1 (646) 480-2377
help@silencedturkey.org

Journalists and Writers Foundation Reports

Turkish Government’s Abuse of Counter-Terrorism Laws

Turkish Government’s Abuse of Counter-Terrorism Laws

January 2019 / (20 Pages)

Over the past several years, Turkey is facing complex security challenges, dealing with a number of serious terrorist attacks targeting the Turkish people. The Syrian refugee crisis and violent extremism, followed by the creation of ISIS in Syria and Iraq, as well as the attempted coup in Turkey – have all contributed to political, economic and social distress. The Iraqi and Syrian conflicts spillover into Turkey has only exacerbated the fragile security environment. There were no terrorist attacks in 2014 – 4 attacks (149 victims) in 2015 and 22 attacks (more than 317 victims) in 2016. Among other very serious attacks, on May 11, 2013, two car bombs exploded in Reyhanlı (Hatay province), killing 51 Turkish nationals. In the early hours of January 1, 2017, a terrorist attack claimed the lives of 39 innocent people from fifteen nationalities at the Reina nightclub in Istanbul. At least 70 others were wounded. Since at least 2014, the government of Turkey, however, has shifted its primary focus to the Hizmet/Gülen Movement, accusing it of being a terrorist organization and detaining or arresting anyone with the slightest perceived link or connection with the group.

 


Widget not in any sidebars

 

Read more

Türkiye Hükümeti’nin Terörle Mücadele Yasalarını Kötüye Kullanması

Türkiye Hükümeti’nin Terörle Mücadele Yasalarını Kötüye Kullanması

January 2019 / (17 Pages)

Türkiye, geçtiğimiz birkaç yıl boyunca Türk halkını hedef alan bir dizi ciddi terörist saldırıları, karmaşık güvenlik sorunlarıyla karşı karşıyadır. Suriyeli mülteci krizi ve şiddet içeren aşırılıkçılık, ardından Suriye ve Irak’ta IŞİD’in oluşturulması ve Türkiye’de darbe girişimi – hepsi politik, ekonomik ve sosyal sıkıntıya katkıda bulunmuştur. Irak ve Suriye çatışmalarının Türkiye’ye yayılması, kırılgan güvenlik ortamını daha da şiddetlendirdi. 2014 yılında terörist saldırılar yaşanmadı ama 2015’te 4 saldırı (149 mağdur) ve 2016’da 22 saldırı (317 mağdurdan fazla) yaşandı. Diğer ciddi saldırılar arasında, 11 Mayıs 2013’te Reyhanlı’da (Hatay) iki araba bombası patladı ve malesef 51 Türk vatandaşı öldü. 1 Ocak 2017’nin ilk saatlerinde bir terörist saldırı İstanbul’daki Reina gece kulübünde onbeş farklı milletten 39 masum insanın hayatını kaybetti, en az 70 kişi yaralandı. Ancak 2014 yılından bu yana Türkiye hükümeti öncelikli odağını Hizmet/Gülen Hareketi’ne kaydırdı, terör örgütü olmakla suçlayarak Hizmet Hareketiyle gecmiste ilişkisi olduğu düşünülen veya bağlantısı olanları tutukladı veya hapse attı.

 


Widget not in any sidebars
Read more

Post-Coup Turkey: State Of Emergency, Torture and Impunity

Post-Coup Turkey: State Of Emergency, Torture and Impunity

October 2016 / (46 Pages)

The failed coup of July 15, 2016 in Turkey was followed by an unprecedented purge targeting citizens from all walks of life, in particular in the education, media, business, military and justice sectors. The ongoing purge and measures introduced under the umbrella of the state of emergency have severely limited individual rights and liberties. The state of emergency imposed in the aftermath of the attempted coup granted the Prime Minister and his cabinet the power to rule by decree and bypass Parliament.

 


Widget not in any sidebars
Read more

Assault on Education In Turkey And Abroad

Assault on Education In Turkey And Abroad

March 2017 / (196 Pages)

The present report examines the systematic legislative, administrative, and other efforts by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) since the beginning of its rule, in particular since 2011 and the aftermath of the July 15, 2016 coup attempt – to permanently Islamize Turkey’s education system. İmam-Hatip schools, crucial in their role to further the AKP’s political Islam agenda as a breeding ground for radical elements, continue to receive extensive political and material support, including through unlawful seizure (theft) of thousands of closed private educational institutions and land. Despite this aid, these schools still perform extremely poorly in all state tests. The mushrooming of İmam-Hatip schools, the current rise in homegrown radicalization along with the surge in the number of terrorist attacks and victims caused by terrorism show that Turkey’s social fabric is undergoing a very harmful change.

 


Widget not in any sidebars
Read more

Women’s Rights Under Attack in Turkey

Women’s Rights Under Attack in Turkey

May 2017 / (56 Pages)

In recent years, under the Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule Turkey has experienced a sharp declining trend in almost all democratic indicators, including the rights of women, civil, economic and social rights, freedom of expression and media, free and fair elections, government accountability and corruption. Since the breakdown of the Kurdish peace process in July 2015 and the July 2016 attempted coup, Kurdish and other minority women, as well as women allegedly linked to the Hizmet movement suffer disproportionate multi-faceted discrimination, in particular as regards equal access to political participation, health, education, employment and justice, both in law and practice.

 


Widget not in any sidebars
Read more

The State of Turkey`s Children: Victims of Unlawfulness

The State of Turkey`s Children: Victims of Unlawfulness

October 2017 / (32 Pages)

The findings of the report reveal a disturbing pattern of human rights abuses against innocent children in Turkey and abroad. By the end of August 2017, 688 children under the age of six are in jails across Turkey with their mothers. The report aims to highlight and raise awareness about the plight of thousands of children in Turkey and abroad subject to discrimination on several grounds prohibited by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

 


Widget not in any sidebars
Read more

Escaping the Witch Hunt From Turkey and Around the World

Escaping the Witch Hunt From Turkey and Around the World

April 2018 / (96 Pages)

The present report discusses the right to freedom of movement, with a particular focus on the right of Turkish citizens, dual citizens and also foreigners—to leave Turkey in the aftermath of the attempted coup of July 15, 2016. It outlines the plausibility of a claim that continuing human rights violations by the government of Turkey have now turned the country into an open-air prison for many, regardless of whether or not individuals are formally deprived of their liberty. Being denied any future in Turkey and facing, inter alia, arbitrary detention, no prospect of a fair trial, unemployability and persecution, an increasing number of civil servants, teachers, professors, lawyers, journalists, judges,police officers, military personnel and other professionals at risk, are trying to leave the country and ask for international protection.

 


Widget not in any sidebars
Read more