MEF's Michael Rubin Testifies to Congress on Turkey’s Authoritarian Crackdown

Description

Middle East Forum’s Director of Policy Analysis Michael Rubin testifies before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Turkey’s authoritarian crackdown and the future of Turkish democracy.

Rubin argues that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s repression has intensified over the past year, targeting political opponents, undermining rule of law, fueling antisemitic and anti-Western incitement, and deepening Turkey’s democratic collapse. He warns that Washington’s failure to confront Erdoğan’s abuses has encouraged further authoritarian consolidation.

The testimony examines the arrests and political targeting of Turkish opposition figures, the legacy of the 2016 coup attempt, genocide denial, threats facing Turkey’s Jewish community, Kurdish rights, and the broader consequences for U.S. policy, NATO, the Eastern Mediterranean, and regional stability.

Rubin urges a bipartisan U.S. policy toward Turkey rooted in human rights, transparency, press freedom, minority rights, and historical accountability.