The judiciary failed to uphold fair trial guarantees and due process, continuing to misuse broadly defined anti-terrorism laws to penalize actions protected under international human rights law. Members of the judiciary and legal profession faced sanctions for legitimately performing their duties. Judicial harassment of journalists, politicians, activists, social media users, and human rights defenders persisted, targeting real or perceived dissent. In the baseless Büyükada trial, four human rights defenders, including Taner Kılıç, were convicted. Osman Kavala remained imprisoned despite being acquitted in the Gezi trial and a European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruling for his release. Some government figures, including President Erdoğan, publicly supported anti-LGBTI comments by a senior state official. The ruling party also threatened to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention. Legal amendments enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic excluded from early release those unjustly convicted under anti-terrorism laws and individuals in pre-trial detention. Reports of torture and other ill-treatment remained credible and widespread.
Background
In February, Turkey launched "Operation Spring Shield," a military offensive against Syrian forces following airstrikes in Idlib that killed 33 Turkish soldiers (see Syria entry). Simultaneously, Turkey opened its borders with the EU, facilitating the movement of thousands of asylum-seekers and migrants to Greece’s borders. Greek forces responded with violent pushbacks, resulting in at least three deaths. In April, the Turkish government used the COVID-19 pandemic to intensify its crackdown on the opposition, banning donation campaigns led by opposition-run municipalities and investigating fundraising efforts by the mayors of Istanbul and Ankara.
In response to the pandemic, the Ministry of Health prohibited health workers from resigning in March and again in October. Initially intended as a temporary measure, the prohibition was later extended indefinitely.
In November and December, social media companies such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram were fined 40 million Turkish liras (over €4 million) each for not appointing legal representatives in Turkey as required by an amended social media law. Companies failing to comply faced additional sanctions, including reduced bandwidth that could render their platforms inaccessible. In December, YouTube announced plans to establish a legal entity in Turkey to abide by the law.
Judiciary and Lawyers
The Council of Judges and Prosecutors initiated a disciplinary investigation against three judges who, on February 18, acquitted the Gezi trial defendants, including civil society leader Osman Kavala, which remained ongoing at the end of the year. The investigation followed the president's public criticism of the acquittal.
Parliament enacted a law restructuring bar associations in July, drawing widespread opposition. Thousands of lawyers protested, and 78 out of 80 bar associations signed a statement condemning the reform, which undermines the associations' independence and authority.
Criminal investigations against lawyers defending clients accused of “terrorism-related offenses” persisted.
In September, police detained 47 lawyers on allegations of “membership of a terrorist organization,” primarily based on their professional activities. At least 15 of them were placed in pre-trial detention. Additionally, the Court of Cassation upheld the convictions of 14 lawyers from the Progressive Lawyers Association, who had been prosecuted under terrorism-related charges.
Repression of Dissent
The misuse of anti-terrorism laws and punitive pre-trial detention continued to suppress dissent, often in the absence of credible evidence of wrongdoing.
Authorities targeted individuals discussing the COVID-19 pandemic online under the pretext of combating “fake news,” “incitement,” or “spreading fear and panic.” Between March 11 and May 21, the Cyber Crimes Unit of the Interior Ministry accused 1,105 social media users of making “propaganda for a terrorist organization,” detaining 510 for questioning.
In October, the President labeled the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) chair a “terrorist” after the organization criticized the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In April, the government amended the law on sentence execution, permitting the early release of up to 90,000 prisoners. However, this excluded individuals in pre-trial detention and those convicted under terrorism laws.
Former parliamentarians and opposition party members faced continued harassment. In June, an Istanbul Appeals Court upheld the conviction of Canan Kaftancıoğlu, Istanbul Provincial Chairperson of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). Her nine-year, eight-month sentence stemmed from tweets posted seven years earlier. It included charges such as “insulting the President,” “inciting enmity and hatred,” and “making propaganda for a terrorist organization.” Her appeal was pending at the Court of Cassation at year’s end.
In October, 20 current and former members of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democracy Party (HDP), including the Mayor of Kars, Ayhan Bilgen, were detained for their alleged involvement in violent protests from October 2014. The charges relied heavily on social media posts from the HDP’s official account. Following Bilgen’s detention, the Ministry of Interior appointed the Kars Governor as trustee of the municipality. Former HDP co-chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ remained in pre-trial detention as part of the same investigation. A new indictment was pending at the first-instance court by year’s end, despite the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) Grand Chamber calling for Demirtaş’s immediate release, citing multiple rights violations.
In December, Parliament passed a law purportedly aimed at preventing the financing of weapons of mass destruction. The law imposed severe restrictions on civil society organizations, enabling the removal of individuals under prosecution for terrorism-related offenses from NGO boards, who were to be replaced by government-appointed trustees.
Freedom of Expression
Journalists and media workers continued to face pre-trial detention and imprisonment, often under anti-terrorism laws, with legitimate reporting being misrepresented as evidence of criminal activity.
In March, at least 12 journalists were detained for reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic, including journalist and human rights defender Nurcan Baysal, accused of “inciting the public to enmity and hatred” through social media. Six journalists were jailed for covering the funeral of two alleged Turkish intelligence officers killed in Libya. In May, these six and another journalist were indicted for “revealing the identities of intelligence officers.” In September, five were sentenced to prison for “publishing intelligence information.”
Journalists Alptekin Dursunoğlu and Rawin Sterk Yıldız, detained in March for their social media posts, were released at their first hearings in March and September. However, their cases remained ongoing at the end of the year.
Human Rights Defenders
Numerous human rights defenders were subjected to criminal investigations and prosecutions for their activism.
In July, the Büyükada trial concluded with convictions for four human rights defenders. Taner Kılıç was sentenced to six years and three months for “membership of the Fethullah Gülen Terrorist Organization (FETÖ),” while İdil Eser, Günal Kurşun, and Özlem Dalkıran received shorter sentences for “knowingly and willingly supporting FETÖ.” Appeals against these convictions were filed with the Court of Cassation after a regional appeals court upheld the sentences in December.
In February, Osman Kavala and eight others were acquitted of charges related to the 2013 Gezi Park protests. However, Kavala was detained on new charges just hours after his release. In May, the ECtHR reiterated its December 2019 call for his immediate release, condemning his prolonged detention as unlawful and politically motivated. Despite this, an Istanbul court in October accepted new charges against Kavala and US academic Henri Barkey, alleging “attempting to overthrow the constitutional order” and “espionage” without credible evidence. Kavala remained imprisoned at year’s end.
In January, Istanbul prosecutors sought the conviction of human rights lawyer Eren Keskin in the Özgür Gündem trial, along with others who participated in a solidarity campaign. While co-defendants Necmiye Alpay and Aslı Erdoğan were acquitted in February, the case against Keskin and three others continued.
In March, Raci Bilici, former chair of the Diyarbakır branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD), was sentenced to six years and three months for “membership of a terrorist organization” based on his advocacy work. His appeal was pending at the end of the year.
In October, the trial of three police officers and a suspected PKK member accused of involvement in the 2015 killing of human rights lawyer Tahir Elçi began, nearly five years after his death in Diyarbakır. The officers faced charges of “causing death by culpable negligence.”
Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI) People
In April, a senior official from the Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) attributed the spread of HIV/AIDS to homosexuality and extra-marital relationships, calling on followers to fight this “evil” in a sermon focused on the COVID-19 pandemic. President Erdoğan publicly supported the remarks. Bar associations criticizing these statements faced criminal investigations under Article 216/3 of the Penal Code, which penalizes “insulting religious values.”
Rights of Women and Girls
The July murder of 27-year-old student Pınar Gültekin sparked nationwide protests. The trial of two suspects continued at the year’s end.
In August, proposals by members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention led to widespread demonstrations. Women’s rights organizations criticized the government’s failure to implement the Convention effectively, particularly in addressing the rise in domestic violence during COVID-19 restrictions. The Ministry of Interior reported 266 women were killed due to gender-based violence in 2020, though women’s organizations documented much higher figures.
Freedom of Assembly
Authorities banned the International Women’s Day march in Istanbul for the second consecutive year in March. Police used tear gas and plastic bullets to disperse peaceful protesters defying the ban.
In November, six women faced prosecution for “failure to disperse” under Article 32 of the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations. The charges stemmed from their participation in the peaceful December 2019 Las Tesis protest against femicide.
In June, an Ankara administrative court ruled the ban on a campus Pride march was unlawful. However, the trial of 18 students and one Middle East Technical University academic for participating in a 2019 Pride event was postponed to April 2021.
Torture and Other Ill-treatment
In September, Osman Şiban and Servet Turgut were severely injured after being detained and allegedly beaten by soldiers in Van province. Servet Turgut later died in hospital. Eyewitness accounts contradicted official statements from the Van Governor’s Office and the Minister of Interior. A criminal investigation into the torture allegations was initiated but placed under a secrecy order.
In October, four journalists covering the incident were arrested in Van on charges of “membership of a terrorist organization” based on their employment with certain news agencies and reporting on “public incidents aligned with PKK/KCK’s perspective.”
In December, Mehmet Sıddık Meşe, a pre-trial detainee in Diyarbakır prison, was denied medical care and forensic examination after allegedly being severely beaten by guards. By year’s end, authorities had not investigated the allegations independently.
Enforced Disappearances
In February, Gökhan Türkmen, one of seven men linked to the Fethullah Gülen movement who disappeared in 2019, testified in court about being subjected to torture and ill-treatment during his 271-day enforced disappearance. The court ordered a criminal investigation into his claims.
The whereabouts of Yusuf Bilge Tunç, who disappeared in August 2019, remained unknown at the end of 2020.
Rights of Refugees, Asylum-Seekers, and Migrants
Turkey continued to host the world’s largest refugee population, including 3.6 million Syrians among its 4 million refugees. The 2016 EU-Turkey deal remained in effect, with Turkey receiving European financial assistance to manage migration and accept returns.
After declaring its EU borders open on February 27, Turkey encouraged asylum-seekers and migrants to move toward Greece. Violent pushbacks by Greek authorities caused deaths and injuries. By March’s end, Turkish authorities had removed migrants from the border area.
An NGO report in October revealed Turkey deported over 16,000 Syrians to Syria during the year, with some forcibly returned after being pressured to sign documents indicating voluntary return.
As of September, UN data showed Turkey had deported approximately 6,000 people to Afghanistan despite the country’s unsafe conditions for returnees.
