Levent Kenez/Stockholm
A newly released report by CrossBorder Jurists (CBJ), an association founded in Germany by Turkish lawyers living in exile to monitor human rights violations, has exposed widespread and systematic legal violations in Turkey’s judiciary. The findings detail the direct involvement of judicial figures linked to the pro-government judiciary association Yargıda Birlik Derneği (Association of Unity in the Judiciary, or YBD) and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in unlawful rulings, mass arrests and politically motivated prosecutions. The report provides quantitative data on the extent of legal abuses in Turkey’s judicial climate following a failed coup in 2016.
In the aftermath of the controversial coup attempt, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tightened his grip on power, consolidating his control over the judicial, legislative and executive branches. Mere hours after the coup had begun, his government initiated a sweeping purge, removing 4,156 judges and prosecutors from their posts — an indication that these individuals had likely been blacklisted beforehand. Their positions were quickly filled by government loyalists, many of whom were selected from the ranks of the AKP.
A total of 116 people who claim their fundamental rights and freedoms were violated submitted applications to the CBJ’s Board for Research and Analysis of Unlawfulness (HAAK), which prepared the report. The organization reviewed a staggering 2,709 legal rulings, uncovering a deeply concerning pattern of arbitrary detentions, lack of due process and politically charged prosecutions. The majority of complaints involved unlawful detention and arrest, primarily from 2016 to 2018, following the abortive putsch in 2016. However, data confirm that these judicial abuses have continued through 2024, demonstrating an enduring trend of state-sanctioned legal persecution against perceived political opponents.
A critical aspect of the report is the misuse of evidence in judicial proceedings. In 76 cases Turkish courts relied on ByLock messaging app data as primary evidence, despite European Court of Human Rights’ rulings dismissing its credibility. In 62 cases coerced confessions obtained from suspects under duress were used to justify rulings. In 17 cases individuals were prosecuted based on state-prepared blacklists. Furthermore, many cases relied on personal financial data, phone records and social media activity as supposed proof of criminal activity. These practices violate constitutional guarantees of fair trials and human rights, with courts systematically disregarding due process and using flawed or fabricated evidence to secure politically motivated convictions.
Text of the report prepared by the CBJ in Germany:
The report further reveals that 1,487 judicial officials were found responsible for unlawful rulings, among them 1,084 judges and prosecutors who were appointed when the AKP came to power in 2002. The report argues that the Turkish judiciary has been increasingly politicized, especially after 2014, when the government-backed YBD played a pivotal role in reshaping the courts. A particularly striking finding is that 841 of these judicial officials are members of the YBD, an organization created in 2014 with explicit government backing. Critics argue that the YBD was established to purge judges and prosecutors critical of the government from the judiciary and replace them with judges loyal to the ruling party.
HAAK’s investigation concluded that thousands of legal decisions lacked proper justification, with courts often rubber-stamping security agencies’ reports without scrutiny. Every single ruling analyzed in the report lacked proper legal reasoning. Nearly all rulings violated Turkey’s penal code on detention conditions, demonstrating a complete disregard for procedural law. Arrests were prolonged beyond legal limits, and appeals were systematically rejected without review, with courts using identical template responses to dismiss legal challenges. The report states that judicial officials issued rulings based on political directives rather than legal principles, creating what it describes as “a covert pact between the security bureaucracy and the judiciary.”
HAAK asserts that the widespread human rights violations in Turkey amount to crimes against humanity. The report references findings from the European Court of Human Rights and the United Nations Human Rights Council, both of which have raised concerns about systematic judicial repression in Turkey. The European Court of Human Rights ruled in the Yalçınkaya v. Turkey case (2023) that the use of ByLock as primary evidence was unlawful and violated fair trial principles. Similarly, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has issued multiple opinions condemning Turkey’s detention practices as part of a state-driven campaign against dissidents.
HAAK’s report underscores these international concerns by providing detailed case studies, showing that judicial persecution was carried out in a systematic and coordinated manner, targeting specific groups in Turkish society. The findings reinforce calls for international accountability measures and potential legal actions against those responsible for these violations. Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have called for international bodies to investigate the ongoing legal abuses.
