On October 20, 2024, Fethullah Gülen, the founder of the Hizmet Movement/Fethullah Gülen Community, passed away in the United States. The passing of such an influential global figure garnered widespread attention in both Turkish and international media. The language, tone, and structure of the reports published in international and Turkish media were significantly different. Upon comparing the reports in these two spheres, one might get the impression that they are describing two entirely different events or individuals.
The Teenage Girls Case: A Call for Justice
1. Background of the Operation
In May 2024, a large-scale anti-terrorism operation took place in Istanbul, where 48 individuals, including high school students and university-aged women, were detained by Turkish authorities. The Turkish government, under the guise of fighting terrorism, arrested these individuals on fabricated charges. Among those arrested were several mothers, taken into custody when authorities could not locate their daughters. The young girls, some of them still minors, were subjected to irrational accusations based on their routine social activities, such as going to the cinema, studying together, and even praying.
Grave Violations of Children’s Rights Under Turkey’s Repressive Regime Post-2016 Coup
Introduction
A period in which justice was suspended began in Turkey on July 15, 2016. During this process, 952 individuals were identified as having lost their lives, 152,000 civil servants were dismissed, more than 500,000 people were arrested, and over 3,000 children were forced to grow up in prison with their mothers. According to the latest official figures, 552 children are still in prison with their mothers. Problems such as job loss, deprivation of liberty, ostracization by the state and society, exclusion, and condemnation to absolute poverty have caused the disintegration of thousands of families.
The Crackdown on Humanitarian Aid in Turkey
This report, issued by the Advocates of Silence Turkey (AST), details an alarming misuse of counterterrorism laws in Turkey to systematically target and dismantle philanthropic efforts supporting the Gülen Movement.
SPECIAL REPORT: “AUTHORITARIANISM UNVEILED: TURKEY’S HUMAN RIGHTS CATASTROPHE”
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Dunja Mijatović, Flags Non-Implementation of Judgments from ECHR, Venice Commission, and Turkish Constitutional Court as Serious Threat to Rule of Law, Public Trust and Constitutional Order
Commissioner issued a comprehensive Memorandum on March 5, 2024, assessing the state of freedom of expression, media, and human rights defenders in Turkey calling for urgent measures to address these challenges, emphasizing alignment with international human rights standards.
Beyond Turkey’s Borders: Unveiling Global Purge, Transnational Repression, Abductions
The Origins of the Problem
Turkey’s pursuit of alignment with the principles of the European Union has been marred by the government’s increasingly authoritarian tendencies, particularly since 2011. Regrettably, the country has witnessed a rapid decline, distancing itself further from the realm of modern democracy. Since 2014, Turkey’s Freedom Index score has plummeted due to a series of escalating assaults on press freedom, social media users, protesters, political parties, the judiciary, and the electoral system. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has sought to establish personalized control over the state and society within a deteriorating domestic and regional security environment.
KAHRAMANMARAŞ DEPREMLERİNDE İNSAN HAKLARI İHLALLERİ ÖN RAPORU 2023
Türkiye, dünyanın en aktif deprem kuşaklarından birisi üzerinde bulunmaktadır. Yakın tarih incelendiğinde, büyük depremler olarak 1939 Erzincan, 1941 Van-Erciş, 1946 Varto, 1967 Adapazarı, 1971 Bingöl, 1976 Denizli, 1992 Erzincan, 1995 Dinar, 1998 Ceyhan ve 1999 Marmara ve Düzce, 2003 Bingöl, 2011 Van, 2020 Elazığ ve 2021 İzmir depremleri kaydedilmiştir. Türkiye’de depremlere yönelik bir hazırlık ve planlama yapılması amacıyla, 1945 (Yersarsıntısı Bölgeleri Haritası), 1947, 1963 (Türkiye Deprem Bölgeleri Haritası), 1972, 1996 ve 2019 (Türkiye Deprem Tehlike Haritası) yıllarında deprem bölgeleri haritaları hazırlanmış ve geliştirilerek 6 kez güncellenmiştir. Bu kapsamda, bölgesel çalışmalar yapılmış ve örneğin 2020 yılında AFAD tarafından hazırlanan Kahramanmaraş İl Afet Riski Azaltma Planı ile depreme yönelik bir hazırlık öngörüsü geliştirilmiştir.
Advocates of Silenced Turkey Report 2022
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 July of 2016, the Turkish government has improperly imprisoned 160,000+ homemakers, teachers, NGO workers, academics, judges, prosecutors and journalists.
TORTURERS REPORT – 2 – Torture and Human Rights Violations in Turkey
Advocates of Silenced Turkey (AST) prepares reports to record and document crimes against human dignity, such as torture and ill-treatment, which have become systematic in Turkey. The report in your hand is the second part of the study, which was prepared in order to register those who were involved in this crime, their instigators, those who encouraged the crime by praising it, and those who protected the torturer public officials by abuse of power. The report aims to be a record so that torturers will one day be held to an independent legal account.
İŞKENCECİLER RAPORU – 2 – Türkiye’de İşkence ve Hak İhlalleri
Susturulmuş Türkiye’nin Avukatları (Advocates of Silenced Turkey – AST), Türkiye’de sistematik hale gelen işkence ve kötü muamele gibi insanlık onuruna karşı işlenen suçların kayda geçirilmesi için raporlar hazırlamaktadır. Elinizdeki rapor, bu suça karışanların, azmettiricilerinin, suçu överek teşvik edenlerin, görevini kötüye kullanarak işkenceci kamu görevlilerini koruyanların delillerle kayıt altına alınması ve bir gün bağımsız hukuk önünde hesap verebilmeleri amacıyla hazırlanan çalışmanın ikinci bölümüdür.
