The Eyüp Birinci case reveals a full cycle of torture and impunity in post-2016 Turkey: brutal abuse in police custody, medical collusion, and the ultimate acquittal of the torturers, despite overwhelming and corroborated testimony in the courtroom.
Turkey Human Rights Blog
Illicit Enrichment and Political Prosecutions: The Case of Istanbul’s Chief Prosecutor
A criminal complaint from Turkey’s opposition party alleges Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek engaged in extensive corruption, including illicit enrichment and conflicts of interest, raising significant concerns about judicial integrity and accountability in Turkey’s legal system.
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.