Thousands of people from Turkey—having exhausted all domestic legal remedies and been deprived of their jobs, freedom, and homeland—are continuing their quest for justice before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The “Strasbourg Justice Gatherings” serve as a reflection in Europe not only of individual grievances but also of the lawlessness that has been deepening in Turkey for years.

This week, we wish to highlight the Strasbourg Justice Gatherings, which have been held in Strasbourg—before the Council of Europe and the ECHR—since 2022. These gatherings constitute a powerful appeal to the European public against the lawlessness that has persisted in Turkey for years, the failure to implement ECHR rulings, and the culture of impunity (https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strasbourg_Adalet_Buluşmaları). Human rights organizations reported that approximately 4,500 people participated in the 2025 gathering; this year, it was announced that participation reached 5,000 (https://www.hrsolidarity.org/tag/strasbourg/). The central call of the fifth gathering in 2026 was for Turkey to implement ECHR rulings and for Council of Europe mechanisms to be operated more effectively (https://natlawreview.com/press-releases/thousands-rally-strasbourg-demand-action-over-turkeys-failure-enforce-ecthr).

The post-2016 “Decree-Law” (KHK) regime in Turkey led not only to individual job losses but also to the transformation of the entire social structure through extra-legal means. A total of 127,292 applications were submitted to the State of Emergency Procedures Review Commission; of these, 17,960 were accepted, and 109,332 were rejected. In other words, approximately 85.9% of the applications were rejected. These figures reflect only the officially recorded aspect of a process in which tens of thousands of people were deprived of their jobs, professions, social status, passport rights, and, in many cases, their basic means of livelihood (https://tr.euronews.com/2023/01/20/ohal-inceleme-komisyonu-tum-basvurulari-karara-bagladi-istatistiklerle-kabul-ve-ret-orani).

Dismissals via Decree-Laws (KHKs) caused severe devastation, particularly within academic life. One study on this subject found that between 2016 and 2018, 3,452 academics—representing approximately 5.7% of the total academic staff—were dismissed from public universities via Decree-Laws, and that this process was associated with a significant decline in universities’ scientific productivity (https://ijmshr.com/uploads/pdf/archivepdf/2024/IJMSHR_402.pdf).

Similarly, studies on healthcare professionals emigrating from Turkey indicate that this migration cannot be explained solely by economic reasons. A study titled “Navigating Exodus” analyzed the responses of 506 healthcare workers who had left Turkey; the vast majority of participants cited the political atmosphere, a sense of insecurity, and workplace violence as decisive factors in their decision to emigrate. Notably, the study reported that many individuals viewed emigration as the “only way out” because, despite being in a better economic position in Turkey, they did not feel free or secure (https://eu-opensci.org/index.php/ejsocial/article/view/18519). In the study titled “Medical Professionals’ Migration from Turkey,” data from 513 medical professionals were analyzed. Physicians constituted 79.3% of the participants; approximately one-fifth held an academic title, while another fifth had completed post-specialization advanced training. Despite this, following migration, 63.4% were compelled to work in lower-status jobs, and 45.2% remained unemployed or attended training courses. These findings indicate that the cohort leaving Turkey represents a group that is highly educated, experienced, and embodies the country’s institutional capacity, rather than constituting a typical labor migration flow (https://ijmshr.com/uploads/pdf/archivepdf/2024/IJMSHR_398.pdf).

Today, prisons in Türkiye have become one of the epicenters of the human rights crisis. According to data from the Ministry of Justice’s General Directorate of Prisons and Detention Houses dated June 1, 2026, there are 421,583 detainees and convicts in the country’s prisons; of these, 20,586 are women and 4,673 are children aged 12–18 (https://cte.adalet.gov.tr/Resimler/Dokuman/202606031504182725-%20Ceza%20%C4%B0nfaz%20Kurumunda%20Bulunan%20Tutuklu%20ve%20H%C3%BCk%C3%BCml%C3%BClerin%20Ya%C5%9F%20Gruplar%C4%B1na%20G%C3%B6re%20Da%C4%9F%C4%B1l%C4%B1mlar%C4%B1.pdf). According to CİSST’s May 2026 assessment, there are 20,235 female prisoners in the country’s prisons, and the number of children aged 0–6 staying with their mothers is reported as 891 (https://cisst.org.tr/mayis-2026-hapishane-istatistikleri-aciklandi/). Meanwhile, the Human Rights Association’s 2025 Report on Sick Prisoners indicates that at least 1,412 sick prisoners have been identified, with 335 of them classified as critically ill (https://www.ihd.org.tr/2025-yili-hasta-mahpuslar-raporu/).

Alongside dismissals via decree-laws (KHKs), the extraordinarily broad interpretation of “terrorism” charges in Turkey has also evolved into a massive human rights issue. According to a statement by Mustafa Yeneroğlu based on Ministry of Justice statistics, 1,768,530 investigations regarding “armed terrorist organizations” were initiated under Article 314 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) between 2016 and 2021 alone. In subsequent statements, Yeneroğlu noted that the total number of investigations launched in connection with charges against armed terrorist organizations following July 15 had reached approximately 2 million. These figures demonstrate that the concept of “terrorism” in Turkey has moved beyond the investigation of violent acts to become a broad instrument of criminalization encompassing journalists, academics, public servants, politicians, students, businesspeople, and civil society representatives (https://hukuk.devapartisi.org.tr/haber/adalet-bakanl%C4%B1%C4%9F%C4%B1n%C4%B1n-2021-adalet-i%CC%87statistiklerine-yans%C4%B1yan-silahl%C4%B1-ter%C3%B6r-%C3%B6rg%C3%BCt%C3%BC-%C3%BCyeli%C4%9Fi-yarg%C4%B1lamalar%C4%B1-verileri-hk-bas%C4%B1n-a%C3%A7%C4%B1klamas%C4%B1).

In addition to Osman Kavala, Selahattin Demirtaş, Figen Yüksekdağ, Can Atalay, Tayfun Kahraman, Çiğdem Mater, and Mine Özerden, Ekrem İmamoğlu is also today one of the most visible examples of the politicization of the judiciary in Turkey. Human Rights Watch highlights that İmamoğlu was detained and subsequently arrested on March 19, 2025; that he stood trial alongside hundreds of municipal officials and employees in a case commencing in 2026; and that there are concerns regarding the politically motivated nature of the proceedings (https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2026/country-chapters/turkiye). The upholding of the aggravated life sentence for Osman Kavala and the 18-year prison sentences for Can Atalay, Tayfun Kahraman, Çiğdem Mater, and Mine Özerden in the Gezi trial; the failure to release Can Atalay despite his election as a Member of Parliament and Constitutional Court rulings; and the continued imprisonment of Demirtaş and Yüksekdağ despite European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) judgments demonstrate that the right to elected representation and binding high court rulings can be effectively suspended in Turkey.

Migration from Turkey is also a direct consequence of this human rights crisis. According to TurkStat, 403,216 people emigrated from Turkey in 2025; of these, 155,119 were citizens of the Republic of Turkey (https://veriportali.tuik.gov.tr/tr/press/58140). OECD data indicates that migration by Turkish citizens to OECD countries rose by 37% in 2023, reaching 158,000, with approximately 57% of this migration directed toward Germany (https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/international-migration-outlook-2025_ae26c893-en/full-report/turkiye_6a33f8e3.html). The European Union Agency for Asylum reports that while asylum applications by Turkish citizens exceeded 100,000 in 2023 and dropped to 33,000 in 2025, Turkish citizens nevertheless remain the fifth-largest group of applicants in the EU+ region (https://www.euaa.europa.eu/latest-asylum-trends-annual-analysis/applications). Human rights violations in Turkey are not confined to prisons, courtrooms, or lists of individuals dismissed by decree-laws. These violations tear families apart, condemn children to prison conditions, deprive the critically ill of their right to medical treatment, silence academia, force professionals into exile, and drive the country’s skilled workforce abroad. The call for justice in Strasbourg is a test not only for Turkey but also for the credibility of the European human rights system. As justice is delayed, it is not only the victims who suffer, but the legal order itself.