Turkey Human Rights Blog
Another Nail in the Coffin of Turkey’s Constitutional Individual Application Mechanism
Turkey’s judicial crisis deepens as the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court defies a Constitutional Court ruling that acknowledged violations of urban planner Tayfun Kahraman’s fair trial rights. This reflects a broader trend of judicial insubordination and systemic failure to uphold constitutional authority and human rights.
Turkey: Lawyer for İmamoğlu Targeted in Indictment as Prosecutors Treat Legal Defense as ‘Criminal Activity’
An indictment against Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and others raises concerns about Turkey’s legal system, relying on anonymous testimonies to frame legal coordination as criminal. Human rights groups condemn this as judicial harassment of lawyers, reflecting a broader crackdown on legal representation in political cases.
Subsidiarity in the Service of Authoritarianism: Dissents of the Turkish Judge of the ECHR
A new scholarly review by Thomas Hochmann centres on the Turkish judge at the European Court of Human Rights, warning that her interpretation of subsidiarity enables “cosmetic compliance,” allowing authoritarian regimes like Turkey’s to cite Strasbourg case law while continuing repression unchecked.
Exclusive interview with Kenneth Roth, former director of HRW
In an exclusive interview, the Arrested Lawyers Initiative speaks with Kenneth Roth, the former Executive Director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) and author of Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments.
The Court of Cassation defies ECHR, upholds the conviction of 12 lawyers to 80+ years
The Ankara Regional Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation upheld the convictions of 12 lawyers, totaling over 80 years in prison, defying the European Court of Human Rights’ Yalcinkaya ruling. Turkey’s judiciary shows significant disregard for international law and judicial independence, raising concerns over human rights enforcement in the country.