Report on hate crimes from Turkey's CHP party

Turkey’s main opposition party, the Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (CHP), has submitted a 53-page progress report to the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission in parliament. The document not only outlines steps towards a democratic and legal solution to the Kurdish issue, but also provides a detailed analysis of the increasing number of hate crimes in the country.

The report, which includes a special section titled “Recommendations for the Punishment of Hate Speech and Hate Crimes,” highlights serious legal gaps in the fight against hate crimes in Turkey. The CHP states that the country is one of the few countries in Europe that still does not have an independent “Hate Crimes Law.” This gap, according to the report’s authors, reinforces a climate of impunity, which is accompanied by severe consequences, especially in cases of violence against the LGBTQI+ community.

According to the CHP, statistics compiled by various civil society organizations each year show that hate crimes against migrants, Alevis, non-Muslims and LGBTQI+ people are systematically committed. Some of these cases result in death or serious bodily harm, while many people feel in danger and isolated.

The report notes that smaller and more local acts of violence are no longer officially documented as they are accepted as part of everyday life. Caricatures like “Which region will the first pillar of Ramadan come from?” shared on social media every Ramadan clearly show the scale of normalized violence.

The CHP also highlights the increase in hate speech in the media and digital platforms, which further deepens tensions and hostility in society. According to the party, both the lack of a new legal framework and the ineffective implementation of existing laws create a “perception of impunity” that further emboldens potential perpetrators.

The party proposes the abolition of the statute of limitations for hate crimes, the precise definition of "hate crime" in the Turkish Criminal Code, and the legal establishment of the hate motive as a general aggravating circumstance.

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