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Human Rights in Türkiye

�Current issues

Chris Ramsey ( Country Coordinator for Türkiye )

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Türkiye: an overview

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

AKP (Justice and Development Party)

Secularism vs Islamism

Relationships with the Kurds

Consequences of the Syrian Civil war

The attempted coup in 2016

Elections 2028

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Relationships with the Kurds

In 2025, the Turkish–Kurdish peace process witnessed several breakthrough developments, most notably the disarmament of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the organisation’s self-dissolution, and the withdrawal of its fighters to northern Iraq.

The Turkish also considers the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to be part of the organisation. The SDF controls the Kurdish de facto autonomous region in northern Syria, known as Rojava, and Turkey insists that this area be reintegrated into Syria’s state structures.

The Kurds are demanding an expansion of ethnic minority rights, which would necessitate amendments to the current constitution.

Despite the fact that more progress has been made with these issues than for many years, negotiations have reached an impasse, with any agreement requiring significant concessions from both sides.

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Selahattin Demirtaş (born 10 April 1973) is a Kurdish politician, lawyer and author. He was the co-leader of the left-wing pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP)

Demirtaş was arrested on 4 November 2016.

On 20 November 2018 the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled Demirtaş should be released from preliminary detention and repeats this in 2020

He remains in detention

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Kurdish prisoner’s release blocked due to ‘likelihood of maintaining ties’ with the PKK despite its disbandment

The 75-year-old seriously ill prisoner’s appeal was denied by the İzmir court.

The İzmir 2nd Execution Judgeship Court rejected Kurdish prisoner Mehmet Sait Yıldırım’s appeal against the prison’s Administrative and Monitoring Board’s decision to block his release for the third time. Despite spending 33 years in prison and being eligible for release since Feb. 27, 2025, the seriously ill 75-year-old will remain behind bars.

The initial prison board’s decision found that if Yıldırım were released he would likely continue his connection with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

(BIANET 7 Sept 2026)

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Muhammed Fethullah Gülen

(27 April 1941 – 20 October 2024)

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Under the current constitution, the incumbent head of state cannot seek another term if elections are held in 2028, in accordance with the constitutional timetable. Instead of Erdoğan, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) could put forward a successor of his choosing

Erdoğan could stand in the next presidential election if it is held earlier. The Turkish constitution allows for this: if early elections are called, a president serving a second term is eligible to stand again. AKP politicians have unofficially acknowledged that early elections could take place in the autumn of 2027

Another scenario would involve adopting a new constitution as part of the Turkish-Kurdish peace process, thereby ‘resetting’ the president’s term limits and securing Kurdish support. However, this appears increasingly difficult to achieve, given the slow pace of negotiations with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and the significant risks associated with holding a referendum, which could turn into a plebiscite for or against the government.

Presidential elections 2028

Erdoğan’s options

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Human Rights issues

A litany of abuses:

Suppression of any political opposition

Undermining of the independence of the judiciary

Attacks on civil society and the hounding of human rights defenders

Attacks on freedom of expression especially for journalist and the media

Attacks on freedom of assembly

Diminution of the rights of women and LGBTI people

Impunity for members of the security services who carry out torture

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Arrested on 19 March 2025 on suspicion of corruption, extortion, bribery, money laundering, espionage, and supporting terrorism, particularly the PKK.

Charged with corruption he faces over 2,000 years in prison if found guilty on all counts!

His trial with 399 other defendants commenced on 8 March 2026 but could well go on for several years

Istanbul’s Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu

Republican People's Party (CHP)

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On 23 May , an appeals court removed the head of the of İmamoğlu’s Republican People’s party (CHP), Özgür Özel, by annulling its 2023 leadership contest. The court decided that Özel should be replaced by Kemal Kilicdaroğlu, a 77-year-old party veteran who was defeated by Erdoğan in the 2023 presidential election.

51-year-old Özel was credited with reviving the CHP, which trounced Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) in 2024 local elections.

With İmamoğlu likely to still be in prison, he is seen as a potentially strong candidate to stand in the next presidential elections, due to take place in 2028 and therefore a potential threat by the AKP.

Özgür Özel

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AKP takes control of İstanbul’s Üsküdar district, opposition claims threat from prosecutors

The ruling party seized the district municipality after some voting members were detained and others changed sides. The opposition claims one council member was threatened by a prosecutor and those who switched to the AKP were kept under police supervision. (BIANET 09 September 2026)

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The undermining of Civil Society (1)

All dissent, and even simple criticism is treated as criminal

and often as associated with terrorism

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The undermining of Civil Society

Attacks on the media and journalists

Attacking freedom of expression and freedom of assembly:

Strict control of the “Saturday Mothers” banning of Pride Marches,

Gezi commemorations etc etc

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Current position of journalists in Türkiye

Reporters Without Borders (RSF)2025 index

Türkiye: 163th out of 180

(cf Norway 1, UK 18 )

120 journalists on trial

24 journalists/media workers in prison

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Tele1 editor-in-chief Merdan Yanardag has been arrested on charges of “espionage” and then released on bail.

In its indictment dated 4 February 2026, the Istanbul Public Prosecutor's Office requested a prison sentence of 15 to 20 years for Merdan Yanardag for “political espionage,” as well as the seizure of Tele1, one of the last television channels to sympathise with the opposition

Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court of Türkiye has confirmed that his previous detention, in May 2023, for producing “propaganda for a terrorist organisation” was unlawful.

He is now being prosecuted for the fourth time in five years!

Merdan Yanardag

Editor in Chief of Tele 1

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The Gezi 7 (now 5!)

Mücella Yapıcı : Architect

Tayfun Kahraman: Town Planner

Can Atalay: Lawyer

Mine Özerden : Documentary film maker

Çiğdem Mater: Film producer

Hakan Altınay: Director of Global Civics Society

Osman Kavala: Businessman and Philanthropist

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2026:13th anniversary of Gezi Park protests marked in Taksim Square

In 2013, the government planned to demolish Gezi Park in Taksim Square to rebuild the historical artillery barracks as a shopping and commercial centre. On May 28, 2013, about 50 environmental activists set up tents in the park to resist the project.

Protests grew in Istanbul with tens of thousands taking to the streets before transforming into countrywide anti-government protests by early June. Protesters occupied Gezi Park for about two weeks before a police crackdown cleared the area.

In the crackdown on the protests 8 people died and over 8,000 were injured

Across the country over 3 million people came out in sympathy protests

Eventually the government agreed that Gezi would remain as a park and not be redeveloped with buildings