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DEMOCRACY
IN TURKEY

142 members of Congress urge President Biden to pressure Turkey on human rights abuses:

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142 bipartisan members of Congress sent a letter to President Biden, urging him to pressure Turkey to end the ongoing persecution, especially against the Hizmet Movement, halt its transnational repression campaigns, and release all prisoners of conscience.

Turkey Tests What NATO Stands For:

When Washington, D.C., hosts the 2024 NATO Summit, member Turkey will attend with a lot of anti-democratic baggage, which last week was called out by 142 members of Congress.

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Among the 32 member states of NATO, Turkey is the only one classified by democracy watchdog Freedom House as "not free."

Turkey Exploits Post-9/11 Counterterrosim Model to Target Critics in Exile:

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Highlights Turkey’s transnational repression, detailing how Ankara hunts down exiled dissidents through kidnappings and forced repatriations. The government particularly targets Hizmet Movement members, extending its crackdown beyond borders.

Turkish citizens under UN protection feared to have been kidnapped by Turkish intelligence in Kenya:

Four Turkish citizens have been abducted by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) due to their links to the Hizmet Movement. They were kidnapped by masked individuals in Nairobi, Kenya, in the early hours of the day.

ECtHR rules Turkey violated rights of dozens detained over alleged Hizmet Movement links

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The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Turkey violated the rights of 117 public servants dismissed by emergency decrees over alleged Hizmet Movement links. Use of ByLock, Bank accounts, or $1 bills was deemed insufficient. Turkey must pay €555,000 in compensation.

UK Parliament Report: Finds Turkey among the worst abusers of INTERPOL’s notice system, using it to target exiles and critics abroad. The July 2024 report details politically motivated Red Notices, misuse of travel document databases, illegal renditions, and surveillance, highlighting a global campaign against the Hizmet Movement and other dissidents, with over 118 forced returns since 2016. The committee urges reforms to protect individuals from politically motivated persecution.

State Department Country Report on Human Rights 2024: 
Exposes ongoing repression, including arbitrary arrests, transnational crackdowns, and suppression of dissent. The government continues targeting journalists, opposition figures, and members of the Hizmet "Gulen" Movement, undermining free speech and judicial independence.

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The report also highlights torture, poor prison conditions, and pressure on the judiciary.

USCIRF: Examines religious freedom developments in the first half of 2024, as well as ongoing factors affecting freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) within Turkey. It outlines how Turkish religious nationalism has contributed to these restrictions and explains the violations religious minority communities, dissenting Sunni Muslims, and secularists in Turkey continue to face. The report also notes attacks by nonstate actors on the basis of religion.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued a landmark decision against Turkey’s vigorous, vicious assault on innocent Hizmet aka “The Gulen Movement” participants and their fundamental rights.

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The ruling condemned the conviction of a teacher without due process, citing violations of liberty and fair trial rights. The case underscores growing global concern over Turkey’s judicial erosion and rights abuses.

Turkey secretly plots to bypass INTERPOL rules to target exiled journalist in Sweden

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A leaked Turkish police memo exposes secret efforts to bypass INTERPOL safeguards and target exiled journalist and critics by disguising politically motivated cases as ordinary crimes. The strategy aims to repackage charges to secure Red Notices, raising concerns over Turkey's abuse of international legal systems to silence dissent abroad.

Special Report:

Turkey’s confiscation of $50 billion from participants of Hizmet "Gulen" Movement constitutes crimes against humanity.

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The report details mass property seizures, including homes, schools, and businesses, used to punish dissent. Victims faced arbitrary arrests, asset freezes, and long-term economic disenfranchisement.

The 2024 Freedom on the Net report, scores Turkey as a 31 in a 100-point index with scores being based on a scale of 0 to 100. This means that TURKEY IS NOT A FREE COUNTRY in 2023, scoring almost the same as last year, 30/100.

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The report condemns the regime’s brutal crackdown on online freedom, citing rampant censorship, mass surveillance, blocked platforms, and criminal charges targeting dissidents, journalists, and human rights advocates.

Turkey's Transnational Repression:

Turkey’s intel agency renditioned participant of Hizmet "Gulen" Movement businessman from Tajikistan: state-run media.

The regime continues to wage a global campaign of fear, abducting critics from foreign soil. Victims face torture, illegal detention, and propaganda-fueled trials, in blatant violation of human rights and international norms.

European Commission says: Backsliding in democracy continues in Turkey.

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The report highlights Erdogan’s growing authoritarianism, weakening of judicial independence, suppression of media, and persecution of political opponents. Rule of law is systematically dismantled, while peaceful dissenters face arrest, exile, and state-led repression on an alarming scale.

Turkish police have detained 611 people in raids carried out across the country for alleged links to the Hizmet 'Gulen' Movement and helping the family members of imprisoned people. 

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This mass arrest campaign reflects Turkey’s criminalization of compassion. Innocent people are targeted, families terrorized, and basic human rights trampled by an increasingly repressive regime.

European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) faults Turkey for the detention of media executive Hidayet Karaca.

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The ruling confirms that his imprisonment lacked legal basis and violated fundamental rights. Karaca’s case is emblematic of Turkey’s assault on press freedom, where journalists are silenced, jailed, and denied justice under Erdogan’s oppressive regime.

OSCE report: Turkey’s existing legal framework does not provide a conducive environment for democratic elections. It points out longstanding concerns about the respect for judicial independence and fundamental freedoms such as freedom of assembly, organization, and expression.

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The report condemns Erdogan’s rigged system built to crush dissent and eliminate opposition.

Members U.S. Congress and European Parliament reacted against the unlawful detainment of Hizmet (Gulen) affiliates amid Turkey's crusade to smother dissenting voices after 2016 coup.

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The detentions over mere charitable donations reveal the regime’s persecution of peaceful citizens, criminalization of civil society, and complete disregard for basic human rights

Human rights foundations have said in a joint statement that Turkey has become a place of torture during the rule of the AKP government.

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​Systematic abuse, enforced disappearances, and prison torture are widespread. Victims are denied justice, and the judiciary serves political interests. The regime has turned Turkey into a graveyard for basic human dignity.

The European Commission Report on Turkey:

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There are serious deficiencies in the functioning of Turkey’s democratic institutions, underlining continuing democratic backsliding and structural deficiencies in the presidential system.

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The report exposes Erdogan’s authoritarian grip, dismantling checks and balances and fueling systemic human rights violations across the country.

The Helsinki Commission welcomes passage of the Transnational Repression Accountability and Prevention (TRAP) Act Provision in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act to hold authoritarian countries accountable for their abuse of INTERPOL.

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​The move is a direct rebuke to regimes like Turkey that weaponize global systems to hunt down peaceful dissidents abroad.

The Turkey Tribunal took place in Geneva with experts in Europe discussed Turkey's enforced disappearance, act of torture and other human rights violations with victims speaking of their experiences. The judges' verdict was the violations caused since 2016 could amount to crimes against humanity in an application lodged with an appropriate international body.

Turkey's Abuse of INTERPOL:

How Erdogan Weaponised the International Criminal Police Organization for Transnational Repression.

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The regime systematically misuses red notices to hunt exiled critics, especially from the Hizmet Movement. Innocent people are detained abroad, stripped of asylum protections, and silenced through state-sponsored persecution.

ECtHR handed down a landmark judgment announced on July 11, 2022 against Turkey for its failure to carry out the court's order to free the imprisoned human rights defender Osman Kavala.

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​Turkey’s defiance of binding rulings exposes its contempt for international law. Kavala’s case symbolizes the regime’s brutal crackdown on civil society and judicial independence.