At least 3,254 cases of torture or ill-treatment during police custody, protests and prisons were recorded in Turkey in 2024.
This is stated in the latest report of the Human Rights Association, which was distributed by the Stockholm Center for Freedom. “The Human Rights Violations Report for 2024“ The association's report, which covers incidents documented between January and December, is based on court records, news reports and complaints filed with the association, BGNES reported.
501 citizens were subjected to torture or degrading treatment while in police custody or other places of detention, including 14 minors, 15 journalists and 101 migrants. Another 102 people faced similar ill-treatment outside of official custody in homes, streets or vehicles. Police repression of public demonstrations accounted for the largest share of cases. The association has documented the torture or ill-treatment of at least 2,651 people during interventions at 191 peaceful protests, including 27 children and 46 journalists.
The group has identified 223 cases of torture or ill-treatment involving at least 660 prisoners, along with 1,176 people who suffered food poisoning in correctional facilities. At least 20 prisoners have died under suspicious circumstances, 13 of which were registered as suicides. The report said 1,412 prisoners were seriously ill, 335 of them in critical condition, and that 855 prisoners had been sent to facilities away from their families.
Authorities imposed bans on protests for a total of 458 days in 24 provinces and intervened in at least 313 demonstrations, detaining 1,811 people. The bans affected Kurdish Nowruz celebrations, May Day gatherings and protests against the appointments of trustees in Kurdish-run municipalities.
Prosecutors opened 1,607 investigations into social media posts, detained 738 people and arrested 127. Courts and regulators issued widespread broadcast bans and fines, including 81.5 million lira in penalties imposed by the media regulator. Seven radio and television licenses have been revoked, including that of Açık Radyo, a long-established independent station.
The association recorded 4,911 arbitrary detentions and 611 arbitrary arrests. More than 500 members of pro-Kurdish parties have been detained. The Turkish parliament has received 80 summaries of proceedings seeking to lift the immunity of 12 deputies, and government-appointed trustees have replaced elected mayors in eight municipalities.
The lifting of parliamentary immunity allows prosecutors to conduct criminal investigations and bring charges against deputies. Opposition figures have long accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government of using such cases to silence opposition politicians.
At least 106 racist or discriminatory attacks have left 14 people dead and 40 injured. The Kayseri riots in June targeted Syrian refugees and displaced nearly 3,000 people, the report said. The association documented 38 people who were threatened, abducted or pressured to become informants, and noted that some cases of enforced disappearances remain unsolved, with the fate of long-missing individuals such as Gülistan Doku and Yusuf Bilge Tunç still unknown.
Deaths linked to hazardous working conditions remain high. At least 1,897 workers have died in work-related accidents, and 71 minors have lost their lives while working, including 22 under the age of 14. Ninety-four migrant workers have died in the workplace. The association said its figures only reflect cases that have reached the public or been reported to its offices, and warned that the true scale of abuses is likely higher.