Freedom Convention Turkey

Turkey at the Crossroads: Democracy and Justice in Focus

General Overview

As Turkey faces a deepening authoritarian crisis, marked by widespread repression, institutional collapse, and the silencing of dissent, the Freedom Convention Turkey 2025 convenes a powerful coalition of survivors, advocates, scholars, and policymakers to confront this urgent moment. Held under the theme “Turkey at the Crossroads: Democracy and Justice in Focus,”  this year’s convention centers the voices of those most affected by injustice while envisioning collective paths toward democratic renewal and the restoration of justice.

Organized by Advocates of Silenced Turkey (AST), the convention offers a dynamic space for truth-telling, memory, and mobilization. Through two core panel sessions and a memory-based art exhibition, participants will critically examine the strategies of repression employed by the Turkish regime—and elevate the acts of resistance that continue to emerge from the margins.

The first session, “Law, Rights, and Repression: Authoritarianism on Trial,” will assess the state’s co-optation of the legal system to criminalize dissent, dismantle judicial independence, and flout international human rights obligations. At the same time, it will highlight efforts toward accountability—both through legal mechanisms and transnational solidarity.

The second session, “State Violence, Censorship, and Discrimination,” centers the lived experiences of those bearing the brunt of state violence: women, journalists, ethnic and religious minorities, political dissidents, and environmental defenders. Panelists will explore the intersections of gendered violence, cultural censorship, ethno-nationalism, and climate injustice—revealing both the severity of repression and the resilience of those who resist it.

Accompanying the sessions is the “Silent Screams” exhibition, a haunting archive of memory objects from imprisoned and exiled families inTurkey.

At its core, Freedom Convention Turkey 2025 is not only a gathering of witnesses—it is a platform for action. It invites us to reckon with the present, reclaim justice, and collectively imagine a future grounded in dignity, truth, and freedom for all.

Session I: Law, Rights, and Repression — Authoritarianism on Trial

This panel explores how Turkey’s legal and political systems have been co-opted to serve authoritarian power, dismantling the very institutions meant to protect rights and democracy.

We examine the erosion of judicial independence, politicized prosecutions, and the normalization of rights violations under a legal façade. Panelists will address Turkey’s defiance of international obligations, including its refusal to implement ECtHR rulings and its disregard for binding human rights standards.

The session also highlights the persistence of impunity, while spotlighting efforts to advance accountability and transitional justice through documentation, legal advocacy, and truth-telling initiatives.

Finally, the panel underscores the role of transnational solidarity—from diaspora organizing to global feminist and legal alliances—in challenging repression and defending civic space.

At the heart of this conversation lies a critical question: how do we reclaim law as a tool for justice, not oppression?

Session II: State Violence, Censorship, and Discrimination

This panel examines how Turkey’s authoritarian turn has intensified repression against those already at the margins—silencing journalists, persecuting minorities, and eroding fundamental rights.

We will explore the criminalization of journalism and shrinking civic space, alongside emerging strategies of cultural and digital resistance. The session also addresses ethnic, religious, and political discrimination targeting Kurds, Alevis, Armenians, and Hizmet-affiliated groups under resurgent ethno-nationalism.

A key focus will be gender-based violence and carceral patriarchy, including the rollback of the Istanbul Convention, rising femicides, and the incarceration of mothers and vulnerable prisoners. Lastly, the panel highlights the intersection of climate injustice and authoritarian governance, exposing how ecological degradation and displacement are weaponized—and resisted—through grassroots environmental movements.

Together, these stories reveal the high cost of dissent—and the power of those who persist.

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