Turkey saw a sharp increase in discriminatory, racist and hate-fueled attacks between January 1 and September 1, 2024, the Stockholm Center for Freedom reported, citing a report published by the Turkish Human Rights Foundation (TİHV).
The report detailed at least 72 verbal or physical attacks during the period studied. Vulnerable groups targeted included Kurds, LGBT individuals, refugees and ethnic minorities. The attacks resulted in at least five deaths and 26 injuries.
Of the 72 attacks, 29 were directed at refugees, who have been at the center of anti-refugee sentiment in Turkey in recent years.
One of the most significant incidents occurred in July in central province Kayseri, where riots broke out following allegations of child abuse involving a Syrian refugee. The unrest quickly escalated into violent attacks against Syrian homes, businesses and vehicles, spreading to other cities across Turkey. According to the report, at least 3,000 Syrians were forced to flee the region, and 24 refugee-owned businesses were closed.
Following the riots, 17-year-old Ahmet Handan El Naif, a Syrian refugee, was killed in a racially motivated stabbing in Antalya, on July 3. His two friends were also injured in the assault.
According to a report by the Stockholm Center for Freedom titled “Hate Speech and Hate Crimes Against Syrian Refugees in Turkey” refugees and minorities have become the groups most targeted by negative political rhetoric and hate speech in recent years.
In such an environment, Syrians have been at the center of anti-refugee sentiment, expressed in particular on social media and often by political parties. With inflation soaring in recent years, they have been blamed for many of Turkey’s social and economic ills.
The TİHV report recorded 13 attacks against Kurds. One incident in Muğla on June 29 involved a Kurdish family of seasonal workers who were attacked by a group of 20 people after a traffic dispute. The attackers reportedly used ethnic slurs and physically assaulted the family with knives and sticks. The report also noted that authorities were slow to respond, and the family’s complaints were not followed up on.
In a separate incident in January, Kurdish factory worker Levent Güner was attacked by coworkers in Ankara, allegedly due to his ethnicity. Although Güner’s assault was documented at a hospital, police reportedly refused to include the ethnic nature of the attack in their report.
Discriminatory discourse and hate speech against minorities have a long history in Turkey. Since the foundation of the modern Turkish Republic, hate speech has been used in political campaigns. Armenians, for example, have been portrayed as enemies and associated with violence, terrorism and massacres (in the context of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict). Greeks were targeted following escalating tensions between Greece and Turkey over drilling and gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean. Jews have also been a target of hate speech, particularly after Israel’s attacks on Gaza.
The report also documented 12 attacks against LGBT individuals.
A notable case involved transgender social media personality Mika Raun, who was assaulted while on holiday in Antalya in June. Raun shared her experience in a series of videos on social media, revealing that police had escorted her to the hospital after the attack.
“I am so scared now that I hesitate to go to the grocery store,” Raun said in one video, expressing fear after the assault.
The increase in hateful rhetoric against the LGBT community in Turkey coincided with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s electoral alliances in recent years with ultranationalist and ultraconservative political factions.
Some Turkish media outlets have also played a significant role in demonizing migrants, refugees, ethnic minorities and the LGBT community by amplifying hateful political rhetoric and discriminatory remarks.