many occasions that there would be no “slackening” in the fight against the movement following the cleric’s death at 83.
Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, called for an audit of all intelligence shared by Turkey with US and NATO partners, warning that Turkey has weaponized false terrorism accusations against peaceful opponents. He condemned the practice of labelling political and civil society leaders as terrorists, noting the Turkish government’s imprisonment of Osman Kavala, a philanthropist and civic activist, and Selahattin Demirtaş, the former co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), despite rulings from the European Court of Human Rights.
Kanter Freedom also drew attention to the continued legal persecution of Ekrem İmamoğlu, the popular mayor of İstanbul, who faces politically motivated charges aimed at preventing his candidacy in future elections. Dr. Aslandoğan reiterated that such prosecutions demonstrate the regime’s disregard for judicial independence and its intent to silence viable opposition figures
Religious freedom was a central concern. Speakers noted the closure of the Halki Seminary, restrictions on the ecumenical patriarch and systemic discrimination against Alevis, Christians and Kurds.
Rep. Gus Bilirakis, a Republican from Florida, and others tied Turkey’s abuses to its occupation of northern Cyprus, citing destruction and looting of ancient Christian sites and an attempt to shift the island’s demographics. Rubin warned that Ankara is supporting construction of a Russian Orthodox church in the region as a tool of Kremlin influence.
Lawmakers and witnesses emphasized that their criticism was not aimed at the Turkish people but at the Erdoğan regime. “Turkey is a beautiful country with a rich culture,” said Kanter Freedom. “It deserves better.”
