This report has been prepared by the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey in order to bring the escalating repression, obstacles and challenges faced by human rights defenders in Turkey into light and to strengthen solidarity with human rights defenders.
The report is based on information gathered by the Regional Solidarity and Cooperation Groups established to identify the pressures and challenges faced by human rights defenders in Adana, Ankara, Diyarbakır, Istanbul, Izmir, Van, and neighboring provinces and to strengthen solidarity with them. It should nevertheless be noted that repression and challenges faced by human rights defenders in Turkey might be much more than those included in this report.
Introduction
Human rights defenders[1] and civil society actors in Turkey face pressure, obstacles, and difficulties due to their work for the protection and promotion of human rights and the prevention of human rights violations, in particular for making human rights violations visible and for opposing policies and practices of the authorities that violate human rights. Judicial and administrative harassment, threats, physical violence and targeting of human rights defenders, as well as obstructions of and ban on peaceful meetings, demonstrations and marches will be shared in this report prepared by the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey.[2]
Between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2022, a total of 4819 [3] [4] individuals were subjected to one or more of the following interventions: judicial harassment, administrative harassment, physical violence, threats, targeting and reprisals. In the same period, 16 associations, 5 professional organizations and 1 foundation were directly or indirectly targeted and subjected to judicial and administrative harassment due to their human rights activities. A total of 311 peaceful meetings, demonstrations and marches were obstructed in 34 different cities.
[1] The UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly on 9 April 1998, defines the concept of human rights defenders as persons who act to promote, protect or strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms through peaceful means individually and collectively at the national and international levels or those who exercise such right. The Declaration lists the constituents of human rights defenders as individuals, groups, and organizations. This report was prepared thanks to the information and data collected by Regional Solidarity and Cooperation Groups based on the criteria set forth in the Declaration.
[2] HRFT is an internationally recognized civil society organization that has been offering treatment and rehabilitation services for those subjected to torture and other forms of ill-treatment along with their families, and has been working to prevent human rights violations, most notably torture since 1990.
[3] The included data were identified by the Regional Solidarity and Cooperation Groups established within the scope of the project. The data was obtained through interviews conducted by group members with the defenders, their relatives and lawyers, limited media monitoring, and interviews with other organizations and individuals active in the field of human rights in the provinces.
[4] Although the Documentation Center at the HRFT accepts the concept of human rights defender in accordance with the definition stated in footnote 1, violations in the “Annual Human Rights Reports” prepared by the Documentation Center may differ from the data on violations presented in this report as they are classified according to different categories of rights.