Turkish Government Continues to Prosecute and Punish Conscientious Objectors

Mid-Year Update 2025 from Conscientious Objection Watch (Turkey)

Conscientious Objection Watch shares its mid-year update for 2025. For conscientious objectors in Turkey, 2025 began with new trials, prison sentences, and ongoing "civil death" practices, just like in previous years.

Since the beginning of the year, conscientious objectors have been tried and sentenced to prison for refusing to do compulsory military service. The effects of the deepening economic and political crises in Turkey have begun to have increasingly deeper and more destructive effects on the individual/daily lives of conscientious objectors due to the civil deaths they have been suffering.

As the Conscientious Objection Watch team, we have been working intensively since the beginning of the year. In February and March, we had the opportunity to attend the preliminary sessions of the United Nations Universal Periodic Review and the Human Rights Council in Geneva. We had the opportunity to share the multiplier impact of the right to conscientious objection violated in Turkey with international actors. In addition, we organized various events to raise awareness of the right to conscientious objection in Turkey and to increase the visibility of the right to conscientious objection in the public. We organised several events with different civil society organizations and groups and so we had a chance to talk on conscientious objection within different social movements.

In the summary below and in the full bulletin, which you can access by clicking here , you can find information about our activities since the beginning of 2025, the prosecutions of conscientious objectors, and the rights violations they have experienced. We would be very glad if you would share our bulletin in your own networks and support our efforts to make the experiences of conscientious objectors in Turkey visible!

In these times when peace and de-conflict are on the agenda in Turkey, we need to talk more about conscientious objection, discuss it and call more people to refuse compulsory military service. We know how important it is to practice the right to conscientious objection against compulsory military service in building peace.

Therefore, we ask for your valuable support in order to continue our work, support more conscientious objectors and strengthen our work to socialize conscientious objection. Every donation you make will support us in strengthening the advocacy of the right to conscientious objection in Turkey and will allow us to reach more conscientious objectors. You can make your donations here.

Although the Turkish government continues to insist on ignoring the right to conscientious objection, we will continue our struggle until the right to conscientious objection is recognized as a human right in Turkey and compulsory military service is abolished. Because conscientious objection is a right.

Thank you in advance for your valuable support!

Merve Arkun

Coordinator, Conscientious Objection Watch

FEBRUARY

Participation of the UN Universal Periodic Review Pre-Sessions and Human Rights Council 

Conscientious Objection Watch, accompanied by its partner organization Connection e.V., participated in the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) pre-sessions and the Human Rights Council.

MARCH

68-Year-Old Conscientious Objector Sentenced to Prison

68-year-old conscientious objector Ziya Gökalp Türkeş was sentenced to 10 months in prison by Mersin 3rd Criminal  of First Instance for “Violating the Military Penal Code”. The court decided to defer the announcement of the verdict against Türkeş.

APRIL

Conscientious Objector Mahmut Elkuş’s Appeal Rejected, Sentence Against Him Finalized

The Court of Appeal rejected conscientious objector Mahmut Elkuş’s appeal and finalized the judicial fine of 6.000,00 TL (approx. 140 EUR)

Two More Lawsuits Filed Against İnan Mayıs Aru for Conscientious Objection

İnan Mayıs Aru, who declared his conscientious objection in 2008, is facing new lawsuits after several criminal cases against him in which prison sentences were converted into money.

Conscientious Objector Osman Murat Ülke Summoned to Military Service for the Third Time in a Year

On April 2, 2024 and August 7, 2024, and lastly on on April 9 2025, The Ministry of National Defense has called onscientious objector Osman Murat Ülke for military service three times.Despite an ECtHR ruling issued in 2006, conscientious objector Osman Murat Ülke’s rights violations continue as a result of the state’s failure to implement alternative measures to eliminate his victimisation.

MAY

Events for International Conscientious Objection Day 
We organized online and in person events for May 15, International Conscientious Objection Day. We talked about conscientious objection, civil disobedience and peacebuilding in the events we organized in Istanbul.

Borçka Criminal Court of First Instance Sentences Conscientious Objector Şendoğan Yazıcı to Prison

In the lawsuit filed in Artvin’s Borçka district on April 11, 2025, the court ruled that conscientious objector Şendoğan Yazıcı’s social media posts constitute a crime.