State pressure on public dissent in Turkey has intensified year by year. Data on cases initiated under special laws by public prosecutors have strengthened critiques that the judiciary has become a tool of the ruling government.
According to a report by Birgün, the number of case files opened by public prosecutors under the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations is expected to reach nearly 4,500 by the end of 2024.
Amid an ongoing economic crisis and criticism of government policies, many citizens demanding rights have faced the threat of legal investigation. The pressure on public opposition has been evident in the detentions of citizens protesting operations against the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) on March 19.
Data from public prosecutors reveal a stark picture. By the end of 2024, 4,379 files had been opened under Law No. 2911. The total number of suspects named in these files reached 11,041. Authorities issued a total of 14,016 charges against these individuals in 2024 alone, based on alleged violations of the right to protest.
In 2023, 4,097 investigation files were opened for violating Law No. 2911. These involved 12,571 suspects and resulted in 17,120 separate criminal charges.
Further proof that the judiciary is being used as a “stick” against constitutional rights lies in statistics from the Constitutional Court. In 2022, the court recorded 602 violation applications related to the right to organize assemblies and protests. This figure more than doubled in 2023, reaching 1,403.
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