United Nations
Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment on his mission to Turkey
December 2017 / (21 Pages)
The Secretariat has the honour to transmit to the Human Rights Council the report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, on his mission to Turkey from 27 November to 2 December 2016. During his visit, the Special Rapporteur was given access to locations of deprivation of liberty throughout the country and was able to conduct confidential interviews with detainees of his choosing, for which he expresses his appreciation to the Government of Turkey.
Report on the impact of the state of emergency on human rights in Turkey, including an update on the South-East
March 2018 / (29 Pages)
The present report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) provides an overview of key human rights concerns in Turkey in the period between January and December 2017, with a focus on the consequences of the state of emergency on the enjoyment of human rights. The findings of OHCHR point to a constantly deteriorating human rights situation, exacerbated by the erosion of the rule of law. OHCHR notes with concern that the emergency decrees foster impunity and lack of accountability by affording legal, administrative, criminal and financial immunity to administrative authorities acting within the framework of the decrees.
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression on his mission to Turkey
June 2017 / (21 Pages)
In the aftermath of the coup attempt, the government declared a state of emergency, announced derogation under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights, and adopted a series of decrees, which, it averred, were meant to address the security threats that gave rise to the coup attempt. Those decrees supplemented an already dense network of anti-terrorism laws and proscriptions on expression, such as expression critical of the president and other government officials. Cumulatively, the laws preceding the coup attempt and those that followed give authorities broad and increasingly unreviewable discretion to take measures against the press, writers, universities, jurists, civil servants, human rights defenders and many others. They have established one of the worst environments for freedom of expression in Turkey in decades, if not one that is unprecedented in its modern history. The Special Rapporteur urges the Government to release all those detained in recent years on the basis of their exercise of the right to freedom of expression.
Report of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances on its mission to Turkey
July 2016 / (19 Pages)
Turkey has not come to terms with past-enforced disappearances in all relevant areas, namely truth, justice, reparation, and memory of the victims. There has been no comprehensive policy to address disappearances. Many families do not know the truth about what happened to their loved ones, there has hardly been a single case of criminal responsibility or civil liability for an act of enforced disappearance, there are no reparation programmes independent from the compensation that may be awarded by a court, nor any effective and accessible social or psychological support for families, and there is no public memorial site or symbolic place for the families — and for society as a whole — to remember the victims and pay tribute to them. This lack of measures to address disappearances results from a combination of factors: mainly the lack of clear political will in all spheres to seriously tackle the issue, combined with legal and other obstacles.
Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns
May 2015 / (23 Pages)
During the period under review, killings due to excessive use of force by security officers and killings of members of vulnerable groups persisted. Some measures taken by the State, including a draft law that would increase the powers of the police to use force, appear to take regressive steps. The Government of Turkey has introduced measures in an attempt to reduce domestic violence, but efforts need to be further intensified and properly implemented. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons remain particularly vulnerable to violence and lack protection, in law and in practice. The fight against impunity remains a serious challenge and the effectiveness of investigations and the length of proceedings should be addressed. The effect of the application of the statute of limitations and the lack of fully independent mechanisms for accountability further aggravate the climate of impunity.
European Union
Statement – Judge Temel
October 2019
The mass dismissals of Turkish judges and prosecutors had a chilling effect on the willingness of judges to act independently and impartially in proceedings involving the state and creates an atmosphere of fear among remaining judges and prosecutors. This has been generally acknowledged and been confirmed by former prisoners, e.g. foreign journalists who had been detained based on allegations of supporting or being member of a terrorist organisation.
Turkey 2018 Report
April 2018 / (112 Pages)
The broad scale and collective nature, and the disproportionality of measures taken since the attempted coup under the state of emergency, such as widespread dismissals, arrests, and detentions, continue to raise serious concerns. Turkey should lift the state of emergency without delay. Since the introduction of the state of emergency, over 150 000 people were taken into custody, 78 000 were arrested and over 110 000 civil servants were dismissed whilst, according to the authorities, some 40 000 were reinstated of which some 3 600 by decree.
Turkey 2016 Report
November 2016 / (102 Pages)
Following the coup attempt, very extensive suspensions, dismissals, arrests and detentions took place over alleged links to the Gülen movement and involvement in the attempted coup. The measures affected the whole spectrum of society with particular impact on the judiciary, police, gendarmerie, military, civil service, local authorities, academia, teachers, lawyers, the media and the business community. Multiple institutions and private companies were shut down, their assets seized or transferred to public institutions. There has been backsliding in the past year, in particular with regard to the independence of the judiciary.
Turkey 2015 Report
November 2015 / (92 Pages)
There was significant backsliding in the areas of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. Legislation on internal security contradicts the measures outlined in the March 2014 action plan on the prevention of violations of the ECHR by granting broad discretionary powers to the law enforcement agencies without adequate oversight. After several years of progress on freedom of expression, serious backsliding was seen over the past two years, with some level of preparation in this field.
Amnesty International
Purged beyond return? No remedy for Turkey’s dismissed public sector workers
October 2018 / (35 Pages)
On the evening of 15 July 2016, elements within Turkey’s armed forces attempted a violent coup. The coup attempt was quickly thwarted as thousands of people took to the streets and state forces overpowered the coup plotters. Hundreds died, and thousands were injured in a night of terrible violence. The government declared a state of emergency soon afterwards on 20 July 2016 with the stated aim of countering threats to national security arising from the coup attempt. While the state of emergency was initially declared for three months, it would be renewed seven times, and its remit broadened to include combatting ‘terrorist’ organizations.
Dönüşü olmayan ihraçlar? Türkiye’de kamudan ihraç edilenler için etkin çözüm yok.
Ekim 2018 / (35 Pages)
15 Temmuz 2016 akşamı Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri içerisindeki bazı unsurlar şiddet içeren bir darbe girişiminde bulundular. Bu girişim, binlerce kişinin sokaklara dökülmesi ve devlet güçlerinin darbeye teşebbüs edenleri etkisiz hale getirmesi sayesinde hızla püskürtüldü. Yaşanan şiddet dolu gecenin sonunda yüzlerce insan hayatını kaybetti ve binlercesi de yaralandı. Hükümet, kısa bir süre içinde, 20 Temmuz 2016’da darbe girişiminden kaynaklanan ve ulusal güvenliği hedef alan tehditlere karşı koyabilme gerekçesiyle olağanüstü hal ilan etti. Olağanüstü hal, başlangıçta üç ay süreliğine ilan edilmiş olsa da, ilerleyen tarihlerde yedi kez daha uzatıldı ve kapsamı terör örgütleriyle mücadeleyi de içerecek şekilde genişletildi. Türkiye’de kamusal hayatta muazzam bir altüst oluş dönemini başlatan olağanüstü hal, ilan edilmesinin ardından geçen iki seneden sonra nihayet 18 Temmuz 2018 tarihinde sona erdi.
Turkey: no end in sight: purged public sector workers denied a future in Turkey
May 2017 / (23 Pages)
This report focuses on the dismissal of public servants, among them police officers, teachers, soldiers, doctors, judges, prosecutors and academics, by executive decree issued under the powers of the state of emergency in Turkey, which continues 10 months after it was first introduced. The mass dismissals have been carried out arbitrarily on the basis of vague and generalized grounds of “connections to terrorist organizations”. Dismissed public sector workers have not been given reasons for their dismissal nor do they have an effective means to challenge the decisions.
Amnesty International UPR Report
January-February 2015 / (6 Pages)
At its first Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in 2010, Turkey accepted a number of recommendations on the right to freedom of expression, including to guarantee this right for journalists, writers and editors, and to adjust national legislation in line with international human rights standards.
Turkey: A Prison for Righteous People
Human Rights Report of Turkey
“Turkey’s passage over the threshold from Partly Free to Not Free is the culmination of a long and accelerating slide in Freedom in The World. The country’s score has been in free fall since 2014 due to an escalating series of assults on the press, social media users, protesters, political parties, the judiciary, and the electoral system, as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan fights to impose personalized control over the state and society in a deteriorating domestic and regional security environment.
Rights and Justice Platform
July 15 2016: One of the Most Significant Turning Points of the History of The Republic of Turkey.
15 July 2019
By the end of the (so-called) attempted coup President Erdogan described it as “A Blessing from God” and in a few hours, more than 2000 judges and public prosecutors have been dismissed and after that, “state of emergency” has been declared and Turkish democracy became “one man regime”. There are lots of very suspicious and unclear points about July 15 (so-called) coup attempt. Here are the things that happened afterward.
Social Burdens of “the State of Emergency” in Turkey (2016-2017)
January 2018 / (240 Pages)
The research was carried out to measure and document primary, secondary and tertiary victimisations and violations of human rights in Turkey after the failed coup of 15 July 2016. After the coup, Turkey declared a state of emergency (SoE) to deal with putsch and putschists. Yet the government policies and practices far exceeded its declared aims or objectives and created hundreds of thousands of victims such as academics, teachers, journalists, doctors, workers, women, children, babies, elderly, disabled etc. that have nothing to do with the putsch.
Human Rights Watch
Turkey: journalism is not a crime: crackdown on media freedom in Turkey
May 2017 / (16 Pages)
Since the failed coup attempt in July 2016, at least 156 media outlets have been shut down and an estimated 2,500 journalists and other media workers have lost their jobs. Journalists have been arrested and charged with terrorism offences as a result of posts they have shared on Twitter, cartoons they have drawn or opinions they expressed. This is taking place within the context of a wider crackdown against perceived government critics which has seen 47,000 people remanded in prison and more than 100,000 public sector employees summarily dismissed.
Turkey: displaced and dispossessed: Sur residents’ right to return home
December 2016 / (31 Pages)
Amid the crackdown on opposition Kurdish voices by the Turkish government, this report focuses on the forced displacement of residents of Sur in Diyarbakır, southeast Turkey’s most populous city. Displaced and dispossessed of their homes, around 24,000 former residents of Sur are unable to return one year after the outbreak of heavy clashes in the district and other towns across the southeast of the country.
In Custody: Police Torture and Abductions in Turkey
October 2017 / (49 Pages)
Based on interviews with lawyers and relatives, and on a review of court transcripts, this report looks in detail at ten cases in which security forces tortured or ill-treated a total of 22 people, and an eleventh case in which police beat scores of villagers, 38 of whom lodged formal complaints of torture. The report also presents details of five individual cases of abduction that likely amount to enforced disappearance by state authorities since March 2017.
Turkey: Events of 2016
January 2017 / (8 Pages)
On July 15, 2016, elements of the military attempted to carry out a coup d’état against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government. In the aftermath, the government declared a state of emergency, jailed thousands of soldiers and embarked on a wholesale purge of public officials, police, teachers, judges, and prosecutors. Most of those jailed, dismissed, or suspended were accused of being followers of the US-based cleric Fethullah Gülen. However, the crackdown also extended to the pro-Kurdish opposition party, with two leaders and other MPs arrested and placed in pretrial detention, along with many of its elected mayors, denying millions of voters their elected representatives.
Silencing Turkey’s Media: The Government’s Deepening Assault on Critical Journalism
December 2016 / (81 Pages)
The attacks on independent media after the attempted coup was defeated in July marked an intensification of a crackdown on media freedom that had already been going on for over a year. Censorship of journalism has been going on for much longer. The authorities use ever more creative ways to silence serious reporting and news coverage that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Justice and Development Party government disagree with.
A Blank Check: Turkey’s Post-Coup Suspension of Safeguards Against Torture
October 2016 / (54 Pages)
Based on interviews with more than 40 lawyers, human rights activists, former detainees, medical personnel and forensic specialists, this report looks at how the state of emergency has impacted police detention conditions and the rights of detainees. It also details 13 cases, in one case involving multiple detainees, of alleged abuse including torture.
Turkey’s Human Rights Rollback: Recommendations for Reform
September 2014 / (44 Pages)
The report outlines some of the areas where the government needs to take urgent steps to reverse this authoritarian drift. It focuses on four areas: human rights steps in the peace process with the PKK; threats to the rule of law; the reinforcement in the present of a culture of impunity, including a pattern of impunity for violence against women; and restrictions on speech and media, and on the rights to assembly and association.
World Report 2018: Turkey
January 2018 / (7 Pages)
The new presidential system, which consolidates the incumbent’s hold on power, is a setback for human rights and the rule of law. It lacks sufficient checks and balances against abuse of executive power, greatly diminishing the powers of parliament, and consolidating presidential control over most judicial appointments. The presidential system will come fully into force following elections in 2019.
FAILURE OF STRASBOURG AGAINST TURKISH ENCOUNTER
December 2018 / (17 Pages)
Following the coup attempt in Turkey on 15 July 2016, a state of emergency (OHAL – in Turkish) was declared on 21 July 2016. On 23 July 2016, the first legislative decree, Emergency Decree Law (EDL) No. 667, was decreed by the Council of Ministers. As per Articles 3 and 4 of the EDL No. 667, “without right to defence for accused and with no respect to minimum safeguards”, the Executive was granted with the right to expel judges, prosecutors and civil servants from public offices. Moreover, the government dismissed tens of thousands of civil servants directly with EDL No. 667 and following legislative decrees by adding their names to lists appended in such decrees.
New TURKEY! Advocates of Silenced Turkey
December 2018 / (20 Pages)
When the Turkish President declared in an infamous speech that Old Turkey no longer exists. This Turkey is NEW TURKEY… the story of Turkish authoritarianism had once and for all taken on a new character.
HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN NEW TURKEY
Mothers are not allowed to nurse their babies during custody.
Mothers with infant babies are also sent to jail.
More than 700 babies, under age of six in jails.
More than 17,000 women are in pretrial detention in
jails.
New TURKEY!
Türkiye’de Avukatlar ve Adil Yargılanma Hakkı
Saldırı Altında
Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people worldwide. We scrupulously investigate abuses, expose the facts widely, and pressure those with power to respect rights and secure justice. Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that works as part of a vibrant movement to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all. Human Rights Watch is an international organization with staff in more than 40 countries, and offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Goma, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Tunis, Washington DC, and Zurich.
A Short Overview of International Human Rights Organizations Reports
Human Rights Abuses
Universal Rights Association (URA) operates to remove, repair and resolve injustice, inequity, ill treatment and oppression.
URA organizes activities in local and global scales to establish and maintain peace and universal unity.
URA builds its philosophy on the common denominator of being human, and targets service to humanity as an ultimate goal.
Journalists and Writers Foundation
ERDOĞAN’S POLICIES: A Threat to Global Peace & Security
October 2019
The Journalists and Writers Foundation (JWF) is an international civil society organization dedicated to the culture of peace, human rights, and sustainable development. The JWF promotes diversity and inclusion by creating forums for intellectual and social engagement; generates and shares knowledge with stakeholders, builds partnerships worldwide and develops policy recommendations for positive social change. * The JWF is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization incorporated in New York, USA
Escaping the Witch Hunt From Turkey and Around the World
April 2018 / (96 Pages)
The present report discusses the right to freedom of movement, with a particular focus on the right of Turkish citizens, dual citizens and also foreigners—to leave Turkey in the aftermath of the attempted coup of July 15, 2016. It outlines the plausibility of a claim that continuing human rights violations by the government of Turkey have now turned the country into an open-air prison for many, regardless of whether or not individuals are formally deprived of their liberty.
The State of Turkey`s Children: Victims of Unlawfulness
October 2017 / (32 Pages)
The findings of the report reveal a disturbing pattern of human rights abuses against innocent children in Turkey and abroad. By the end of August 2017, 688 children under the age of six are in jails across Turkey with their mothers. The report aims to highlight and raise awareness about the plight of thousands of children in Turkey and abroad subject to discrimination on several grounds prohibited by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Women’s Rights Under Attack in Turkey
May 2017 / (56 Pages)
In recent years, under the Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule Turkey has experienced a sharp declining trend in almost all democratic indicators, including the rights of women, civil, economic and social rights, freedom of expression and media, free and fair elections, government accountability and corruption. Since the breakdown of the Kurdish peace process in July 2015 and the July 2016 attempted coup, Kurdish and other minority women, as well as women allegedly linked to the Hizmet movement suffer disproportionate multi-faceted discrimination, in particular as regards equal access to political participation, health, education, employment and justice, both in law and practice.
Assault on Education In Turkey And Abroad
March 2017 / (196 Pages)
Post-Coup Turkey: State Of Emergency, Torture and Impunity
October 2016 / (46 Pages)
The failed coup of July 15, 2016 in Turkey was followed by an unprecedented purge targeting citizens from all walks of life, in particular in the education, media, business, military and justice sectors. The ongoing purge and measures introduced under the umbrella of the state of emergency have severely limited individual rights and liberties. The state of emergency imposed in the aftermath of the attempted coup granted the Prime Minister and his cabinet the power to rule by decree and bypass Parliament.
Report on the impact of the state of emergency on human rights in Turkey, including an update on the South-East
March 2018 / (29 Pages)
The present report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) provides an overview of key human rights concerns in Turkey in the period between January and December 2017, with a focus on the consequences of the state of emergency on the enjoyment of human rights. The findings of OHCHR point to a constantly deteriorating human rights situation, exacerbated by the erosion of the rule of law. OHCHR notes with concern that the emergency decrees foster impunity and lack of accountability by affording legal, administrative, criminal and financial immunity to administrative authorities acting within the framework of the decrees.
Turkey: the Judicial System in Peril
June 2016 / (28 Pages)
The ICJ raises concerns at measures eroding the independence of the judiciary, prosecution, and legal profession in Turkey, with serious consequences for protection of human rights. It analyses developments in law and practice that have affected the independence of both the governing institutions of the judiciary and prosecution, and the security of tenure and independence of individual judges in practice. It urges the executive and legislative authorities to refrain from all actions and rheto¬ric contrary to the separation of powers, and emphasizes the need to protect the safety of lawyers and other human rights defenders, and to undertake a prompt, thorough and independent investigation into the killing of the President of the Diyarbakir Bar Association, Tahir Elçi.
Stockholm Center for Freedom
Abuse of the Interpol System by Turkey
September 2017 / (41 Pages)
Turkey’s Contempt for the Rule of Law
September 2017 / (43 Pages)
The Turkish government appears to enjoy governing the country with interim decree-laws that effectively sideline Parliament and have dismantled the independent judiciary under emergency rule, which has been repeatedly extended for over a year since a controversial July 15, 2016 coup bid. The government has implemented measures that have gone beyond addressing urgent security needs.
Hate Speech Against Christians In Erdoğan’s Turkey
August 2017 / (63 Pages)
Turkey has seen an unprecedented rise in xenophobic, intolerant and hateful speech by the nation’s political rulers, driven primarily by the outspoken president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who uses incessant and vile speech inciting hostility, deepening divisions and expanding polarization in the 80-million-strong nation for short-term political gains. SCF has been documenting cases of hate speech and hate crime that represent a threat to diversity and pluralism in Turkey.
More Turks Report Anxiety, Stress and Depression Under Erdogan’s Rule
August 2017 / (14 Pages)
Tortured to Death: The case of the torture and death of history teacher
November 2017/ (62 Pages)
Investigators from the Stockholm Center for Freedom have laid bare the appalling facts behind the death of Gökhan Açıkkollu, a 42-year-old history teacher who died after enduring 13 days of torture and abuse. None of the people responsible for his death have yet been punished, and no effective or thorough investigation has been conducted into the circumstances that led to his death.
July 15: Erdogan’s Coup
July 2017 / (185 Pages)
The July 15th failed coup attempt in Turkey was a false flag operation orchestrated by Erdoğan in partnership with a cadre of military and intelligence officials to consolidate his power. The attempt, doomed to fail from the start, was hailed by Erdoğan as a “gift from God” and should be considered a successful bid from his perspective, judging by the results. More than 150,000 government employees have been dismissed from their positions on the basis of their critical views without any effective judicial or administrative probes.
Enforced Disappearances in Turkey
June 2017/ (32 Pages)
Mass Torture and Ill-Treatment in Turkey
June 2017 / (58 Pages)
Torture, abuse and ill treatment of detainees and prisoners in Turkey has become the norm rather than the exception under the repressive regime of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has publicly vowed to show no mercy to his critics, opponents and dissidents amid a mass persecution that has landed over 50,000 people in jail on trumped-up charges in the last ten months alone. The dozens of cases cited in this report are just the tip of the iceberg in what SCF believes to be monumental problems of ongoing torture in Turkey.
Erdogan’s Vile Campaign of Hate Speech Case Study: Targeting of the Gulen Movement
May 2017 / (52 Pages)
Turkey has seen an unprecedented rise in xenophobic, intolerant and hateful speech by the nation’s political rulers, driven primarily by the outspoken president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who uses incessant and vile speech inciting hostility, deepening divisions and expanding polarization in the 80-million-strong nation for short-term political gains.
Erdogan’s Long Arms: The Case of Malaysia
May 2017 / (32 Pages)
In this report, which takes Malaya as a case study, SCF reveals a new and highly controversial method employed by the Turkish government – snatching Turkish nationals from a foreign country in a blatant breach of well established principles of international law. Several participants in the Gülen Movement have been kidnapped by Turkish government operatives from Malaysian soil, and the remaining ones were subjected to threats of abductions, forcible removals and detention on false charges.
Jailing Women in Turkey: Systematic Campaign of Persecution and Fear
April 2017 / (32 Pages)
Turkey’s Descent Into Arbitrariness: The End of Rule of Law
April 2017 / (44 Pages)
A growing consensus among jurists and analysts who have observed the rapid democratic backsliding in Turkey, a member of the CoE, is that the rule of law has been effectively suspended under the renewed emergency rule & that the courts are practically controlled by the authoritarian regime of President Erdoğan, who does not hesitate to abuse the criminal justice system to persecute his critics and opponents. In this context, this report provides examples suggesting that the rule of law is no longer applicable in Turkey and that domestic remedies have been rendered ineffective.
Women’s Rights Under Attack in Turkey
August 2017 / (56 Pages)
Suspicious Deaths and Suicides in Turkey
March 2017 / (37 Pages)
Following a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016, there has been a massive increase in cases of ill-treatment and torture, along with unprecedented mass arrests and detentions in Turkey. In statements and criminal complaints made by defendants and their family members, widespread torture practices have been uncovered in detention centers and prisons. The Stockholm Center for Freedom (SCF) has investigated and documented 53 suspected deaths in the last six months alone.
Erdogan’s Long Arm in Europe: The Case of the Netherlands
February 2017/ (39 Pages)
SCF mapped out ways and methods of the Turkish government’s intimidation campaign targeting critics and dissidents abroad and studied examined Netherlands, a European country that is home to over 400,000 Turks, as a case study to decode what is being called ‘Erdogan’s long arm’ in Europe. Turkish president openly stated that no country in the world would be safe for members of Hizmet, vowed to pursue them wherever they are. This has led to physical attacks on lives and properties of critics, calls for boycott for their businesses, death threats and punishments of their relatives back in Turkey.
Freedom of the Press in Turkey: Far Worse Than You Think
January 2017 / (36 Pages)
Committee to Protect Journalists
Turkey’s crackdown propels number of journalists in jail worldwide to record high
December 2016 / (5 Pages, Video)
Turkey is experiencing an unprecedented rate of press freedom violations. At least 81 journalists are imprisoned in Turkey, all of them facing anti-state charges, in the wake of an unprecedented crackdown that has included the shuttering of more than 100 news outlets. The 259 journalists in jail worldwide is the highest number recorded since 1990. In Turkey, media freedom was already under siege in early 2016, with authorities arresting, harassing, and expelling journalists and shutting down or taking over news outlets.
Freedom House
Freedom in the World 2018: Turkey
January 2018 / (24 Pages)
Freedom in the World 2017: Turkey
2017 / (28 Pages)
Freedom of the Press 2017: Turkey
April 2017 / (32 Pages)
Freedom on the Net 2017: Turkey
November 2017 / (48 Pages)
Internet freedom sharply declined in Turkey in 2017 due to the repeated suspension of telecommunications networks and social media access. The government has implemented a massive purge in which more than 60,000 citizens have been arrested for alleged connections to Gülen or other banned groups, while over 140,000 have been suspended or dismissed from their jobs. At least 5 news agencies, 62 newspapers, 16 television channels, 19 periodicals, 29 publishing houses, and 24 radio stations have been forcibly closed down by decree. The government has repeatedly suspended access to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and WhatsApp on national security grounds, while Wikipedia has been permanently blocked due to articles related to Turkey’s role in the Syrian civil war.
Democracy in Crisis: Corruption, Media, and Power in Turkey
February 2014 / (24 Pages)
Police raids that revealed corruption scandal on December 17 have sparked a frantic crackdown by the ruling party. More journalists have been fired for speaking out. Amendments to the Internet regulation law proposed by the government would make it possible for officials to block websites without court orders. Over the past seven years, the government has increasingly employed a variety of strong-arm tactics to suppress the media’s proper role as a check on power. Some of the most disturbing efforts include the following: intimidation, mass firings, buying off or forcing out media moguls, wiretapping and imprisonment.
State Department Report on Turkey
Turkey 2017 International Religious Freedom Report
May 2018 / (22 Pages)
From July 2016 through the end of the year, police arrested more than 50,000 individuals for alleged ties to the Gulen movement or related groups. During the year the government suspended or dismissed thousands of public officials from state institutions, including more than a thousand Diyanet employees. The government continued to prosecute individuals for “openly disrespecting the religious belief of a group” and continued to limit the rights of non-Muslim minorities, especially those not recognized under the 1923 Lausanne Treaty.
Turkey 2017 Human Rights Report
April 2018 / (64 Pages)
The most significant human rights issues included alleged torture of detainees in official custody; allegations of forced disappearance; arbitrary arrest and detention under the state of emergency of tens of thousands, including members of parliament and two Turkish-national employees of the U.S. Mission to Turkey, for alleged ties to terrorist groups or peaceful legitimate speech; executive interference with independence of the judiciary, affecting the right to a fair trial and due process; political prisoners, including numerous elected officials; severe restriction of freedoms of expression and media, including imprisonment of scores of journalists, closing media outlets, and criminalization of criticism of government.
Turkey 2016 Human Rights Report
March 2017 / (75 Pages)
Turkey 2015 Human Rights Report
April 2016 / (74 Pages)
The most significant human rights abuses include governmental interference with freedom of expression, impunity and weak administration of justice and inadequate protection of civilians. Multiple provisions in the law created the opportunity for the government to restrict freedom of expression, the press, and the Internet. Government pressure on the media continued. Representatives of Gulenist and some liberal media outlets were denied access to official events and in some cases, denied press accreditation.
International Court of Justice
Turkey: the Judicial System in Peril
June 2016 / (28 Pages)
The ICJ raises concerns at measures eroding the independence of the judiciary, prosecution, and legal profession in Turkey, with serious consequences for protection of human rights. It analyses developments in law and practice that have affected the independence of both the governing institutions of the judiciary and prosecution, and the security of tenure and independence of individual judges in practice. It urges the executive and legislative authorities to refrain from all actions and rheto¬ric contrary to the separation of powers, and emphasizes the need to protect the safety of lawyers and other human rights defenders, and to undertake a prompt, thorough and independent investigation into the killing of the President of the Diyarbakir Bar Association, Tahir Elçi.
Alliance for Shared Values
What Really Happened in Turkey on July 15, 2016?
July 2017 / (39 Pages)
The failed coup attempt provided Erdogan with an excellent excuse to consolidate his power. In addition to purging more than 6,000 members of the Turkish military, Erdogan also changed the military’s recruitment, reporting and education structures. In its wake, he reignited the idea of an executive presidency, and he secured a narrow victory in a constitutional referendum in April 2017 — despite many reported electoral irregularities — to open his path to becoming the executive president of Turkey in 2019.
The Failed Military Coup in Turkey & the Mass Purges a Civil Society Perspective
October 2016 / (25 Pages)
The actions of President Erdogan’s government in the immediate aftermath of the coup constitute a mass purge rather than a proper investigation. In addition to the officers who were accused of taking part in the coup, thousands of soldiers who did not take part in the coup, as well as tens of thousands of civilians including journalists, teachers and judges were detained and arrested within days of the attempt. Individuals and organizations sympathetic to the Hizmet movement are not the only victims of the post-coup purges. Liberal, nationalist, Kurdish, leftist and Alevi individuals and organizations have been targeted as well.
Advocates of Silenced Turkey
Born and Raised in Prison: Turkey’s Captive Children
April 2020
When the Turkish President declared in an infamous speech that “old Turkey no longer exists; this Turkey is new Turkey”, the story of Turkish authoritarianism took on a new character once and for all. Since July 2016, the Turkish government has been improperly imprisoning hundreds of thousands of homemakers, mothers, children, babies, teachers, NGO workers, academics, judges, prosecutors, journalists and countless other victims.
Key Human Rights Concerns In Turkey Since The So-Called Coup Attempt
April 2020
Following the so-called coup attempt on the 15th of July 2016, the Turkish government under the authoritarian leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdogan
has taken a wave of oppressive actions against not only the alleged coup plotters but also those that are perceived as critics of the regime. Currently, as part of Turkey’s post-coup crackdown, more than 130,000.
Systematic Torture & Ill Treatment in Turkey
January 2020
In Turkey, especially after the coup attempt on July 15, 2016, there have been mass arrests and detentions. Suleyman Soylu, Minister for Internal Affairs, has stated that 511,000 individuals have been taken into custody as of March 2019, on the grounds of their relationship with the Gulen Movement. Up until today, more than 100,000 individuals have been jailed.
Human Rights Violations Comprehensive Infographics About Turkey
August 2019
When the Turkish President declared in an infamous speech that “old Turkey no longer exists. This Turkey is new Turkey”, the story of Turkish authoritarianism had once and for all taken on a new character. Since the July of 2016, the Turkish government has improperly imprisoned 130,214 homemakers, teachers, NGO workers, academics, judges, prosecutors and journalists.
Prison Conditions in Turkey
July 2019
Between July 2016 and July 2018, “investigations have been opened into 612,347 persons.
217,971 persons are detained. Of those, the courts had convicted 16,684, and another 14,750 were in prison awaiting trial. 47,778 individuals remained detained.
So-called coup attempt July 15, 2016
15 July 2019
July 15 is truly such a bizarre incident, one that has been personally described by the alleged July 15 victim (!) President and General Director of the Justice and Development (AK) Party, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as being a ”blessing from God” one bizarre incident that has been used as justification—by way of taking advantage of the atmosphere of coup and terror—to establish a one-man regime by seizing control of the government, the Turkish Grand National Assembly, and all other democratic institutions, and as justification to build a kind of dynasty through the appointing of family members to administrative positions; one truly bizarre incident of which the clearing of speculations surrounding it have been hindered by its ”victim” (!) himself.
Collapse of Rule of Law in TURKEY
May 2019
Turkey’s relentless efforts to have dissidents extradited from where they live frequently pits Ankara against host countries. The issue has become an enduring source of diplomatic friction between Turkey and its Western allies when Ankara sought to persuade them to extradite the critics of the government. But, neither the U.S. nor Germany (or other Western countries) responded positively to Ankara’s bids on the grounds that the prospect of politically motivated claims and nonexistence of fair trial in Turkey, especially in the aftermath of the coup. As will be analyzed in detailed fashion in
later chapters, the collapse of rule of law removes any legal rationale for accepting Turkey’s extradition demands.
Turkey’s Maarif Foundation Poorly Performs in Afghanistan Mired in Scandals
January 2019 / (16 pages)
For more than two years, Turkey’s aggressive policy to take over and shut down schools operated by opponents of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan across the world has produced mixed results. In some countries such as Pakistan, Somalia, Gabon and Malaysia, the Turkish government’s relentless pursuit and sweetening financial offers swayed local governments’ positions and led to the takeover of Turkish schools previously ran by non-governmental organizations affiliated with U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, the arch-nemesis of President Erdogan. But not every country conceded to Ankara’s demands. And in some countries, Ankara led Maarif Foundation has shown signs of poor management and has failed to deliver success in education.
Americans Arrested in Turkey: Andrew Brunson and Others
December 2018 / (16 pages)
Erdogan’s government does not only target Turkish citizens but also people from other nationalities who reside legally in Turkey. The situation raises concern about the non-citizens’ human rights in relation to detention and arrest. Main principle of the rights of non-citizens has been seen as the principle of equality, meaning that state must treat non-citizens as same with their citizens.
A Predatory Approach to Individual Rights: Erdogan Government’s Unlawful Seizures of Private Properties and Companies in Turkey
November 2018 / (36 pages)
Property rights in Turkey are no longer protected because of the disregard the Erdogan government has shown to the rights of its dissidents. Even though the anti-government Turks suffer from many different rights violations, the violations of the right to property should be separately noted since it is deemed a fundamental human right.
Expulsion of Turkish Teachers from Moldova: The Whole Story
September 2018 / (28 pages)
To the astonishment of the whole world last week, September 6, Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and its Moldovan counterpart acted together in snatching six Turkish nationals affiliated with Gulen Movement from Moldovan territory, triggering a wave of international criticism and opprobrium against Moldova’s authorities for their acquiescence to Ankara’s demand for the expulsion of teachers.
Erdogan’s Crackdown at a Glance
September 2018 / (12 pages)
Under the state of emergency in place since July 2016, the president presides over the cabinet, which can pass decrees without parliamentary scrutiny or the possibility of appeal to the constitutional court. Many decrees adopted contained measures that undermine human rights safeguards and conflict with Turkey’s international human rights obligations.
The Confiscations and Smear Campaigns by Turkish Government through Maarif Foundation in Africa
July 2018 / (16 pages)
Erdoğan government’s education policy consists of generalizing the imam hatip high- schools which provide mainly religious education, and forcing the students to choose one of these schools. In addition to this, it has been approximately 20 years since AKP (Justice and Development Party) took over the country, and the education system has been changing too many times within this period, only to end up with a more complicated system which has been far from providing any benefits at all.
The Last Exit Before Illegal Legality: Snap Elections in Turkey as the Final Step on the Road to Authoritarianism
May 2018 / (16 pages)
Following months of speculation about possible early elections, on April 16, 2018, the anniversary of the controversial 2017 referendum, Devlet Bahceli, the leader of the Nationalist Action Party (MHP), called for early elections to be held on August 26, the national holiday. One of the main reasons for early elections is to ensure they take place before the upcoming economic depression. There are concerns that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) will commit electoral fraud.
Erdogan’s Long Arms Abroad and Recommendations to Governments
July 2018 / (24 pages)
Since the attempted coup of July 15, 2016 the Government of Turkey Turkish government has engaged in illegal extraterritorial and extrajudicial actions been taking strict measures to silence dissidents in other countries from various ideologies recently. There are many examples of abductions and physical violence incidents in several countries as well as threats by pro-government people referring to the supporters abroad. This paper discusses these issues to conclude that individuals linked to the Movement cannot feel safe abroad either.
Turkey Must Ensure Freedom of Religion Under Its Jurisdiction
April 2018 / (11 pages)
Especially in recent years, freedom of religion has been under attack in most countries with the rise of oppressive regimes. Turkey is also one of these states limiting religious freedoms. Different religious communities took their shares from the government’s arbitrary implementations. This paper elaborates on the different types of discriminatory practices religious groups have been facing in Turkey recently. It will be evaluated whether freedom of religion and belief is respected at the level required the internationally accepted standards. Therefore, for the purpose of this paper different statements from government officials as well as the government’s actions targeting religious groups will be mentioned below.
Turkish Government’s New Strategy: Request Extradition of Hizmet Sympathizers Using Fabricated Documents And False Claims
March 2018 / (16 Pages)
It can be seen that Mr. Erdogan’s government, acting without any consideration of rules, the Turkish judiciary and other executive organs which do not raise against any of Mr. Erdogan’s political claims are ready to take any action in order to somehow extradict the people from abroad. For this reason, any future requests to be made through the Turkish government, especially regarding extraditions of lawbreakers and limitations of traveling abroad, are subject to be investigated to the maximum extent so that to prevent abuses.
Erdogan’s Tool to Take Over Hizmet Schools Illegally: The Maarif Foundation
March 2018 / (8 Pages)
The report talks mainly about the recent activities of the Turkish government putting education at risk through illegal takeovers by Turkish government sponsored Maarif Foundation. The government for a long time has been trying to “Islamize” Turkey’s education system by placing imam hatip high schools in the center of the education policies. Nearly for one and a half year, the Turkish government has also been attempting to export its policy abroad by taking over Turkish schools founded years ago around the world by participants of the Hizmet Movement. Following the excerpt from the JWF’s report which will provide background information on the case, new information acquired by the Advocates of Silenced Turkey will be provided aiming to illustrate the current situation.
Women’s and Children’s Rights are Under Attack in Turkey
January 2017 / (8 Pages)
Oppressive attitude of the Turkish government has been becoming harsher as the time goes. A process of targeting dissident groups, especially the Hizmet Movement, started in 2013 and the government became even stricter than one can expect since July 15, 2016 when the so-called attempted coup occurred. The Movement has been the main group targeted by the President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It is unfortunately true that vulnerable groups have suffered more than others in this process. Women and children have been affected by Erdogan’s and the government’s measures disproportionately. This paper lists below some statements taken from the most important human rights organizations working about the recent events taking place in Turkey.
Comparative Analysis of Different Countries’ Approaches Towards Turkish Asylum Seekers Linked to the Gulen Movement
December 2017 / (12 Pages)
Turkish government has been targeting dissidents from various ideologies recently. One of these opposition groups, the Gulen Movement, has been the main target since 2013. The supporters of the Movement have been dealing with different strict measures perpetrated directly by the state authorities such as arrest, imprisonment, torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, denial of fair trial, confiscation, passport cancellations and labeling. These asylum seekers have been receiving affirmative responses in many countries, four of which are explored in this study.
REPORT: “I CANNOT SAY WE ARE ABSOLUTELY SAFE, EVEN ABROAD
December 2017 / (15 Pages)
Gulen Movement (also known as “Hizmet Movement,” meaning service in Turkish) has been the main target of the government, which is a faith-based group of people engaging in different voluntary activities such as education, business and health. Alleged supporters of the Movement in Turkey have been dealing with arrest, imprisonment, torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, confiscation and passport seizure. Regrettably Turkish government’s actions against the Gulen Movement are not limited to Turkish borders but are also extraterritorial. There are many examples of abductions and physical violence incidents in several countries as well as threats by pro-government people referring to the supporters abroad.
European Court of Human Rights Should Reconsider Judicial Independence in Turkey Before Referring Cases to Domestic Authorities
November 2017 / (8 Pages)
In recent years and in particular in the aftermath of attempted coup of July 15, 2016, the Turkish government has been targeting dissidents belonging to different ideologies. Among the many dissident groups, in particular the Gulen Movement has been the primary target. The far-reaching, increasingly repressive and almost unlimited discretionary powers exercised by the Turkish authorities during the state of emergency – now in its 15th month – endanger the general principles of rule of law and human rights safeguards, the ones the state of emergency is designed to protect.
Platform for Peace and Justice
Construction of a New Regime by Decree Laws
January 2018 / (31 Pages)
In the early years of his political career, Turkish President Erdogan said that “democracy is like a train; you get off once you have reached your destination.” However, the authoritarianism of Justice and Development Party (AKP) has entered into a new phase of ideology construction and regime building. The new regime is being established making use of the state of emergency decree-laws. Under this regime, the dissents have been facing repression and persecution. This report discusses how the decree laws are destroying democracy, the rule of law and the fundamental human rights in order to establish a new authoritarian regime.
World Justice Project
World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2017–2018
January 2018 / (194 Pages)
Turkey has fallen to the 101st position out of 113 countries in the World Justice Project’s 2017-18 Rule of Law Index. There has been widespread concern that fundamental rights and freedoms and the rule of law in Turkey have eroded since state of emergency was announced in July 2016. Turkey was ranked in the bottom tercile in six of these eight areas. The two areas in which it achieved an average grade were absence of corruption and criminal justice. Turkey’s record on fundamental rights, too, was near the bottom of the list, in 107th position, one above China and one below Bangladesh. Freedom of religion and freedom of expression achieved particularly dismal results in this category.
Academics at Risk
The Deterioration of Higher Education: Perils of Persecuting Academicians
May 2018 / (5 Pages)
On July 23, two days after the declaration of the state of emergency, the state ordered 15 universities closed, displacing some 60,000 students and leaving 2,808 academic personnel unemployed. Since then, the state has issued nine separate decrees ordering the dismissals of higher education personnel and expulsions of students. To date, these actions have rendered jobless some 8,535 academic personnel (see chart above), as well as at least 1,349 administrative personnel.
Lawyer Rights Watch
Turkish Law is Diminishing Day by Day
May 2018 / (12 Pages)
In particular, the expulsion of lawyers and judges from their respective jobs and their prosecution is undermining faith in the legal institutions in Turkey. It is unacceptable in the framework of a modern state of rule of law to expel prosecutors and high judicial personnel from their profession without regard for their immunity or human rights on the grounds that they are connected with the Hizmet movement or have taken on the cases of individuals charged in reference to the alleged FETO/PDY.
Incarceration of Turkish Lawyers
2016-2018 / (39 Pages)
There has been a relentless campaign of arrests which has targeted fellow lawyers across the country. In 77 of Turkey’s 81 provinces, lawyers have been detained and arrested on trumped-up charges as part of criminal investigations orchestrated by the political authorities and conducted by provincial public prosecutors. As of today, more than 1500 lawyers have been prosecuted and 594 lawyers have been arrested. So far, 216 lawyers have been sentenced to long imprisonment by the first instance courts under article 3141 of the Turkish Penal Code.
Statement on the situation of lawyers in Turkey
5 April 2019
On this day, 5 April 2019 – celebrated as Lawyers’ Day in Turkey – the undersigned organisations take the opportunity to strongly condemn the ongoing crackdown against lawyers in Turkey. Following the failed coup d’état of 15 July 2016, the Turkish government declared a state of emergency and adopted a series of decree-laws that seriously undermined human rights and the rule of law across the country. Although the state of emergency was lifted in July 2018, many of the decree-laws were integrated into ordinary laws and the persecution of lawyers continues, including mass arrests, unfair trials and harsh sentences.