VIOLATION JUDGMENTS DELIVERED BY THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS AGAINST TÜRKİYE IN THE AFTERMATH OF 15 JULY

In Türkiye, tens of thousands of people have been subjected to violations of their rights through unlawful practices and decisions that began as a reaction to the corruption and bribery operations of 17/25 December and became state policy in the wake of the attempted coup of 15 July. Serious instances of lawlessness occurred, in particular, in the detentions, arrests and trials carried out within the scope of the investigations launched after the attempted coup of 15 July. As a result of these practices and decisions — contrary above all to universal principles of law, as well as to the Constitution and statute law — it has become impossible to protect fundamental rights and freedoms through domestic remedies or to redress the violations suffered. Indeed, in the present circumstances no effective domestic remedy remains before the Constitutional Court, the other first instance courts; most importantly, through the structural changes that have been made, the Turkish judiciary has been transformed into a judicial system operating under the direction of the government.

Throughout this period, victims lodged a great number of applications with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on account of these unlawful practices and decisions. Although not with the speed or quality desired, the applications lodged have begun to be adjudicated by the ECtHR. In this context, significant violation judgments have been delivered concerning arbitrary and unjustified interferences with the right to liberty and security first and foremost, as well as with the right to a fair trial, freedom of expression, freedom of association and other fundamental rights and freedoms. Accordingly, as of July 2026, 114 violation judgments had been delivered in joined cases concerning 8,056 applicants, and a total of 20,672,440 euros in compensation had been awarded in those judgments.

Against this background, our foundation has prepared this booklet, containing summaries of the violation judgments delivered by the ECtHR against Türkiye after the attempted coup of 15 July, in order to contribute to the legal struggle of the individuals harmed by the dark and lawless period experienced in Türkiye.
In the light of these judgments, which contain the most fundamental findings concerning universal law and constitutional guarantees, we hope that this study, prepared by Justice Square, will prove useful, with the wish that the human rights violations experienced in Türkiye may come to an end as soon as possible.