Editing Human rights in Turkey (section)

==Overview==
Acute human rights issues include in particular the status of [[Kurds in Turkey]]. The [[Kurdish–Turkish conflict]] has caused numerous [[human rights]] violations over the years. There is an ongoing debate in the country on the [[right to life]], [[torture]], [[Freedom of thought|freedom of expression]] as well as freedoms of [[Freedom of religion|religion]], [[Freedom of assembly|assembly]] and [[Freedom of association|association]].

In 2009, the [[Human Rights Foundation of Turkey]] released two reports detailing human rights abuses including torture, ill-treatment and isolation of small groups in prison.<ref name="rel" /> The reports documented 419 deaths in custody in a period of 15 years of military rule with 39 deaths recorded in prison in 2008 alone. Under the state of emergency powers, crackdown on the media freedom increased with several journalist arrested and held in prisons, media outlets shuttered or taken over by the state on the allegations of terrorism, “anti-state activities” and “denigrating Turkishness” or “insulting Islam”.<ref name="freemuse" /><ref name="freedomhouse" />

Turkey still keeps laws which are seen as undemocratic or authoritarian, such as prohibiting minorities to get a primary education in their mother tongue. The country's largest minority, the [[Kurdish people|Kurds]], which comprise 15% of the population, have no right to self-determination even though Turkey has signed the ICCPR. In March 2017, the United Nations accused the Turkish government of "massive destruction, killings and numerous other serious human rights violations" against the ethnic Kurdish minority.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=56330#.WMMp5DvyuM8|title=Turkey: UN report details allegations of serious rights violations in country's southeast|first=United Nations News Service|last=Section|date=10 March 2017|access-date=28 April 2017|archive-date=17 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517210603/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=56330#.WMMp5DvyuM8|url-status=live}}</ref>