Iranian philosopher Ali Shariati once said: “Do not believe anything in a nation where only the government enjoys freedom of speech.” The wisdom of these words has been proven time and time again, most recently during the Covid-19 pandemic where the Chinese government’s handling of the outbreak included withholding information while blatantly abusing the World Health Organization in a way that possibly cost thousands of lives across the globe.

COVID-19’un siyasi yansımaları krizin en fazla konuşulan ve üzerine öngörülerde bulunulan yönlerinden birisi. Genel beklenti bu krizin uluslararası ilişkilerde ve küresel ekonomide devrimsel sonuçlarının olacağı yönünde. Birçokları beklentiyi Türk iç siyasetine de uyarlamakta. Bu devrimsel sonuçları görmek için henüz erken. Ancak şu ana kadar gerek küresel dengelerde gerekse iç siyasette kriz temel dinamikleri değiştirmedi.

Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan'ın son Moskova ziyaretinde Kremlin Sarayı'nda Putin'le görüşmesi öncesinde dakikalarca bekletilmesine dair görüntüler ev sahibi Rusya adına tam bir nezaketsizlik ve görgüsüzlük örneği. Bir Türk vatandaşı olarak görüntüleri izlerken kahrolmamak elde değil. Rus devlet televizyonunun sözkonusu anları kronometreli olarak yayımlaması olayın Kremlin tarafından önceden kurgulandığını gösteriyor.

Uyanır uyanmaz telefonuma gelen mesajları farkettim. Sabahın erken saatlerinde polislerin hakkımdaki yakalama kararıyla eve geldiğini haber veriyordu iki yıldır görüşemediğim annem. Bir yıl önce, yine bir Şubat günü, yine benimle ilgili gelmişlerdi; ancak bu sefer ziyaretin farklı bir meseleden dolayı olduğunu tahmin edebiliyordum.

Le 28 janvier 2020, le troisième cycle de l’Examen périodique universel de la Turquie a eu lieu devant le Conseil des droits de l’homme des Nations unies à Genève. L’événement fait partie d’un mécanisme unique permettant la mise en avant du bilan en matière des droits humains de chaque membre de l’ONU tous les cinq ans.

"How many people were fired when the reunification happened in Germany?" This question has been persistently used as a cliché answer by the Turkish officials whenever they are asked about the wide-ranging purges in public sector in Turkey.

This submission to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) highlights severe issues undermining the integrity of Türkiye's judiciary, particularly focusing on rampant judicial corruption and impunity as well as human rights abuses which they facilitate. Based on the most recent incidents of corruption concerning members of the judiciary who serve in courts in Istanbul, Izmir and Ankara, this report seeks to examine the high-level corruption within the judiciary and the Turkish government’s failure or even willful ignorance in addressing it.

This report focuses on Turkey's prominence as an emerging market for cocaine trafficking and organized crime in the last decade. Cocaine production in Latin America has dramatically increased since 2013, and Turkey’s status as an emerging market has attracted the attention of Latin American government officials on the front lines of the cocaine trade.

This report sets out to provide a comprehensive analysis of the tactics employed by the Erdoğan administration to achieve repressive goals abroad and the vulnerabilities and how they are enabled by the AML and CFT regulation in place.

This submission highlights the ongoing systematic actions and omissions by Turkish authorities against the so-called members of the Gulen Group, framed as crimes against humanity. It demonstrates the violations of recommendations that even Türkiye has supported.

This report offers an update to the United Nations Committee against Torture (the Committee) regarding the obstacles to implementing the Convention against Torture (the Convention) in Turkey. As a coalition formed by a collective of former Turkish diplomats, our focus is on the systematic torture faced by former diplomats detained at Ankara Police Headquarters. We delve into the Turkish context and present insights from our organization.

His electoral victory in May 2023 gave President Erdoğan five more years to further consolidate his power, eviscerate institutions, fill the bureaucracy with yes-men and expand his corruption network. This, of course, raises questions about the Turkish political system’s chances of recovery, the prospects for democratization after Erdogan and the regime’s tolerance for his demise.