Inter­na­tio­nal Support of Conscien­tious Objec­tors and Deserters

Supreme Court disrupts Ukraine’s accession to EU by repressions for faith and pacifism

(27.10.2025) In the midst of an international scandal around the imprisonment and torture of conscientious objectors, the judges showed a little mercy to Vitalii Kryushenko without due acquittal, but did not even mention it on the court’s website, as the policy of repression for faith seems to remain unchanged. The Joint Chamber of the Cassation Criminal Court of the Supreme Court denied a cassation complaint against the sentence to a prisoner of conscience Vitaliy Kryushenko, but suspended the sentence and released him from prison with one-year probationary term.

April - June 2024: Activities and Developments on the Right to Conscientious Objection in Turkey

Newsletter of the Conscientious Objection Watch Initiative

(25.07.2024) This is Merve Arkun, Conscientious Objection Watch Coordinator. I am writing to inform you about the latest issue of the Conscientious Objection Bulletin, which we publish periodically. In the latest issue, you can find the experiences of conscientious objectors in Turkey between April-June 2024. In the period April-June 2024, conscientious objectors in Turkey were subjected to many rights violations and restrictions, from violations of the right to work to restrictions on freedom of movement. Below you can find a brief summary of Conscientious Objection Watch’s activities in April-June.

Interim Resolution on Violations of the Right to Conscientious Objection in Turkey

Newsletter of the Conscientious Objection Watch Initiative

(16.07.2024) This is Merve Arkun, the coordinator of the Conscientious Objection Watch, from Turkey. I would like to inform you about the interim decision of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the Ülke Group of Cases monitoring the situation of conscientious objectors in Turkey. Eighteen years after the European Court of Human Rights issued its first judgment in favor of conscientious objector Osman Murat Ülke, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe added a new one to its interim decisions on violations of the right to conscientious objection in Turkey.

Conscientious Objectors Share Their Stories

Part II: Kemal Soylu

(11.06.2024) This is Merve Arkun from the Conscientious Objection Watch, Turkey. We are happy to share with you the second video of the series of interviews we started to share the stories of conscientious objectors from Turkey, the first video of which we published on the International Day of Conscientious Objection. In the second interview of the interview series, we share the experiences of conscientious objector Kemal Soylu.