Freedom Convention 2025
Dec 10 2025
WHEN:
Dec 10, 2025 at 11:00am
WHERE:
First Amendment Lounge
CONTACT INFO:
MORE INFO:
Meeting
This event is not sponsored or endorsed by The National Press Club. Inquiries should be directed to the contact above.
FREEDOM CONVENTION 2025
Turkey at the Crossroads: Democracy & Justice in Focus
As Turkey faces an intensifying authoritarian crisis, marked by repression, shrinking civic space, and the erosion of democratic institutions, the Freedom Convention Turkey 2025 convenes survivors, advocates, scholars and artists to confront this critical moment. Organized by Advocates of Silenced Turkey (AST), this year’s convention centers the theme “Turkey at the Crossroads: Democracy & Justice in Focus,” offering a space for dialogue and collective reflection on pathways toward democratic renewal.
The convention features two major panel sessions along with a powerful memory-based art exhibition.
Session I: “Law, Rights, and Repression — Authoritarianism on Trial” examines how Turkey’s legal system is weaponized to criminalize dissent undermining judicial independence. Panelists will address politicized prosecutions, the legal façade used to justify rights violations, and Turkey’s ongoing refusal to comply with international human rights obligations. The session also highlights domestic and transnational efforts to pursue accountability, document abuses, and defend civic space.
Session II: “State Violence, Censorship, and Discrimination” focuses on the communities most affected by repression, including women, journalists, ethnic and religious minorities, and political dissidents. Speakers will explore the criminalization of journalism, rising ethno-nationalism, and gender-based violence.
The event will open with a screening of The Decree, directed by panelist Nejla Demirci. The documentary follows a cardiologist and a teacher dismissed without cause after the 2016 coup attempt, capturing their struggle to maintain dignity amid sweeping injustice.
Accompanying the panels is “Silent Screams,” an evocative exhibition of memory objects shared by imprisoned and exiled families in Turkey, testimonies of loss, resilience, and fight for justice.
At its core, Freedom Convention Turkey 2025 is more than an event—it is a call to action, inviting participants to confront the present, challenge impunity, and imagine a future rooted in dignity and democratic possibility for all.
Contact: [email protected]