Turkey’s campaign of transnational repression against critics abroad continued throughout 2025. Since a coup attempt in July 2016, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s long arm has targeted tens of thousands of Turkish citizens abroad who are perceived as threats to the government or as critical of its policies.
Nearly a decade after the failed coup, the Turkish government continues targeting Gülen movement supporters. A sustained campaign of persecution inside Turkey has relied on legally questionable charges and evidence, an approach mirrored by Ankara abroad, targeting dissidents and Gülen movement members across the globe through an expanding range of methods and channels.
The campaign has mostly relied on renditions, in which Turkey and its National Intelligence Organization (MİT) persuade other states to hand over individuals without due process. Victims of such operations have reported several human rights violations, including arbitrary arrest, torture and ill-treatment.
Throughout the year, these efforts included the forced deportation of a UN-protected refugee by Rwanda and attempts to secure deportations from Kenya, Mozambique and Brazil. Surveillance and profiling of Turkish citizens through diplomatic missions and pro-government diaspora organizations, denial of consular services and outright intimidation continued unabated as well.
German intelligence authorities confirmed in a June report Turkey’s spying on dissidents, highlighting the active role played by Turkish diplomatic missions in Germany in the collection, analysis and transmission of intelligence. A UK parliamentary report also listed Turkey as one of the states that had conducted transnational repression activities on UK soil.
Despite being among the countries most frequently criticized for abusing INTERPOL mechanisms, Turkey pressed ahead with efforts to secure the organization’s presidency for its own candidate in the November election, disregarding criticism from member states. This bid, widely seen as reflecting Ankara’s determination to continue with its transnational repression, ultimately failed when the Turkish candidate lost the election.
The Turkish government also enabled the transnational repression of Chinese, Azerbaijani, Iranian, Turkmen and Syrian dissidents on Turkish soil by forcibly deporting them to their home countries in violation of the international legal principle of non-refoulement.
Here is some of the most important news from 2025 concerning Turkey’s efforts at transnational repression.
UN-protected refugee deported to Turkey by Rwanda with his children
A Turkish refugee under United Nations protection was deported from Rwanda to Turkey in June with his three children, following apparent pressure from the Turkish government. More…
Teacher abducted by Turkish intelligence denied surgery for 16 months after arm broken during torture
A Turkish educator abducted from Kyrgyzstan by Turkish intelligence in 2021 told an opposition lawmaker that he was denied surgery for 16 months after his arm was broken in three places during torture while in custody. More…
Top court ruled Turkey violated rights of Gülen-linked teacher abducted from Kazakhstan
Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled that authorities had violated their obligation to investigate credible allegations of torture made by Zabit Kişi, a former teacher convicted of links to the Gülen movement, following his reported abduction from Kazakhstan and incommunicado detention. More…
Turkish refugee arrested in Kenya faced forced return to Turkey: Amnesty
Mustafa Güngör, a Turkish refugee residing in Kenya, was detained on December 21 with his family and was at serious risk of refoulement to Turkey. He was later released on a personal bond pending a hearing scheduled for February 3. More…
Turkish lawyer detained in Mozambique over extradition request denied access to legal counsel
Emre Çınar, a Turkish lawyer detained in Mozambique on December 30 following an extradition request from Turkish authorities over alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement, was not granted access to his attorneys or family during his detention.
He was released pending trial by a Mozambican court on January 5, 2026. More…
Turkish journalist living in exile said he continues to face threats to his life
Turkish investigative journalist Cevheri Güven said he continues to face constant threats to his life, even after seeking asylum in Germany. More…
Turkish businessman arrested in Brazil faced extradition to Turkey over Gulen links
Turkish-Brazilian dual national Mustafa Göktepe was arrested in São Paulo in May following an extradition request from the Turkish government over his links to the Gülen movement.
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) later ordered his release, citing a lack of clear evidence in the Turkish extradition request. More…
Kyrgyz teacher at school taken over by Ankara-backed foundation detained in Turkey
Azamat Numat Uulu, a Kyrgyz math teacher who traveled to Turkey in April for a student competition, has not been heard from since Turkish border authorities reportedly detained him at İstanbul Airport. More…
Sweden rejected Turkey’s extradition request for journalist Abdullah Bozkurt
Sweden rejected Turkey’s request to extradite journalist living in exile Abdullah Bozkurt, ruling that the accusations against him are not punishable under Swedish law and therefore cannot form the basis for extradition. More…
Germany investigated Turkish consulate employee, police officer over suspected espionage
German federal prosecutors launched an investigation into a Turkish consulate employee and a police officer of Turkish descent on suspicion of spying for Turkey. More…
Turkey continued spying on Gülen followers, PKK supporters in Germany
Turkey’s intelligence services continued to operate in Germany, focusing primarily on spying on followers of the faith-based Gülen movement and supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), according to a report from Germany’s domestic intelligence agency. More…
Turkish spy agency stepped up recruitment of informants among diaspora during holiday season
As millions of Turks flocked to Turkey’s resort towns and cities for the summer holidays, the country’s intelligence agency MİT ramped up covert operations aimed at recruiting informants from among the diaspora. More…
US judge rejected Turkey’s request for data on Gülen movement members, citing political motives
A US federal judge rejected a request by the Turkish government seeking the financial records of five individuals linked to the faith-based Gülen movement, citing concerns that the case was politically motivated and part of a broader campaign of transnational repression. More…
Turkey secretly plotted to bypass INTERPOL rules to target exiled journalist in Sweden
A classified memo issued by Turkey’s Security Directorate General reveals covert efforts to circumvent INTERPOL rules in order to secure an international arrest warrant, also known as a Red Notice, against a Turkish journalist living in exile who has been granted asylum in Sweden. More…
Turkey among top abusers of INTERPOL’s notice system: UK parliament report
Turkey is among the most prolific abusers of INTERPOL’s notice system, a UK parliamentary report found, warning that authoritarian regimes are increasingly exploiting international policing tools to target exiles and critics abroad. The report, published on July 30 by the Joint Committee on Human Rights, said it received evidence alleging that many states had conducted transnational repression (TNR) activities on UK soil, listing Turkey along with China, Russia, Iran and others. More…
Turkey accused of targeting Uyghur refugees as ties with China improve: HRW
Turkish authorities arbitrarily labeled Uyghur refugees as security threats, detained them and deported some to third countries where they face the risk of return to China, a pattern Human Rights Watch (HRW) said has intensified as Turkey’s ties with Beijing have improved. More…
HRW urged Turkey to halt deportation of Turkmen activists at risk of torture, unfair trial
HRW urged Turkish authorities to immediately halt the deportation of two Turkmen activists detained in northern Turkey, warning that they face a serious risk of torture, enforced disappearance and arbitrary imprisonment if returned to Turkmenistan. Alisher Sakhatov and Abdulla Orusov were detained by migration authorities in the city of Sinop on April 28. More…
Azeri student deported from Turkey after joining campus protest alleges mistreatment
Nanaxaanım Babazade, an Azerbaijani graduate student, was transferred in August to a repatriation center in Çatalca, İstanbul, after taking part in a student protest against rising meal prices at İstanbul University.
Turkish authorities have designated her as a “foreign terrorist fighter” for participating in the protest.
After deportation from Turkey, Babazade claimed she had been physically restrained, denied prescribed medication and forced to wear something resembling a dog muzzle that left her struggling to breathe. More…
Turkey moved to deport Azerbaijani opposition figure accused of backing coup attempt
Turkey moved to deport Azerbaijani opposition figure and former lawmaker Gültekin Hacıbeyli after detaining her in İstanbul on November 29. More…
Iranian activist in Turkish custody faced risk of deportation after 45 days of detention
Mohammad Abbaspour, a political activist from southwestern Iran who sought asylum in Turkey, was detained on October 10 by Turkish security forces for 45 days and faced the risk of deportation or extradition to Iran. More…
Iranian Kurdish dissident in İstanbul died from gunshot wounds
An Iranian Kurdish dissident died on October 12 after being shot while walking home in İstanbul, in what rights groups described as a political assassination. More…
Kurdish activist sentenced to death in Iran faced deportation from Turkey
A Kurdish human rights activist sentenced to death in Iran was detained in Turkey and faced deportation. Soran Aram was sent to a repatriation center despite having United Nations refugee status and approval for resettlement in Canada. More…
Turkey deported Syrian rights activist, wife in violation of international law
Turkey deported a prominent Syrian human rights activist and his wife to Syria on May 19 in violation of international law. Taha Elgazi, a long-time refugee rights defender, was detained by plainclothes police May 16 on the pretext of an “address verification” and was held incommunicado for three days. More…
Top Iranian court upheld death sentence of pop singer extradited from Turkey
Iran’s Supreme Court upheld a death sentence on blasphemy charges handed down to a pop singer whom Turkey had extradited at Tehran’s request, a judiciary spokesman said on May 17. More…
Human rights advocate worried Turkey may return Iranian refugees to Iran
Iranian human rights advocates expressed concern that Iranian refugees in Turkey are at risk of being returned to Iran following a shift in asylum policies that transferred refugee oversight from the United Nations to Turkish authorities. More…