‘82.1 Percent of Society Think That Fundamental Rights and Freedoms are Violated’

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Amnesty International Turkey and MetroPOLL Strategic and Social Research Center have jointly conducted a Survey on Perception of Human Rights.

The results of the survey have shown that when they hear the expression of "human rights", 65.2 percent of the participants think of "right to life" first. While "freedom of expression" comes to the minds of 33.5 percent, the right to a fair trial ranks third with 22.1 percent.

According to the survey participated by 2,651 people from 28 cities and conducted in a face-to-face manner, 82.1 percent of the society think that fundamental rights and freedoms are violated in Turkey. Of these people, 58 percent say that fundamental rights are occasionally violated and 42 percent say that they are frequently violated.

62.6 percent of the participants are of the opinion that fundamental rights and freedoms are restricted in Turkey. While 72 percent of the young participants think that fundamental rights and freedoms are restricted, this rate falls as the age of the participant gets older.

82.6 percent of the participants indicate that the trials not concluded for a long time is a violation of human rights.

'People cannot use their rights equally'

According to the survey, four out of every five people in Turkey think that everyone is equal before the law. 

However, over half of the participants (54.4 percent) are of the opiniın that people cannot use their rights equally. The rate of those thinking that everyone can use their rights equally is 37.3 percent.

'Problems arise from insufficiency of laws'

According to the survey, while 53.3 percent of the participants say that fundamental human rights are guaranteed by laws in Turkey, 37.9 percent indicate that fundamental rights and freedoms are not guaranteed by laws.

As the first cause of problems experienced in human rights, the participants (37.5 percent) refer to "the insufficiency of laws".

"Insensitivity of citizens" and "problematic of justice/judiciary" are listed as the other causes of human rights violations.

'Human rights are universal'

76 percent of the participants believe that "Humans have inviolable, inalienable rights that they are born with." Those who say the opposite is 16.9 percent. To the question on whether human rights are universal or not, 82.1 percent answer "Yes" and 11.4 percent say "No".

'People cannot express their opinions freely'

43.8 percent of the participants indicate that they cannot express their opinion freely among other people and 43.4 percent say that they cannot express them on social media. However, while 46.6 percent indicate that they can express their opinions freely among people, this rate falls to 38.4 percent when it comes to expressing them on social media.

To the question "Do you think that people can express their opinions freely in Turkey", 52.4 percent of the participants answer "No". The rate of those thinking that people can express their opinions freely is 37.7 percent.

'Police don't have the right to hit people'

While three out of every four participants say that "police do not have the right to hit people", their answer does not change when the expression is changed into "police have the right to inflict violence on people in detention."

According to the results of the survey, 75 percent of the participants say that police do not have the right to use violence.

Even when an emphasis is put on the word "criminals", participants indicate that security forces do not have the right to inflict violence on them.

'Women have the right to work without asking anyone'

A vast majority of the participants express opinion that women have the right to work without asking the permission of anyone.

To the sentence "Women have the right to work, just as men do", 43 percent answer "I totally agree" and 39.5 percent say "I agree". The rate of those indicating that "they totally disagree" is 4.4 percent.

'Are you optimistic about the future?'

While the rate of the ones who look at the future of human rights in Turkey optimistically is 45.2 percent, the rate of those who are pessimistic about it is 41.7 percent. (AS/SD)