HRD is proud to support the Orange Days event in Kaiserslautern

🧡 Human Rights Defenders e.V. (HRD) is proud to support the Orange Days event in Kaiserslautern.
The event aims to raise awareness, strengthen solidarity, and encourage everyone to speak out against violence towards women.

📅 Date: November 28, 2025
🕕 Time: 6:00 PM
📍 Venue: Impuls e.V., Rummelstraße 11, 67655 Kaiserslautern (2nd Floor)
🎙️ Lecture: “Invisible Walls – The Silent Struggle of Women”
👩‍🏫 Speaker: Hilal Nesin

Supported by UN Women Germany, For All Women and Girls, Stopp Gewalt gegen Frauen, and Helpline 116 016.
HRD continues to stand in solidarity with all women and supports the ongoing fight for equality and justice.

Zoom Meeting Invitation: The Importance of Legal Struggle

The Importance of Legal Struggle

📅 Date: Monday, December 8, 2025
🕗 Time: 20:00 (CET)
🎙️ Speaker: Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Demir
📍 Meeting Link: https://qrfy.io/r/dexzausrY
💻 Meeting ID: 822 5916 4495
🔑 Passcode: 927117

Program Topics

  • HRD’s activities

  • Strasbourg demonstrations

  • Evaluation of ECtHR decisions

  • The importance of legal struggle

  • Q&A session

Description:
We invite all those who want to raise their voice against human rights violations and support the legal struggle to join this important session.
Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Demir will discuss why legal action is essential in defending human rights, analyze the impact of European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decisions, and present HRD’s ongoing efforts in this field.

🕊️ Organized by: Human Rights Defenders e.V. (HRD)
📌 Event Series: Legal PR

Release of Lawyer Süleyman Yıldırım, a Stage III Cancer Patient

Human Rights Defenders e.V. (HRD) welcomes the long-awaited release of lawyer Süleyman Yıldırım, who has been suffering from stage III cancer and was unjustly held in detention. This release comes as a result of our persistent legal advocacy both at the individual level and through our international consortium.

This decision is not merely a procedural step—it is a crucial act to protect the right to life.
For Mr. Yıldırım, who urgently needs medical treatment, this release marks the long-overdue opportunity to access proper healthcare and to live under conditions compatible with human dignity.

Demands of Human Rights Organizations

HRD and its partner organizations had issued several calls and petitions, including the following demands:

  • Immediate suspension of the sentence on medical grounds,

  • Full consideration of the medical reports provided by his treating physicians,

  • An end to the harassment, intimidation, and punishment of lawyers for carrying out their professional duties.

These appeals extend beyond a single case; they speak to the independence of the legal profession and the rule of law in Turkey.

International Solidarity and Acknowledgment

We express our sincere gratitude to the German Bar Association (DAV)  for its prompt response to our humanitarian appeal and for engaging directly with the Turkish judicial authorities.

We also extend our appreciation to Thierry Wickers, President of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), for his commitment and his call upon Turkish authorities to uphold justice and human rights.

Our heartfelt thanks go to all the organizations that joined our joint statement and stood with us in defending the legal profession and human dignity:

Signatory Organizations

  • Avocats Sans Frontières (Belgium)

  • Association Défense Sans frontière – Avocats Solidaires (France)

  • European Lawyers Foundation (Italy)

  • European Criminal Bar Association (Netherlands)

  • Human Rights Defenders e.V. (Germany)

  • Human Rights Solidarity (United Kingdom)

  • International Human Rights Advisors (United Kingdom)

  • International Observatory for Lawyers in Danger (France)

  • Lawyers Against Transnational Repression

  • Italian Federation for Human Rights (Italy)

  • Justice Abroad (United Kingdom)

  • Monitoring Committee on Attacks on Lawyers, IAPL

  • Solidarity With OTHERS (Belgium)

  • The Arrested Lawyers Initiative (Belgium)

  • Turkey Tribunal (Belgium)

  • Weltanwälte e.V. (Germany)

A Shared Step for Justice and Humanity

The release of Süleyman Yıldırım is more than an individual decision—it represents a commitment to human dignity, the rule of law, and the independence of the legal profession.
It also demonstrates the strength of international solidarity and the collective will of human rights organizations around the world.

We wish lawyer Süleyman Yıldırım a full and speedy recovery and reaffirm our determination to continue acting with the same resolve and compassion for all ill prisoners whose health and lives are endangered by unjust detention conditions.

#HumanRightsDefenders #FreeSüleymanYıldırım #RuleOfLaw #JusticeForLawyers #HumanRights

We remember Fethullah Gülen with gratitude and longing on the first anniversary of his passing.

 

We remember Fethullah Gülen with gratitude and longing on the first anniversary of his passing.

In his works, sermons, and lectures, Fethullah Gülen extends his understanding of law and justice beyond the boundaries of “positive law” to a universal plane of conscience and morality. In other words, law is not merely order, but an element of cosmic harmony.

“Justice is like a prayer echoing in the tears of the oppressed.”

From Anatolian Sermons.

Gülen transforms law from a purely rational system into an action carrying ethical and emotional resonance.

This narrative links human rights to the emotional and moral foundation of law.

“Rights are like the melody at the heart of the universe.”

Doubts Brought by the Century

He explains the concept of justice through sound, harmony, and concord. This spreads the universality of rights throughout the universe using the metaphor of musical harmony. Gülen has evaluated a universal perspective through melody, an aesthetic concept deeply embedded in life.

“Oppression is a tear in the fabric of order.”

Prism 4

He draws attention to the idea that justice is the fabric of social order, while oppression is a tear in that fabric, and concretizes the law as the needle that mends that tear.

Fethullah Gülen described human rights violations not on an abstract moral plane, but as a concrete “breakdown and repair.” He did not merely produce ideas, but made thought tangible, something that could be felt in the mind.

“Justice is the axis of the universe.”

Prism 2

Law and justice represent not only social order, but also the balance of existence. It is like the moral ontological foundation of the “rule of law” in modern legal terminology. In ancient Greece, Logos, Stoic order; in the Islamic tradition, “Adl” (balance). Fethullah Gülen has re-metaphorized this as the universal axis.

“Human dignity is universal. Every being is a trust.”

Values That Make Humans Human

With this interpretation, he directly links human rights to divine trust. Humans are not only biological but also moral carriers. Fethullah Gülen positions law as a valuable tool for protecting this trust. He also links human dignity to an unshakeable position through the concept of trust.

Fethullah Gülen’s ideas on justice, law, and human rights are not only the product of a tradition of thought, but also an ethical call that has become the voice of conscience. As believers in the unity of justice and human dignity, we consciously embrace the intellectual legacy of Fethullah Gülen on law, justice, and human rights. Because the justice emphasized by Gülen is a virtue that will prevail not only in courtrooms but also in the inner world of human beings; the supremacy of law also acquires its true meaning only on such a foundation of conscience.

For this reason, we embrace his understanding that positions law not in the service of power relations, but in the service of truth; we accept the principle that every human being’s honor is inviolable as the foundation of both our faith and our civilizational consciousness. We see the preservation of this idea, which views oppression as a tear in the fabric of order and law as the needle that mends that tear, not merely as an idea, but as loyalty to the justice that human beings owe to one another.

From Counter Terror to Counter Justice: Türkiye’s Regime of Impunity at the 2025 Warsaw Human Dimension Conference

turkey-weaponizing-counterterrorism-osce-warsaw-conference-2025

As Türkiye’s Human Rights Defenders (HRD) President Prof. Hüseyin Demir, I stand before you today at the 2025 Warsaw Human Dimension Conference convened under the Finnish OSCE Chairpersonship with ODIHR’s backing to issue an urgent alarm:
What we face in Türkiye is not merely a crackdown, but a systemic transformation of law into a tool of repression a regime in which torture, arbitrary detention, and impunity have become structural, not exceptional.

The Weaponization of Counter Terrorism

Over the past decade, Türkiye has evolved into a case study in how the language of counter-terrorism can be perverted to neuter the rule of law. The vague wording of Turkish Penal Code Article 314 purportedly criminalizing “membership of an armed terrorist organization” means that over 2.2 million people have been investigated since 2016, including teachers, judges, academics, journalists, and even minors. They were not militants—but dissidents, the innocent exercise of speech or association.

This is no aberration. The Committee Against Torture has repeatedly reported that confessions are coerced under duress; detainees are denied legal counsel; torture whether beatings, sleep deprivation, or sexual violence is widespread and routine. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has deemed the persecution of alleged “Gülen affiliates” tantamount to crimes against humanity.

The Expansion of Repression: Children, the ill, and Women

Repression in Türkiye now extends deliberately to the most vulnerable.

  • Minors detained under the Anti Terror Law.

  • Parkinson’s patients imprisoned for life.

  • Pregnant women and mothers forced to give birth and raise children behind bars in overcrowded facilities.

These practices are not incidental; they are integral to a system that normalizes cruelty and weaponizes suffering.

Impunity: The Structural Backbone of Abuse

Torture and impunity fuel each other. In Türkiye:

  • State officials are rarely investigated.

  • Prosecutors decline to act.

  • Courts dismiss evidence, labeling it “state secrets.”

These protections are codified in decrees that immunize security personnel for acts committed in “counter-terror operations.” The result is a no accountability zone.

Meanwhile, the Anti Terror Law functions as a legal void—it criminalizes dissent itself. Every year, nearly 200,000 new terrorism cases are opened, effectively weaponizing unpredictability (what we term the “regime of uncertainty”) to sustain obedience through fear.

In this system, prosecutors become persecutors, judges become presidential instruments, and justice is molded into intimidation.

What Must the OSCE Do?

This body—this Assembly cannot remain passive in the face of systemic torture cloaked in the rhetoric of security. We therefore issue these demands to all OSCE Participating States:

  1. Demand repeal or amendment of Anti Terror Law No. 3713 to align with international jurisprudence and human rights standards.

  2. Insist on independent, impartial investigations into all acts of torture, custodial death, and abuse.

  3. Press Türkiye to execute ECtHR and UN rulings, release political prisoners, and reestablish genuine judicial independence.

  4. Condition security cooperation on measurable progress in accountability and transparency.

The Immutable Principle: No Exception for Torture

Under international law, the absolute prohibition of torture admits no derogation not even during emergencies. Türkiye has been a signatory to this principle since 1984. It is time that it respects it in practice, not just on paper.

Our mission, as defenders of human rights, is clear: to keep exposing the violence behind the façade of security, to challenge the defenseless silence that underpins impunity, and to remind this Assembly that silence is the oxygen that sustains abuse.

Thank you.

We also spoke at the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference, by OSCE.

Human Dimension Conference by OSCE

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.
  • Monitor transnational repression targeting exiled journalists.
  • 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.
Thank you.

Press Release Urgent Action: Death in Custody of 72-Year-Old Political Prisoner in Turkey

Press Release

Urgent Action: Death in Custody of 72-Year-Old Political Prisoner in Turkey

Date: September 2025

Issued by: Human Rights Defenders e.V

⸻

A Preventable Death in Prison

On 7 September 2025, Ibrahim Güngör, a 72-year-old political prisoner suffering from Alzheimer’s, diabetes, prostate illness, and complications from brain surgery, died in Turkish custody.
• He had undergone brain surgery in 2022 for hydrocephalus and had a shunt placed.
• He no longer recognized his own daughter during prison visits.
• Despite clear evidence he could not survive detention, the Forensic Medicine Institute declared him “fit for prison.”
Mr. Güngör had been re-arrested in December 2024 after the Court of Cassation upheld his sentence. His death is the direct result of the authorities’ refusal to release him despite overwhelming medical grounds.
⸻

Violations of International Standards

• Right to Life & Dignity (UDHR, Art. 3): Turkey failed its duty to protect his life.
• Ban on Torture (ECHR, Art. 3; UN CAT): Forcing a severely ill Alzheimer’s patient to remain imprisoned constitutes torture by neglect.
• Mandela Rules (109–110): Prisoners with serious illness must be released.
• Medical Ethics & Istanbul Protocol: Declaring him “fit for prison” contravenes international medical ethics.
• Right to Health (ICESCR, Art. 12): Denial of adequate care leading to death is a grave violation.
⸻

Part of a Systemic Pattern

Mr. Güngör’s case is not isolated.
• Dozens of elderly and gravely ill prisoners in Turkey remain jailed with advanced cancer, dementia, heart disease, or paralysis.
• NGOs and lawyers report that the Forensic Medicine Institute systematically blocks release even in terminal cases.
• UN and Council of Europe bodies have documented chronic medical neglect in Turkish prisons.
⸻

Call to Action

Human Rights Defenders e.V calls on:
1.  International institutions and governments to condemn Mr. Güngör’s death as a rights violation.
2.  Turkey to immediately release all terminally ill prisoners in line with the Mandela Rules.
3.  UN and CPT to establish independent medical monitoring of Turkish prisons.
4.  U.S. Congress and UN Human Rights Council to raise this case at the highest levels.
5.  Civil society to support organizations documenting torture and medical neglect in Turkey.
⸻

Statement

“The death of Ibrahim Güngör shows how Turkish authorities weaponize prison conditions against political detainees. This is torture by neglect. Justice for Mr. Güngör means urgent action for all sick prisoners in Turkey.”
Human Rights Defenders e.V

Torture in Türkiye

This summary is generated based on the report titled “Torture in Turkey: Crime Against Humanity,” compiled by Human Rights Defenders e.V. (HrD) for submission to the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT).

Please click here to Download Report

I. Introduction and the Systematic Nature of Torture

This report was meticulously prepared by Human Rights Defenders e.V (HrD), an autonomous, non-profit, non-governmental organization established in Germany in 2018 by Turkish lawyers, former bureaucrats, and entrepreneurs who sought political asylum in Europe. The report aims to provide comprehensive information to the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT) concerning the occurrences of torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, and enforced disappearances targeting sympathizers of the Hizmet (Gülen) Movement in Türkiye. HrD contends that these incidents constitute crimes against humanity. Various United Nations Commissions have recognized the systematic and organized actions targeting Hizmet Movement members since 2016 as “acts reaching the level of crimes against humanity”. Türkiye is a party to the 1987 Convention against Torture, which explicitly states that no extraordinary circumstances, including a state of war, internal political unrest, or public crisis, can be used to legitimize torture.

II. The Post-July 15 Authoritarian Shift and Purges

The Turkish Government utilized the alleged military coup attempt of July 15, 2016, as justification for the subsequent authoritarianization of political power and the elimination of all social opposition groups. This led to the declaration of a State of Emergency (OHAL), resulting in mass surveillance, detentions, and the systematic persecution of dissenting citizens charged as “terrorist organisation member/traitor/collaborator/foreign agent”.

Despite pre-emptive accusations, the Gülen Movement was singled out as the scapegoat for the coup. The obstruction of a thorough parliamentary investigation, including the blocking of testimonies from key figures, undermined the possibility of a fair inquiry. Furthermore, military personnel later testified in court that their initial confessions were extracted through extreme torture. Many asserted they were manipulated as pawns in a “government-engineered scheme”. Accounts from officers implicated in the coup suggest they were convinced by Hulusi Akar (then Chief of General Staff) to confront corrupt political leadership, only to be abandoned and accused of orchestrating the coup.

The State of Emergency ushered in widespread purges. By 2017, 130,000 public officials were dismissed, including over 33,500 from educational institutions and more than 31,500 police personnel. It is crucial to note that none of these individuals had substantiated links to the events of July 15, 2016.

III. Mass Detention and Incarceration Crisis

Türkiye exhibits one of the highest incarceration rates globally. As of May 2024, there were 329,151 individuals detained or serving sentences in 396 correctional facilities, resulting in an overall prison occupancy rate of 117.8%. The country’s incarceration rate stands at 267 per 100,000 individuals, drastically higher than the Western European average of 73 per 100,000.

Between 2016 and 2021, a cumulative count of 1,768,530 investigations related to terrorist organization membership were initiated. In coup-related trials, 1,634 individuals received aggravated life sentences, a penalty the UN considers to contravene anti-torture and humane treatment principles.

IV. The Culture of Impunity and Subversion of Legal Process

The persistence of torture as an unpunished state tradition is significantly attributed to the absence of a precise and definitive definition of torture in Article 94 of the Turkish Criminal Code. This ambiguity allows Turkish law enforcement, intelligence agencies, and prison authorities to refuse to acknowledge their actions as torture, ensuring routine acts remain unprosecuted.

The complexity of substantiating torture claims stems from an intricate framework established by law enforcement to conceal and obliterate these acts. Victims are often taken to health centers long after the incidents, where torture practices are covered up with ready-made and printed medical reports without allowing the doctor and patient to be alone. The case of Ahmet Asik, where initial medical assessments missed severe torture (including rape and fractures), demonstrated this institutional failure; yet, no inquiries were initiated against the officials or medical professionals who failed to document the abuse.

V. Documented Torture Practices

Evidence of widespread, systematic torture comes from official figures and legal bodies:

  • Mustafa Yeneroğlu, former head of the Parliamentary Human Rights Commission, resigned over the severe violations he witnessed and reported that 60 torture cases he submitted to prosecutors received no action. He described the current era as a “dark period in which fundamental rights are ignored… and torture and ill-treatment have become widespread”.
  • The Social Cost Report by MP Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu documented severe abuse, including being searched completely naked, threats of family rape, being beaten for days, and being subjected to rape with a baton. Victims were coerced into signing fabricated statements during “pre-interviews” conducted without lawyers in rooms without cameras.
  • Ankara Bar Association reports (2022) detailed abuse against Gülen Movement members, including being stripped naked for prolonged periods, doused with cold water, and threatened with sexual assault. Victims reported being subjected to invasive acts involving a broom handle and threats involving the insertion of an olive oil bottle.

VI. Enforced Disappearances and International Abductions

The Turkish State continues to employ “mafia methods” to abduct political dissidents from abroad, subjecting them to intense torture during these operations. Orhan İnandı, abducted from Kyrgyzstan in May 2021, was forcibly disappeared for 37 days. Upon his reappearance in Türkiye, he was found to have fractures in three places on his arm.

In his chilling courtroom testimony, İnandı described being held in a small, coffin-like room for 37 days. He endured constant insults, loud, scratchy music, and was strictly forbidden from praying or crying. He was threatened with various forms of sexual torture, including electrocution, castration, and insertion of a soaped baton. Intelligence officials pressured him to publicly state he came voluntarily, threatening to tell the public he killed Eşref Bitlis or warning that his children would “end up on the streets” or “become prostitutes”.

VII. Legal Shield for Perpetrators and HRFT Findings

A significant factor promoting torture is the legal immunity afforded to public officials. Decree-Laws (KHKs No. 667, 668, 690, 696) enacted during the State of Emergency stipulated that individuals involved in counter-coup and anti-terror activities are exempt from legal, administrative, financial, and criminal responsibility. This legal framework has effectively sanctioned murder, torture, and lynching, providing a shield for “crimes against humanity”.

Data from the Human Rights Foundation of Türkiye (HRFT) 2022 report revealed that 1,201 individuals sought assistance for torture. Common physical and non-physical torture methods documented were: Insult/Assault (835 affected), Rough Beatings (692), Reverse Clamp (397), Verbal Sexual Harassment (312), Asphyxiation (112), and Electrification (45).

When victims lodge complaints against law enforcement for torture, counterclaims are promptly filed against the victims, citing offenses like “insulting the officer,” or “resisting arrest,” to hinder torture investigations and intimidate survivors. This systematic disparity is stark: in 2020, 34,972 investigations were opened for ‘resisting a public officer,’ compared to only 887 investigations for torture (TCK 94). This wide difference demonstrates the prevailing culture of impunity.

The treatment of ailing inmates, exacerbated by COVID-19 protocols and the lack of autonomy of the Forensic Medicine Institution (which is politically influenced), also transforms incarceration into a harrowing ordeal and a form of torment for sick political prisoners.

The reports conclude that the prevalence of torture and inhumane treatment in Türkiye’s state security institutions is evident, and the state system shields those responsible, emboldening offenders rather than deterring them.

HRD Statement: Court Rulings Expose Turkey-Linked Espionage Structures – Our Commitment to Human Rights and Democracy Continues

Recent rulings by courts in Germany and Austria have once again shed light on the alarming scope of espionage activities carried out by Ankara-linked institutions against dissidents in Europe. In Cologne, two separate asylum decisions highlighted Turkey’s systematic human rights violations and the transnational surveillance of critics abroad. Likewise, in Austria, a court ruling explicitly referred to institutions such as YTB, TIKA, Diyanet, UID, and SETA as being directly involved in monitoring and profiling dissidents and forwarding information to Turkish intelligence services . turkishminute

As Human Rights Defenders e.V. (HRD), we have consistently raised these issues for years. Through our detailed reports and persistent advocacy, we have documented how Turkish state-linked networks engage in unlawful surveillance, intimidate critics, and violate the basic rights of individuals residing in Europe. These new court decisions confirm the findings we have long presented to European institutions and policymakers, showing that our relentless efforts have contributed to greater recognition of this problem.

HRD President Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Demir underlined this point in his statement:
“For years we have been warning European decision-makers about Ankara’s use of state-linked organizations to conduct espionage operations abroad. Seeing these concerns now acknowledged in official German and Austrian court rulings is a significant development. These structures do not only target members of the Gülen movement but also Kurdish activists, democrats, journalists, and all critical voices. Their aim is to intimidate, to silence, and ultimately to pave the way for persecution in Turkey. HRD will continue to pursue these unlawful structures and will never compromise on defending human rights and democracy.”

These rulings make it clear that dissidents in Europe remain under serious threat despite living in democratic countries. The Turkish government exploits religious, cultural, and civil society organizations abroad to track, intimidate, and punish opponents. Such practices represent a direct attack on the values of democracy, human dignity, and freedom of expression.

HRD reiterates its determination to expose these violations and ensure accountability. We will continue to expand our documentation, to share victims’ testimonies, and to bring evidence-based reports to international institutions such as the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, and the United Nations. Our mission remains the same: to give a voice to the silenced, to defend the rule of law, and to strengthen democratic values across Europe.

We therefore call on European institutions and governments to take stronger measures. Ankara-linked organizations that act as extensions of state repression should be subject to transparent scrutiny, their covert operations should be limited, and effective protection mechanisms for victims must be implemented. Remaining silent in the face of such violations means becoming complicit in them.

The message of HRD is clear: our struggle will continue against any structure that violates human rights, engages in espionage abroad, and seeks to suppress free societies. These recent rulings are not the end of the road, but rather a beginning. We will stand firm, side by side with victims, and continue to defend democracy and human rights without hesitation.

Mass Arrests Of Members Of The Gülen Movement

Mass Arrests Of Members Of The Gülen Movement

 

AS A METHOD OF COLLECTIVE GUILT AND PUNISHMENT
HRD is an esteemed non-governmental organisation established in Germany in 2018 by Turkish lawyers, former bureaucrats, and entrepreneurs who are political asylum seekers in Germany and Europe. With a deep understanding of the prevailing human rights violations and the culture of impunity in countries like Türkiye, HRD diligently employs diverse strategies at the national, regional, and international levels to effect lasting change and enhance the circumstances of the victims.
The association “Action for Refugee Aid e.V.” was founded in 2018 by Berliners and refugees who fell victim to political discrimination in Turkey. The aim of the association is, on the one hand, to support refugees in the asylum process and, on the other hand, to help refugees integrate into local society. Another task of the association is to make legal violations (such as persecution) and discrimination in the countries of origin public.

Download Pdf : Click here to download…

In Turkey, politically motivated detentions and arrests are carried out against Kurds and members of the Gülen Movement through mass trials and mass arrests. In these cases, suspects or defendants are detained and arrested collectively based on their membership of a particular group, not based on concrete acts committed. There is no individualisation of crimes and punishments. Merely belonging to a specific group is sufficient to be accused of being a ‘traitor’ and ‘enemy of the state’, and evidence and documents of guilt are produced and obtained after the arrest.
The members of the group are considered guilty in advance from the beginning. Therefore, it does not matter which act they have committed concretely. The individual is eliminated, and guilt is created against a group with a collective prejudice. The accusations are directed collectively against all defendants, and they are accused of destroying the country, collaborating with foreign enemies, attempting a coup d’état and being members of a terrorist organisation. It does not matter with which actions they have committed this offence. Although there must be an act, an act of an individual and that act must constitute a violation of the law in terms of criminal law, the completely legal activities of individuals, the books they read, their social media posts, how many children they have, whether they have had an abortion, whether 3 they have disabled children, with whom they chat, with whom they are housemates can be considered sufficient evidence to be shown as a member of a terrorist organisation.
A person’s right to liberty and security is considerably narrowed against political opponents, and even the most natural behaviour can be interpreted as a criminal offence through political interpretation. In many decisions by the United Nations Human Rights organisations so far, it has been found that ‘widespread and systematic imprisonment or other serious deprivation of liberty’ against members of the Gülen Movement has reached the level of crimes against humanity1.
Indeed, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention emphasises that mass detentions, mass arrests and mass sentences in Turkey are imposed collectively against a group without individualisation of offences and punishments. In its judgment on 94 military students sentenced to life imprisonment in relation to the events of 15 July 2016, it stated that ‘mass trials are contrary