Dr Hakan Demir

Turkey Expert — Human Rights, Political Situation & Asylum Cases

Expert at The Human Rights Experts, an international expert witness organisation.

We provide expert witness reports for asylum cases worldwide, covering human rights violations, political persecution, and systemic oppression. Our reports are trusted by lawyers, courts, and immigration authorities, in full compliance with procedural standards and tribunal requirements in the UK (CPR Part 35, Upper Tribunal PD, First-tier Tribunal IAC PD), USA (Federal Rules of Evidence), Canada, and the EU.

Occupation

• Country Witness Expert on Turkey
• Human Rights Specialist
• Legal Researcher and Academic Consultant
• Independent Journalist and Investigative Reporter on Human Rights

Expertise

I provide expert analysis on all five Refugee Convention grounds — political opinion, religion, ethnicity, membership of a particular social group (including LGBT and gender-based cases), and nationality — with a focus on the following country:

Turkey: Turkey's political environment is defined by the systematic persecution of perceived opponents of the ruling government, with anti-terrorism laws and emergency provisions weaponized against opposition politicians, trade union leaders, academics who signed peace petitions, military personnel subjected to mass purges, and civil servants dismissed through guilt-by-association metrics such as use of encrypted communication applications or deposits in particular financial institutions. The Kurdish population faces a multifaceted pattern of persecution encompassing military operations in southeastern provinces, prosecution of Kurdish-language educators and journalists, and the arrest and removal of democratically elected Kurdish mayors and parliamentarians. Ethnic and religious minorities, including Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks, and Alevis, face historical and ongoing discrimination in property rights, religious education, and cultural preservation, with hate speech and targeted violence against these communities occurring with impunity. Women face escalating rates of femicide and domestic violence within a legal framework weakened by the withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, and forced and child marriage persists in rural areas. LGBT individuals are denied legal recognition and protection, face bans on public gatherings and advocacy, and are subjected to hate crimes and discriminatory dismissal from employment, with transgender persons particularly vulnerable to violence and exploitation.

Experience

• Served as an expert witness in over 110 asylum proceedings before UK immigration tribunals, the Royal Courts of Justice, and US immigration courts, specializing in Turkish political asylum cases including Gulen-affiliated claims, Kurdish political persecution, and military purge cases.
• Delivered extensive oral testimony before the Upper Tribunal and provided expert reports to the Administrative Appeals Office on Turkish detention conditions, the operation of anti-terrorism courts, and the treatment of minorities and political prisoners.
• Authored comprehensive country condition reports on Turkey for legal aid firms, barristers' chambers, and international organisations, covering judicial independence, prison conditions, and the efficacy of internal relocation for persecuted groups.
• Held a position as Senior Lecturer in Political Science and International Law at Bilkent University, conducting research on democratic governance, emergency powers, and the rule of law in Turkey.
• Partnered with international human rights monitoring bodies to investigate enforced disappearances, torture in police custody, and the erosion of press freedom in Turkey. Expert member of The Human Rights Experts.

Full professional experience is available in the CV. Please email us to receive the detailed expert CV.

Publications

Available upon request and detailed in the expert CV.

Languages

• Turkish (Native)
• English (Fluent)
• Kurdish — Kurmanji (Conversational)
• Arabic (Reading proficiency)

Religious Groups Expertise

All religious groups

Contact Email

info@thehuman-rights.com