Human rights in Turkey
Selected Cases
Yalçınkaya v. Türkiye (2023)
The ECHR, in the case of teacher Yüksel Yalçınkaya, ruled that Türkiye violated the principle of "no punishment without law" and identified a systemic problem affecting over 100,000 people.
Summary
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Turkey violated the rights of teacher Yüksel Yalçınkaya, who was jailed for over six years on terrorism charges based solely on his alleged use of the ByLock messaging app, a Bank Asya account, and membership in certain unions and associations. The Court found breaches of the right to a fair trial, the principle of “no punishment without law,” and freedom of association, saying there had been no individualised assessment of evidence and that the scope of the offence had been unlawfully expanded.
The ruling could affect up to 100,000 similar cases, with around 8,500 already pending before the Court. While Turkey has submitted two action plans outlining possible measures, the Strasbourg judges said no effective steps have been taken to remedy the violations, urging the reopening of cases and systemic reforms to address the domestic courts’ approach to ByLock use.
Government Crackdown on the main opposition party- CHP
President Erdoğan’s government has launched a crackdown on Turkey’s main opposition CHP, jailing mayors including Istanbul’s Ekrem İmamoğlu, annulling party elections, silencing media and protests, and imposing trustees over municipalities in what observers denounce as a politically motivated purge threatening Turkey’s democracy.
Summary
Over the past year, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government has escalated a crackdown on the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), detaining or removing dozens of elected mayors and officials—including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu—on contested charges of corruption, terrorism links, or insulting authorities. Courts have annulled CHP party congresses and provincial leadership elections, trustees have been imposed on opposition-run municipalities, and party structures have been destabilised in what observers describe as a politically motivated campaign to nullify the CHP’s electoral victories in major cities.
The crackdown has been reinforced by censorship, police repression, and judicial abuse: media outlets covering protests have been sanctioned or silenced, social media platforms pressured into blocking critical content, and over 1,800 protesters detained in the wake of İmamoğlu’s arrest. Reports of ill-treatment, denial of medical care to jailed officials, and arbitrary prosecutions underscore mounting human rights violations, while critics warn these measures mark a dangerous erosion of democracy and the rule of law in Turkey.
Detained Minor Girls Case
The ongoing trials, where the educational and social activities of 15 minor girls were criminalised under the Turkish authorities' arbitrary use of legal norms, have sparked international concern.