The U.S. Department of State’s newly released 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices highlights a series of serious human rights violations in Turkey, with particular attention to abuses targeting girls, political opponents, journalists, and members of the Gülen movement.
Crackdown on Media and Freedom of Expression
The report states that the Turkish government routinely filed terrorism-related charges against individuals and media outlets over sensitive topics, especially those connected to PKK-related violence and the Gülen movement. Human rights organizations and journalists said the government used such charges to intimidate and silence critics.
Authorities also imposed restrictions on publishers. In some cases, prosecutors treated possession of certain books—particularly those in Kurdish, supportive of Kurdish rights, or related to the Gülen movement—as credible evidence of membership in a terrorist organization.
Torture and Ill-Treatment
Human rights groups reported that individuals accused of links to the PKK or the Gülen movement were subjected to torture, ill-treatment, and abuse. In October, six UN special rapporteurs and the head of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances documented allegations that law enforcement officers inflicted “physical torture” on children accused of ties to the Gülen movement, threatening some with violence severe enough to “make them vomit blood.”
Global Pursuit of Gülen Movement Members
The report details the Turkish government’s global campaign to apprehend alleged members of the Gülen movement. According to credible accounts, Ankara applied bilateral pressure on other governments to take adverse actions against targeted individuals, often without due judicial process, and deliberately cooperated with foreign authorities to facilitate cross-border repression.
There were credible reports of Turkish intelligence abducting individuals abroad suspected of Gülen ties and returning them to Turkey for prosecution.
International Pressure and Renditions
On February 20, The New York Times reported that in 2021, Turkey issued Interpol red notices for 773 people linked to the Gülen movement, subsequently canceling or refusing to renew their passports. This prevented many from traveling outside their country of residence.
In October, Kenyan authorities confirmed they had extradited four registered Turkish refugees to Turkey at Ankara’s request. The report also notes Turkey’s increased cooperation with authorities in Central Asia to arrest, deport, and block the entry of human rights defenders.
Evidence suggested that the Turkish government sought to secure foreign cooperation in extrajudicial renditions by framing such requests within counterterrorism partnerships. Kenya’s October confirmation of the extradition of four Gülen-linked refugees underscored the ongoing nature of these operations.
