2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices Turkey (Türkiye)

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The U.S. Department of State has published its 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, with the Türkiye section outlining a deeply troubling picture of systemic rights violations.

According to the report, significant human rights issues in Türkiye during 2024 included:

• Arbitrary or unlawful killings.

• Torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.

• Arbitrary arrest or detention.

• Transnational repression against individuals in other countries.

• Cooperation with foreign governments to carry out acts of transnational repression.

• Unlawful recruitment or use of children in armed conflict by government-supported armed groups abroad.

• Severe restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including threats, violence, unjustified arrests, prosecutions of journalists, and censorship.

Especially alarming are the documented abuses targeting members of the Hizmet (Gulen) movement—both inside Türkiye and abroad. The report details:

• Kidnappings of alleged Hizmet members overseas by Turkish intelligence and their forced return without due process.

• Torture and mistreatment of detainees, including minors, with threats of extreme violence.

• Harassment and intimidation of family members remaining in Türkiye to pressure exiles to return.

• Misuse of INTERPOL red notices and passport cancellations to strand dissidents abroad.

• Bilateral pressure on foreign governments to hand over refugees linked to the movement.

These findings provide clear evidence of state-sanctioned persecution and systematic efforts to silence dissent, in violation of both domestic law and international human rights standards.