Beginner's guide to

Human rights in Türkiye

Overview

Turkey’s human rights record has always been far from perfect. A nation-state built upon the ruins of a collapsing multinational empire in the early 20th century, the Republic of Turkey was from the outset characterized by a strong emphasis on nationalism, centralization of governance, and an obsession with unitarianism, all of which had far-reaching human rights implications. Minority rights, freedom of expression, media freedom, and judicial independence have always remained problematic areas while more acute rights abuses such as torture and enforced disappearances often emerged at times of unusual domestic turmoil such as the military junta rule of the early 1980s and the escalation of the military conflict in the predominantly Kurdish provinces in the 90s.

In the early 2000s, Turkey made notable progress in its accession negotiations with the European Union, which led to palpable improvements in the rule of law and the quest to eradicate torture and ill-treatment. However, these negotiations ended in a deadlock due to roadblocks imposed by Brussels over the conflict in Cyprus. This stalemate coincided with a significant drop in reform appetite on the part of the Turkish ruling elite who, following its third election victory in 2011, began to display authoritarian tendencies and undermine judicial independence and rule of law.

Turkey’s stagnation turned into a decline, which culminated in a freefall in the aftermath of a failed coup d’état that unfolded in July 2016. The government responded to the attempted putsch with a two-year-long state of emergency during which a series of executive decree-laws that curtailed rights and freedoms, dismantled any remnants of judicial independence, and created a climate of impunity that emboldened security forces accused of misusing their power. While the state of emergency was ultimately lifted in mid-2018, many of its draconian measures were perpetuated through legislation as well as a constitutional referendum in 2017 that sealed the country’s transition from a parliamentary system to an executive presidential one with almost no separation of powers and no checks and balances.

The Turkish government currently enjoys full control over traditional media outlets and exercises heavy censorship on social media and civil society. The reporting on Turkey’s human rights record is often incomplete, scattered, biased, or exclusively in Turkish. That is why Solidarity with OTHERS strives to document human rights violations and advocate for justice in a comprehensive, inclusive, and politically impartial manner, focusing on a country which, despite all the backsliding, remains a crucially important neighbor for Europe.

Arbitrary Detention and Arrrest

Mass detention

In terms of the number of victims involved, mass detention is presumably Turkey’s most significant human rights issue. It affects tens of thousands of people detained on politically motivated grounds as well as hundreds who are denied release despite being eligible.

The criminalization of social links to the Gülen movement has led to a mass detention campaign that has been incessantly going on since the July 2016 coup attempt. These detentions have led to a number of ECtHR judgments and UN expert opinions that faulted Turkish authorities. In 2020, an opinion released by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) noted that such widespread and systematic imprisonment of individuals may amount to crimes against humanity.

Turkish authorities also occasionally conduct massive detention operations against Kurdish political networks, particularly at times of heightened nationalist sentiment.

Imprisonment of people with severe health problems

In addition to mass detentions, the authorities also display a marked reluctance when it comes to releasing prisoners who suffer from severe health problems. This practice is more visible in the cases of political prisoners. Every year, rights groups report the deaths of dozens of prisoners who either die behind bars or shortly after their belated release, which usually comes at the last stage of their illness.

In recent years, the Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK), the agency consulted for its medical expertise in the cases of sick prisoners, has become complicit in this abusive practice with its questionable reports that found ailing inmates fit to remain in prison. Prominent Turkish human rights advocates accuse the institution of having lost its independence from the government.

Imprisonment of pregnant and postpartum women

Turkey’s laws require the postponement of sentences for women who are pregnant or who have given birth within the last 18 months, even if they are found guilty. The authorities however openly violate this legislation, particularly in the cases of women arrested or convicted of alleged links to the Gülen movement.

Arbitrary denial of parole

Turkish legislation allows the early release of prisoners who have served a designated portion of their sentences. In recent years, the government enacted regulations that gave greater discretionary powers to prison parole boards that decide to approve or reject this early release. These boards in turn deny parole to political prisoners on arbitrary grounds such as “lack of remorse.”

This practice also mainly targets people imprisoned on account of their Gülen links or their pro-Kurdish political engagement. Human rights advocates accuse prison parole boards of acting like courtrooms in the cases of political prisoners.

Refusal to implement ECtHR judgments

Turkish authorities refused to comply with a number of ECtHR judgments that ordered the release of political prisoners, most notably Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş and civil society leader Osman Kavala.

Turkey’s failure to implement the ECtHR judgment on Kavala has prompted the Council of Europe to launch infringement proceedings against the country in 2022.

Summary

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