Extradition treaty with China leaves Turkey’s Uighur population in danger Turkey signed its first extradition treaty with China in 2017, and the treaty is now waiting for ratification before parliament. For a number of years, exiled Uighur Muslims from China’s Xinjiang region who live in Turkey have worried for their safety, and many have already fled to Europe. I have met Uighur refugees, who initially sought refuge in Turkey, but then decided to claim asylum in Britain as they felt that Turkey would not protect them. One person told me that the government had initially treated the ethnically Turkic Uighur community who had come to Turkey well, working behind the scenes to support them. But then, Turkey also deported some Uighurs back to China. It was this inconsistency, they said, that was causing confusion and fear among them. Read the full article
Over 2,400 Turkish doctors quit since beginning of pandemic More than 2,400 doctors have called it quits since March of last year, when Turkey registered its first coronavirus case, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Wednesday. Another 522 doctors working in public hospitals have transferred to private health institutions over the past year, T24 news site cited Koca as saying, responding to parliamentary question filed by an opposition lawmaker.A total of 858 specialist physicians, 1,410 general practitioners and 144 resident doctors threw in the towel since the beginning of the pandemic, the health minister said. Turkey’s healthcare workers have borne the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic, often having to work well beyond their shift limits and contracting COVID-19 at alarming rates. In September, the country’s medical workers launched a series of protest events, accusing Ankara of mismanaging the pandemic and putting medical workers at risk.
 Turkey’s Ministry of Justice asked the Keskin chief public prosecutor to take a series of measures to isolate and closely monitor the communications of former high court judges who were removed from their jobs and imprisoned on terror charges in the aftermath of a 2016 coup attempt, a letter classified as “secret” has revealed, the Stockholm Center for Freedom reported. The letter, dated October 2016, asks the Keskin Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office to prevent former judges from congregating with other prisoners and to request transfer of other inmates in event of overcrowding to ensure that the judges remain isolated. The ministry also requested a floor plan showing exactly where each inmate was staying, including the cell numbers, and said special attention needed to be paid when cell reallocation was necessary. Read the full article Person on Trial for ‘Insulting the President’ in Istanbul The final trial of the case against Sabri Uzun, former chief of Intelligence Department of Security Directorate, is held at Ankara Penal Court of First Instance No 31 on February 15, 2021. The court sentenced Sabri Uzun to 11 months and 20 days on the charge of ‘insulting the President’ and postponed the sentence. Detained HDP executives and members
 Detained Co-Mayor, City Council Members and HDP Executives in Batman Detained City Council Member and HDP Executives in Siirt Detained HDP Executives in Kars Detained City Council Member, HDP Executive and Association Executive in Ağrı Detained HDP Executives in Batman Detained HDP Member in Diyarbakır Detained HDP Members in Manisa Detained HDP Executive in Elazığ Detained HDP Executive in Van
On February 15, 2021 the Ministry of Interior declared that 718 people including HDP’s provincial and district co-chairs are detained in operations covering 40 cities through “PKK/KCK” investigations. Detained Co-Mayor, City Council Member and HDP Executives in Batman Gülistan Sönük, Şükran Çotak, İdris Yalçın and Suat Öztekin are released after statement procedures at the gendarmerie on the same day. It is learned that 4 people (HDP district executive Tayfun Güney, HDP provincial executive Murat Kılıç, HDP Youth Assembly members Mehmet Emin Salman and Seyid Ali Doğan) are still under custody. Detained HDP Executive and Other People in Konya for Social Media Posts Detained HDP Executives in Kars Detained HDP Members in Kocaeli Detained HDP Member in Şırnak Detained HDP Members and Executives in Aydın Detained HDP Executives in Yalova Detained HDP Executive in Mersin Co-Mayor on Trial Police Raid to a Political Party Office in Aydın Investigation Against Parliamentary Members
Torture and Ill-Treatment in Police Interventions to Protests in Istanbul and Izmir
Torture and Ill-Treatment in Police Interventions to Protests in Istanbul One of the detainees, K. Ç, stated the following on physical violence and sexual abuse: “There were 4 riot police officers behind me. Somebody squeezed my bottom while I was encircled. I turned back as I noticed, and I saw these 4 riot police officers behind me, and I reacted against them, telling to move away. (…) While they were putting me in the detention car, my right arm was twisted and I was dragged then I was pushed to the detention car, facing down on it. At that moment, the police officer who was holding my right arm, pushed his leg on my genitals and tried to handcuff me behind my back. A female friend by me reacted against him and told him to get his leg back. I was handcuffed behind my back and put in the detention car.” Another detainee E. E., stated the following: “We were attacked on a busy street so many of us were in danger of being hit by the cars. While they were detaining us, at least 10 police officers were swooping down on per person. As a result, one of our friend has a fracture in foot, one has dislocated jaw and another one has head trauma because of being beaten.” Şeyma Çopur stated the following: “We were waiting at the bus stop while we were faced with violence of the police. There were no warnings, the police chief ran to us, pushed one of our friend, saying ‘look down’. We were detained immediately. (…) They handcuffed all of us behind our backs. We were harassed both physically and verbally, they cursed at us a lot. They said, ‘We are the state, do you know what we can do here?’. They squeezed testicles of our male friends. We were still in handcuffs behind our backs under custody. One of our friend were suffering from serious bruises on the wrist but they did not loosen the handcuffs. The police officers dislocated one friend’s jaw. We were beaten in the detention car, I have crushes and bruises on my body.” Batuhan Çotur stated the following: “The police verbally harassed and committed physical violence while they were detaining us. They punched us and dragged on the floor. They used handcuffs behind our backs and put us in the detention car. Verbal harassment and physical torture continued in the detention car as well.” Rıdvan Gezer stated the following: “The police tried to handcuff us behind our backs while they were detaining us. Then they failed to handcuff us and tried to take off our face masks, pushed us and dragged to the detention car. Many of our friends were kicked and punched at these moments. I was put in the car without handcuffs so they dragged me out of the car, and tortured me to put handcuffs. Then I was taken to another car, a police officer came behind me and started to punch me. And he brought another friend of mine, and pushed him on my body, then he took a club from the car and started to hit both of us. I was in handcuffs behind my back so I could not cover my head, he hit my head at least twice with the club.” Elif Üçerli stated the following: “We were detained around 16.30, and were kept in the detention car until 5 a.m. in the ne next morning. This was itself a form of torture. They continuously beat us; I still have pain in my shoulders. I suffered from high blood tension for a long time in there. They tried to seize our phones without any record.” Tanya Kara stated the following: “They detained us with torture. We were walking on the street while they have detained us. They dragged our friends on the ground, they forced us to lay down on the ground and handcuffed us behind our backs. There were four or five police officers stepping onto us. Some of our friends are severely beaten at the head. They insulted us, and threatened us saying ‘Do not forget our faces’. They were especially rough on women. They pulled their hair, and kicked them on the ground while detaining. A friend of us who was detained in Bebek, was kicked at her vagina.” Caner Delisu stated the following: “They brought a baton in the detention car and hit one of our friend with it, even at the head. They were threatening us, saying ‘We will finish you’. They kicked our head to the car when we rejected being handcuffed behind our backs. They did this in front of the hospital. When we reacted, they went in and started to insult us, they said ‘You are terrorists’. They kicked my leg just before I went into the doctor’s room”. (02/039) Torture and Ill-Treatment in Police Interventions to Protests in Izmir One of the detainees, Berke Avcı, stated the following: “There were 7 or 8 police officers coming onto me and they started to pull me, one of them hit my head with the police wireless when they could not make me fall down, and the wireless broke into pieces. Then the number of police officers raised, and they forced me to lay down on the ground. I was resisting while they were pulling my hands towards my back to handcuff me. One of the police officers started to kick my stomach while the other was kicking my head. I was trying to lift my body and a police officer stepped on my head, and stayed on my head on one leg for a while. Then they pushed me back to the ground, a police officer stepped on my hand this time. Then I noticed that the police officers were pushing harder to handcuff me behind my back so that they were about to break my hand, I let them to take my hands towards my back. I was wearing a coat and a rucksack so they could not fasten the cable tie. This made them to force my hand further. (…) I saw that many of my friends in the detention car were in handcuffs behind their backs and they were being beaten by the police pulling their hair, sitting on them and kicking them.” Zilan Tayboğa stated the following: “I was handcuffed behind my back while being detained. A male police officer pushed his knee on my back, another one pulled my hair and hit my head to the ground which split my lip open and bleed. (…) They continued to beat us in the detention car.” |
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In Turkey, the developments concerning press freedom and journalists’ trials in January 2021 constituted a sort of “handbook for prosecuting journalists”. During the month, at least 43 journalists appeared before a judge in various trials across 10 cities. In other words, two journalists were tried every day. 
Turkish Interior Ministry has filed requests to lift the parliamentary immunities of nine lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), including co-chair Pervin Buldan, over their alleged role in a series of street protests in 2014, dubbed the Kobane Incidents, 
Turkey has a long history of state-sponsored abductions and enforced disappearances, particularly 
The neighbourhood of Sur in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish southeastern province of Diyarbakır is our home of 7,000 years.
The ancient neighbourhood, which once flourished as a popular tourism destination in the heart of the Kurdish capital of Amed, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has been through hell over the last six years. A look at Turkey’s brain drain |
 A total of 330,289 people emigrated from Turkey in 2019, according to the government’s official statistics body. Turkey’s brain drain has been talked about for a number of years, but it is quite difficult to quantify exactly what effect it is having, because it’s difficult to measure the impact of people not being somewhere. Read the full article |
Read more about brain drain in turkey |
Turkey’s press freedom violations in numbers |
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| 70 | 170 | 1406 | 76% |
| Journalists imprisoned in Turkey |
Media outlets forcibly closed since 2016 |
Years of jail time handed to journalists since 2016 |
Evidence direcctley consisting of journalistic work |
| Souce: https://freeturkeyjournalists.ipi.media/ | |||
Turkish Militias and Proxies |
 Erdoğan has created a private military and paramilitary system. He deploys this apparatus for domestic and foreign operations without official oversight.This study, which reveals the extent to which Turkey aggressively deploys proxies and militias to project power across the Middle East, is the first fruit of a cooperation agreement between the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and TRENDS Research & Advisory of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. The two institutes will continue to research together regional military and security issues. They also intend to conduct symposia and maintain academic exchange programs. Read the full article |
Advocates of silenced Turkey report 2020 |
 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 130,214 homemakers, teachers, NGO workers, academics, judges, prosecutors, and journalists. Read more......... |
Human rights lawyers in Turkey face threats and detention |
 24 January marks the Day of the Endangered Lawyer, a moment to recognise the
threats facing lawyers around the world who dare to stand up for human rights. In recent
years Amnesty International has felt the impact of these threats close to home, through the government crackdown on our colleagues in Turkey. Read the article............ |
Council of Europe anti-torture Committee |
 Report to the Turkish Government on the visit to Turkey carried out
by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment (CPT) |
BİA Media Monitor 2020 |
 In 2020, 23 journalists were
sentenced to a total of
103 years and 3 days
in prison.
At least 48 journalists
were detained in a year,
430 journalists were detained
in five years.
At least 18 journalists were assaulted in 2020, 139 journalists
were
assaulted in five years. In six years, 63 journalists
were convicted of "insulting the president. Critical newspapers'
public
ads were
suspended for 276 days. Read the full article |
3,362 people killed, 3,534 mistreated or tortured
in Turkey in 2020, |
 An annual report on human rights violations in Turkey, drafted by main
opposition
Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmaker Sezgin Tanrıkulu, has
revealed 3,362 deaths
and 3,534 incidents of torture or maltreatment in 2020,
with 1,855 of them taking place
in prisons, the İleri Haber news website reported on Saturday. Read the full article |
The year is 2020: What happened?! |
|
Reports about torture and ill-treatment in Turkey |
 Provided by HRFT Documentation Center Human Rights Report. September 2020 - October 2020 - November 2020 - December 2020 - January 2021 |
| HRFT Documentation Center Human Rights Report 1 - 16 February 2021 reports about torture and ill-treatment in Turkey. |
(02/229) Torture and Ill-Treatment in Prison
Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) made a declaration on February 17, 2021 and stated that, Dilek Hatipoğlu, Hakkari co-mayor, who was transferred from Ankara Sinan Prison to Van T Type Prison on February 12, 2021 rejected to strip search at the entrance of prison, and that she was subjected to strip search by the correction officers using physical violence against her.
It is learned from the news coverage of February 16, 2021 that, prisoners in Düzce T Type Prison were subjected to verbal violence of the correction officers during ward searches.
(02/231) Torture and Ill-Treatment Under Custody
It is learned from the news coverage of February 16, 2021 that, HDP Youth Assembly member Muhammed Ünal was subjected to physical and psychological torture and ill-treatment under custody at Istanbul Directorate of Security. Muhammed Ünal was arrested on February 7, 2021 for the protests against new rector appointed to Boğaziçi University, and he was released upon appeal on February 12, 2021.
Muhammed Ünal stated the following: “At the security directorate, they asked me questions, ‘Why did you come to Boğaziçi? Who sent you? Why are you here, what is your purpose? Who are you working for?’ and said ‘If you help us we will help you too’. (…) When I asked them whether these questions are within the official statement, they responded ‘No, we are having a casual conversation’. I told them it was a criminal act what they do, and I will not speak without my lawyer and use the right to remain silent. And then I was subjected to physical and psychological violence and torture.”
(02/169) Torture and Ill-Treatment in Prison
It is learned from the news coverage of February 11, 2021 that, 5 prisoners in Mersin Tarsus Prison Compound are transferred to other prisons under coercion. It is stated that 3 prisoners (Gökhan Çetin and 2 prisoners) were transferred to Kayseri Bünyan T Type Prison and 2 prisoners (Vedat Bektaş and Selahattin Ortaç) are transferred to Manisa Akhisar T Type Prison.
(02/136) Torture and Ill-Treatment in Prison
It is learned from the news coverage of February 10, 2021 that, Murat Aktaş, a prisoner who was subjected to physical violence of the correction officers in Edirne F Type Prison was subjected to disciplinary proceedings.
(02/073) Torture and Ill-Treatment in Prison
It is learned from the news coverage of February 4, 2021 that in Mardin E Type Prison, water cuts are too often and the food given to prisoners is non-hygienic.
(02/058) Torture and Ill-Treatment in Prison
It is learned from the news coverage of February 3, 2021 that, in Van T Type Prison, after the search in the ward where journalists Şehriban Abi and Nazan Şen are also kept in, blankets in the ward were seized without any reason by the officers.
It is learned from the news coverage of February 3, 2021 that, in Van High Security Prison, the letter of journalist Cemil Uğur addressing Evrensel daily newspaper was considered as improper because of expressions on journalist Metin Göktepe, who was killed by the police in 1996, and on torture and ill-treatment in prison; and that the letter was seized by prison administration.
(02/058) Torture and Ill-Treatment in Prison
It is learned from the news coverage of February 3, 2021 that, in Van T Type Prison, after the search in the ward where journalists Şehriban Abi and Nazan Şen are also kept in, blankets in the ward were seized without any reason by the officers.
It is learned from the news coverage of February 3, 2021 that, in Van High Security Prison, the letter of journalist Cemil Uğur addressing Evrensel daily newspaper was considered as improper because of expressions on journalist Metin Göktepe, who was killed by the police in 1996, and on torture and ill-treatment in prison; and that the letter was seized by prison administration.
(02/036) Torture and Ill-Treatment in Prison
It is learned from the news coverage of February 2, 2021 that, prisoners who reject strip search in Malatya Akçadağ T Type Prison were subjected to physical violence, and that prisoners were forced to stand up during roll-calls, hot and cold water given to prisoners was restricted and social, cultural and sports rights of prisoners were restricted too.
(02/038) Torture and Ill-Treatment in Police Interventions to Protests in Istanbul
It is learned that the people who were detained in police interventions against protests of police interventions against protests in Boğaziçi University in Istanbul on February 2, 2021, were subjected to physical and verbal violence of the police during interventions and under custody; and that at least 1 woman was subjected to sexual abuse. It is also learned that 1 journalist was injured at face by a rubber bullet fired by the police.
One of the detainees, K. Ç, stated the following on physical violence and sexual abuse: “There were 4 riot police officers behind me. Somebody squeezed my bottom while I was encircled. I turned back as I noticed, and I saw these 4 riot police officers behind me, and I reacted against them, telling to move away. (…) While they were putting me in the detention car, my right arm was twisted and I was dragged then I was pushed to the detention car, facing down on it. At that moment, the police officer who was holding my right arm, pushed his leg on my genitals and tried to handcuff me behind my back. A female friend by me reacted against him and told him to get his leg back. I was handcuffed behind my back and put in the detention car.”
Another detainee E. E., stated the following: “We were attacked on a busy street so many of us were in danger of being hit by the cars. While they were detaining us, at least 10 police officers were swooping down on per person. As a result, one of our friend has a fracture in foot, one has dislocated jaw and another one has head trauma because of being beaten.”
Şeyma Çopur stated the following: “We were waiting at the bus stop while we were faced with violence of the police. There were no warnings, the police chief ran to us, pushed one of our friend, saying ‘look down’. We were detained immediately. (…) They handcuffed all of us behind our backs. We were harassed both physically and verbally, they cursed at us a lot. They said, ‘We are the state, do you know what we can do here?’. They squeezed testicles of our male friends. We were still in handcuffs behind our backs under custody. One of our friend were suffering from serious bruises on the wrist but they did not loosen the handcuffs. The police officers dislocated one friend’s jaw. We were beaten in the detention car, I have crushes and bruises on my body.”
Batuhan Çotur stated the following: “The police verbally harassed and committed physical violence while they were detaining us. They punched us and dragged on the floor. They used handcuffs behind our backs and put us in the detention car. Verbal harassment and physical torture continued in the detention car as well.”
Rıdvan Gezer stated the following: “The police tried to handcuff us behind our backs while they were detaining us. Then they failed to handcuff us and tried to take off our face masks, pushed us and dragged to the detention car. Many of our friends were kicked and punched at these moments. I was put in the car without handcuffs so they dragged me out of the car, and tortured me to put handcuffs. Then I was taken to another car, a police officer came behind me and started to punch me. And he brought another friend of mine, and pushed him on my body, then he took a club from the car and started to hit both of us. I was in handcuffs behind my back so I could not cover my head, he hit my head at least twice with the club.”
Elif Üçerli stated the following: “We were detained around 16.30, and were kept in the detention car until 5 a.m. in the ne next morning. This was itself a form of torture. They continuously beat us; I still have pain in my shoulders. I suffered from high blood tension for a long time in there. They tried to seize our phones without any record.”
Tanya Kara stated the following: “They detained us with torture. We were walking on the street while they have detained us. They dragged our friends on the ground, they forced us to lay down on the ground and handcuffed us behind our backs. There were four or five police officers stepping onto us. Some of our friends are severely beaten at the head. They insulted us, and threatened us saying ‘Do not forget our faces’. They were especially rough on women. They pulled their hair, and kicked them on the ground while detaining. A friend of us who was detained in Bebek, was kicked at her vagina.”
Caner Delisu stated the following: “They brought a baton in the detention car and hit one of our friend with it, even at the head. They were threatening us, saying ‘We will finish you’. They kicked our head to the car when we rejected being handcuffed behind our backs. They did this in front of the hospital. When we reacted, they went in and started to insult us, they said ‘You are terrorists’. They kicked my leg just before I went into the doctor’s room”.
(02/039) Torture and Ill-Treatment in Police Interventions to Protests in Izmir
It is learned that the people who were detained in police interventions against press declarations to protest police interventions to protests in Boğaziçi University and to protests discrimination against LGBTIQs in Izmir on February 2, 2021, were subjected to torture and ill-treatment of the police during interventions and under custody.
One of the detainees, Berke Avcı, stated the following: “There were 7 or 8 police officers coming onto me and they started to pull me, one of them hit my head with the police wireless when they could not make me fall down, and the wireless broke into pieces. Then the number of police officers raised, and they forced me to lay down on the ground. I was resisting while they were pulling my hands towards my back to handcuff me. One of the police officers started to kick my stomach while the other was kicking my head. I was trying to lift my body and a police officer stepped on my head, and stayed on my head on one leg for a while. Then they pushed me back to the ground, a police officer stepped on my hand this time. Then I noticed that the police officers were pushing harder to handcuff me behind my back so that they were about to break my hand, I let them to take my hands towards my back. I was wearing a coat and a rucksack so they could not fasten the cable tie. This made them to force my hand further. (…) I saw that many of my friends in the detention car were in handcuffs behind their backs and they were being beaten by the police pulling their hair, sitting on them and kicking them.”
Zilan Tayboğa stated the following: “I was handcuffed behind my back while being detained. A male police officer pushed his knee on my back, another one pulled my hair and hit my head to the ground which split my lip open and bleed. (…) They continued to beat us in the detention car.”
(02/021) Torture and Ill-Treatment in Prison
It is learned from the news coverage of February 1, 2021 that, in Mersin Tarsus Women’s Prison, hot water is not provided to the wards on the grounds of building renovation process and thus prisoners have to use cold water in showers. It is also stated in the news reports that the heating does not work in wards.
It is learned from the news coverage of February 1, 2021 that, Doğu Demirtaş and Selahattin Can Uğuzeş, Boğaziçi University students who were arrested on January 30, 2021, were subjected to verbal violence of the correction officers in Metris Prison.
January 2021 |
Source: https://en.tihv.org.tr/
Black Sites in Turkey |
 In a near-repeat of the CIA’s ‘extraordinary renditions’, the regime of Turkish president
Erdoğan is kidnapping dozens of members of the Gülen movement from around the world. Victims are now raising a serious accusation: secret torture sites are part of the repression.
A team of nine media organizations from eight countries, coordinated by CORRECTIV, investigates. Read the story |
Turkey's Academic Community in Paralysis |
 Following a four-year crackdown and
a massive purge of scholars, Turkey's
academic community is now severely paralyzed, while thousands of dismissed academics still await justice, facing lengthy delays in appealing their dismissals and unable to work in academia. Read the report. |
The Kobanî massacre and the protests afterwards. |
|
Torture and ill-treatment in Turkey |
 Every month, human rights organizations, the media and victims report cases of torture and
ill-treatment in Turkish prisons and police stations. Here are some sources: |
Operation Gladio B (II) |
 Operation Gladio B was a classified ongoing expansion of Operation Gladio. The original Gladio was established just after the end of World War II by a small number of senior officials withinOSS/CIA, MI6 and NATO. This was a top secret network of fascist "stay-behind" cells trained to carry out acts of terrorism in the event of a Soviet invasion. This was exposed in the 1980's after they were used to carry out a string of false flag attacks , mostly in Italy, which were initially blamed on communist groups. As the cold war ended, this strategy of tension was diversified to include Gladio B, which substitutes Muslims for fascists and neo-nazis. Read about Gladio B |
The Imam's Army |
 The Imam's Army (Turkish: İmamın Ordusu) is a book by Turkish journalist Ahmet Şık on the life and work of Fethullah Gülen and his Gülen movement.
Şık was detained in March 2011, before the book was published, and the draft book was seized by the government and banned, claiming it was an "illegal organizational document" of the secret organization Ergenekon.
Şık was detained pending trial, being eventually released pending trial in March 2012. In the interim, in an act of anti-censorship defiance, a version of the book was released in November 2011 under the name 000Kitap (000Book). Read more about "The Imam's Army" |
Turkey’s new law designed to prevent terrorism financing raises the possibility that rights groups may be abolished in the country, said Tarık Beyhan, a director at Amnesty International in Turkey.
“This law provides the interior minister with the authority to shut down any group whenever he wants without a chance for appeal,” Beyhan said, according to the Financial Times.
The bill, drafted by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), was introduced to comply with a United Nations Security Council counterterrorism resolution and was approved in response to a 2019 report by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental money-laundering and terrorism financing watchdog.
Turkey’s parliament passed the "Law on Preventing Financing of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction” on early on Sunday. It subjects non-governmental organisations to Interior Ministry inspections and requests for permission to accept donations, limiting online fundraising. It also allows the government to appoint trustees to NGO boards and halt their activities based on inspection reports rather than a court decision.
“Additional provisions were added secretly with the ulterior motive of further limiting the freedom of civil society to organise and assemble,” Beyhan said. “Human rights groups are frequently exposed to terrorism accusations (and) this law relies on ambiguous definitions of terrorism to render associations dysfunctional.”
The oversight rules for NGOs apply to a myriad of civil society groups, from rights advocates to sports associations to religious groups, the FT said.
A crackdown on civil society in Turkey intensified after 2016, when the government declared a state of emergency following a failed military coup and presidential decrees shut down 1,748 foundations and associations in the span of two years.
Council of Europe media freedom alerts: TurkeyJournalists Arrested in Major Clampdown 2016-17-18-19 |
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