Human Rights Defenders e.V. Berlin participated in the international conference on hate speech and hate crime held in Limerick, Ireland, on 28–29 May.
The conference was organized by the Centre for the Study of Hate at the University of Limerick in close cooperation with the Council of Europe’s Steering Committee on Anti-Discrimination, Diversity and Inclusion (CDADI). The event brought together academics, policymakers, legal practitioners, civil society representatives, and human rights experts from across Europe.
The opening address was delivered by Professor Shane Kilcommins, President of the University of Limerick, while the closing session was led by Professor Jennifer Schweppe, one of the leading scholars in the field of hate crime research. Matteo Tracchi from the Council of Europe’s Hate Speech and Hate Crime Unit also contributed to the closing discussions.
Particular attention was drawn to three presentations addressing the consequences of state-driven stigmatization, hate speech, and discrimination in Türkiye from complementary perspectives.
Professor Hüseyin Demir presented “State-Driven Stigmatization as Hate Speech: Implications for European Human Rights Law and Strategic Litigation.” His research examined how systematic state-led stigmatization may constitute a structural human rights issue under the European Convention on Human Rights and highlighted the legal implications of discriminatory narratives and practices.
Journalist and researcher Kerim Balcı presented “Cross-border Impacts of Hate Speech and Hate Crime: How to Mitigate Harm Emanating from Another Jurisdiction.” His presentation focused on the transnational consequences of hate speech, including its impact on asylum procedures, international protection mechanisms, and the experiences of diaspora communities.
Associate Professor Fikret Demirçivi presented “Crafting the Undeserving Victim: Hate Speech and Narrative Warfare in State Repression.” His work analyzed how state-sponsored narratives can delegitimize targeted groups and shape public perceptions in ways that facilitate discrimination and exclusion.
Taken together, these presentations demonstrated how hate speech, stigmatization, and discrimination can operate not only as isolated violations but also as interconnected structural phenomena with significant implications for human rights protection, democratic governance, and the rule of law.
The conference also provided an important platform for dialogue and cooperation among scholars, civil society organizations, and international institutions working to combat hate speech, hate crime, and discrimination.
Human Rights Defenders e.V. Berlin remains committed to supporting initiatives that promote human dignity, fundamental rights, democratic values, and the protection of vulnerable communities. We will continue to engage with international partners and contribute to efforts aimed at preventing discrimination and advancing human rights across Europe.
Our legal struggle has yielded a historic result! Following the United Nations, the Constitutional Court of Turkey (AYM) has also ruled that the state is directly responsible for the death of teacher Gökhan Açıkkollu, who lost his life under torture. Though delayed, justice has prevailed, marking a massive milestone in our fight against torture and impunity.
The Constitutional Court (AYM) has signed a historic violation decision, ruling that the state is directly responsible for the death of teacher Gökhan Açıkkollu, who lost his life in police custody in 2016. Coming nearly a decade after the incident, this decision is the most tangible fruit of our determined struggle as the Association of Human Rights Defenders (HRD) on the international stage.
The Process Behind Our Success: HRD’s UN Initiative
During that dark period when domestic remedies were deliberately prolonged and left ineffective, we took the initiative as the Association of Human Rights Defenders (HRD) and the International Association for Human Rights Advocacy in Geneva (IAHRA).
On January 29, 2020, we applied directly to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Committee on behalf of Gökhan Açıkkollu’s family.
Rejecting the government’s defense that “domestic remedies had not been exhausted,” the UN Human Rights Committee issued a severe violation ruling against Turkey on October 25, 2022. The UN certified that the state failed to protect Açıkkollu from torture and death. Today’s AYM decision is a direct result of this international success and the pressure generated by our association (HRD) at the UN!
The Importance of the AYM Decision: Violation in Two Dimensions
Although the AYM delayed the process with judicial passivity years after the UN Committee’s decision, it ultimately had to accept the truth. This decision is the FIRST ruling by the AYM regarding the post-July 15 period where both the right to life and the prohibition of ill-treatment were violated in both substantive and procedural dimensions.
The AYM identified two critical dimensions of violation:
Substantive Dimension (Direct Responsibility): Examining the chronological medical reports, bruising, and psychological trauma, the AYM ruled that the state is directly responsible for the physical and psychological violence that led to Açıkkollu’s death. The state failed its absolute duty to protect an individual under its custody.
Procedural Dimension (Inadequate Investigation): Criticizing the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office’s non-prosecution decisions aimed at covering up the incident, the AYM certified that the investigation was superficial, camera footage was neglected, and torture allegations were ignored.
13 Days Under Torture: We Have Not Forgotten
Teacher Gökhan Açıkkollu was detained from his home on July 23, 2016, under heavy and baseless allegations. Despite suffering from panic attacks and diabetes, he was subjected to severe beatings, insults, and physical violence for 13 days in the Istanbul Police Department custody.
Although doctors noted in medical reports that “he has been subjected to severe insults and swearing in custody for 6 days,” and a cellmate stated, “They beat him to death, at least 15 people witnessed it,” judicial authorities tried to shelve the case for years. Forensic reports later revealed that his fatal heart attack was triggered by the extreme stress of detention conditions.
What is Next? Perpetrators Will Be Held Accountable!
This decision is not an end for us, but the beginning of a new legal battle. We will not allow cosmetic legal procedures!
The police officers who directly beat and assaulted him in custody,
The police chiefs who coordinated the interrogation process,
The medical personnel who refrained from recording visible lesions in official reports,
The prosecutors of the period who paved the legal ground for this unlawful process by issuing non-prosecution decisions…
We will not take a single step back: There is no statute of limitations for torture and crimes against humanity. As HRD, we will follow this case until every single public official who perpetrated or condoned this severe violation is identified and held accountable before the law!
“Justice is the foundation of the state; justice served, even if late, is the guarantee of brighter days ahead.”
Gökhan Açıkkollu Human Rights
Gökhan Açıkkollu’s Detention Process
Gökhan Açıkkollu, who worked as a teacher in a public school, was detained at his home on July 23, 2016, at around 11:00 PM, upon the instruction of Public Prosecutor Can Tuncay by a police team of 15 people. The detention period was specified as thirty days in the ruling. The accusations leveled against Açıkkollu were the heaviest offenses under the Turkish Penal Code, including membership in an armed organization, attempting to partially overthrow the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) or attempting to prevent it from partially or completely performing its duties by using force and violence, attempting to overthrow the Government of the Republic of Turkey or preventing it from partially or completely performing its duties by using force and violence, and inciting the public to an armed uprising against the Government of the Republic of Turkey.
Subjected to Severe Insults and Swearing in Custody for Six Days
Despite suffering from panic attacks and diabetes, Açıkkollu was subjected to severe beatings, insults, and physical violence during the 13 days he spent in the detention center of the Istanbul Police Department. Ecchymosis, bruising, swelling, hyperemia, and traumatic lesions that formed on his body during this period were recorded chronologically in forensic medical examination reports. Açıkkollu also described what he experienced to the examining doctors during his detention, and the doctors wrote down his statements exactly as: “He stated that he has been subjected to severe insults and swearing in custody for 6 days.”
Death Following a Detention Period Extended for the Third Time Under Torture!
Açıkkollu’s detention period was extended for the third time on August 4, 2016, by prosecutor Can Tuncay. Just one day after this extension, in the early hours of August 5, 2016, he collapsed in his cell and lost his life in the hospital where he was taken.
“They Beat Gökhan Açıkkollu to Death!”
A cellmate who was detained together with him stated in a petition submitted to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on September 20, 2016:
“We stayed together with Gökhan Açıkkollu. He was beaten to death while in custody. At least 15 people witnessed this situation.”
The Legal Process Following Açıkkollu’s Decease
Following Açıkkollu’s passing, the investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office resulted in a first decision of non-prosecution on December 20, 2016. Upon the request of Açıkkollu’s lawyer, a report was prepared by the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TIHV) on January 18, 2017. The report explicitly stated that the signs of battery on Açıkkollu’s body and the psychological stress he experienced were clearly within the scope of torture in medical literature. His wife objected to the non-prosecution decision along with this medical report, and the criminal judgeship of peace evaluating the objection overturned the prosecutor’s decision after a 7-month delay. However, following an additional investigation, the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued a decision of non-prosecution once again, which was served to his wife on May 11, 2020. His wife applied to the Constitutional Court (AYM) on June 16, 2020 (within the scope of the legal time extension due to the pandemic), and this long process finally culminated in the AYM’s violation judgment dated July 30, 2025.
We strongly condemn the practices of marginalization and hatred directed at the cherished memory of our late child Yusuf Tarık Gül, who lost his life in the tragic event in Kahramanmaraş, and his grieving family, solely on the grounds that his father is a “KHK” victim (dismissed by Statutory Decree).
We feel profound shame on behalf of humanity to witness yet another cruel and typical example of this profiling mentality, which is being systematically perpetuated across generations.
The extent of this discrimination is glaringly evident in the documents reflected in the press, which are understood to belong to official institutions:
Due to his family being profiled as KHK victims, the name of our deceased child was placed in parentheses on official lists, unlike the other victims.
While high-level state protocol attended all other funerals, as clearly seen in the published burial lists, no protocol attendance was shown for the funeral of Yusuf Tarık Gül.
His name was not even mentioned during the mass funeral ceremony.
His respected, grieving father was not even permitted to cry out his agony; rather, attempts were made to silence him by physically covering his mouth.
It is impossible for us to accept this unending grudge and hatred that discriminates even among our innocent children—who are all victims of the same tragedy and the exact same pain—marginalizing a child even on his final journey.
As World Human Rights Defenders – Berlin, we once again vehemently condemn this language of hate and profiling policies that began with unlawful decrees and have now extended to relatives, the deceased, innocent children, and even future generations. We denounce the dark intent behind these actions. With a longing for a world that respects democracy, the rule of law, and human rights—particularly in Turkey—we wish God’s mercy upon all our children who lost their lives in this tragic event, fortitude and patience to the grieving families, and offer our deepest condolences to our nation.
Kahramanmaraş’taki okul saldırısında hayattan koparılan 9 canımızın isimleri:
— Öğretmen Ayla Kara
— Adnan Göktürk Yeşil
— Furkan Sancak Balal
— Belinay Nur Boyraz
— Kerem Erdem Güngör
— Zeynep Kılıç
— Bayram Nabi Şişik
— Şuranur Sevgi Kazıcı
— Yusuf Tarık Gül
Today, Warsaw Human Dimension Conference Organized by The 2025 OSCE Finnish Chairpersonship, with the support of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) being held.
We took the floor at the conference and continued to discuss human rights violations in Turkey within the scope of “freedom of expression” Our president, Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Demir, continued his remarks as follows:
I am Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Demir, President, Human Rights Defenders e.V. Based in Berlin Germany.
Distinguished delegates, and colleagues,
Freedom of expression is the heartbeat of democracy. Yet, in today’s Turkey, that heartbeat is faint constricted by fear, criminalization, and censorship.
Since the state of emergency declared after the 2016 alleged coup attempt, the Turkish government has turned its counterterrorism laws into tools of political persecution. Under nine emergency decrees, 170 media outlets were closed, their assets confiscated, and more than hundred and fifty journalists imprisoned—many accused of “terrorist propaganda” for nothing more than a tweet, a headline, or a source they interviewed.
Today, Turkey ranks one hundred fifty seventh in the World Press Freedom Index, below most conflict zones. Journalists like Ahmet Altan, Ali Ūnal, Hidayet Karaca, and countless others have been prosecuted for criticizing the government. Even foreign correspondents are targeted: press cards are denied arbitrarily, and pro-government think tanks like SETA publish blacklists of international journalists, exposing them to harassment and violence.
The silencing doesn’t stop at Turkey’s borders. Hundreds of Turkish journalists like Cevheri Guven, Abdullah Bozkurt, and Bülent Korucu are in exile in Germany, Sweden—live under digital surveillance and transnational repression. Online news portals such as TR724 or Bold Medya are blocked in Turkey, while exiled journalists are pursued through Interpol notices and intimidation campaigns.
This systematic assault extends beyond the media. Academics, lawyers, and human rights defenders who voice dissent are dismissed, detained, or banned from travel. Freedom of thought and freedom of academia have become crimes. As our own reports show, over 7,000 academics were expelled, 14 universities were shut down, and many of their passports were revoked—turning them into stateless intellectuals.
Freedom of expression in Turkey is not just under attack it is being criminalized as terrorism. Articles 299 and 301 of the Penal Code, and the vague definition of “terrorist propaganda” in the Anti Terror Law, are used to punish opinion itself. As a result, self-censorship has become a survival strategy.
We call upon the OSCE, participating States, and especially the European partners, to:
Demand the release of imprisoned journalists and academics, and ensure that freedom of expression is non-negotiable in any engagement with Turkey.
Protect asylum-seeking journalists by preventing political extraditions.
And finally, to reaffirm that truth-telling is not terrorism.
At Human Rights Defenders e.V., we believe that defending journalists and free speech is defending democracy itself. Without a free press, no election is fair, no society is safe, and no human right can survive.
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