Human Rights Watch shared with the public its 2022 World Report, which reviews human rights practices in nearly 100 countries. In the Turkey section of the report, it was stated that President Erdogan’s authoritarian and highly centralized administration has pushed Turkey’s human rights record back decades. Some of the findings in the report are as follows;
- A restrictive environment prevails in Turkey for the media, human rights defenders, the LGBTQ+ community, Kurdish political activists and others perceived as dissidents by the government.
- Turkey is the first country to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention.
- Turkey continues to ignore the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights persistently. As such, it is the second country in the history of the Council of Europe to face such a sanction process.
- Political control over the courts is at the center of the deep erosion of the rule of law in Turkey.
- Accusations of terrorism and defamation continue to be used to oppress rights advocates and violate their freedom of assembly.
- Impunity continues as a common and systematic practice in cases of rights violations and enforced disappearances perpetrated by law enforcement.
- Many Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) politicians, especially mayors; are in prison as convicts or detained for terrorism offenses due to their legitimate non-violent political activities, speeches and social media posts. A case of closure has also been filed against the HDP…
- Racist and xenophobic attacks against refugees are on the rise.
Please click here for the Turkey section of the report.
Please click here for the full report.