In the Turkey section of the “2021 Human Rights Report”, prepared by US State Department’s, it is stated that the government in Turkey has “restricted fundamental freedoms and jeopardized the rule of law” by using the comprehensive anti-terrorism law adopted in 2018.
It has been stated in the report that the Turkish National Police and the Gendarmerie are under the control of the Ministry of Interior and that security forces have committed some human rights violations and corruption, but the government has taken limited steps to investigate, prosecute and punish members of the security forces and other officials accused of human rights violations, and that impunity for those who commit these crimes remains a problem.
The report notes that since the attempted coup in 2016, tens of thousands of public officials have been dismissed, more than 60,000 civil servants and employees, including police and military, more than 4,000 judges and prosecutors, and more than 95,000 citizens have been arrested or convicted; 1,500 non-governmental organisations have been closed down on “terrorism-related” charges, mainly because of their links to the cleric Fethullah Gülen movement, which the Government accuses.
The report states that “significant human rights violations include the following:
- Arbitrary killings,
- Suspicious deaths in custody,
- Forced disappearances,
- Torture,
- The arbitrary arrest and detention of tens of thousands of people, including opposition politicians, former MPs, lawyers, journalists, human rights defenders and US Embassy staff, for alleged links to ‘terrorist’ groups or for legitimate peaceful speech,
- Political prisoners, including elected officials,
- Politically motivated reprisals against individuals outside the country, including the abduction and transfer without due process of law of alleged members of the Gülen Movement,
- Significant problems with judicial independence,
- Providing support to Syrian opposition groups that have committed serious abuses in the conflict, including the recruitment and use of children as soldiers,
- Violence and threats of violence against journalists, severe restrictions on freedom of expression, press and internet freedom, closure of media organizations and arrests or criminal prosecution of journalists and others for criticizing government policies or officials, censorship, site blocking and criminal defamation laws,
- Severe restrictions on freedom of assembly, association and movement, including overly restrictive laws on state surveillance of non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations,
- Some cases of deportation of refugees,
- Serious harassment of local human rights organizations by the government,
- Gender-based violence,
- Violent offences targeting members of ethnic minority groups,
- Violent offences against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons.”
The report gives examples of arbitrary killings, other unlawful or politically motivated killings, disappearances, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in Turkey. In relation to these issues, reference is made to the law on the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and it is emphasized that according to the law MIT employees are exempt from prosecution as “security officers involved in the fight against terrorism”. You can access the Turkey section of the US Human Rights Report 2021 here:
