WASHINGTON, D.C. — June 3, 2026 — Michael Rubin, director of policy analysis at the Middle East Forum (MEF), will testify today before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC) at a hearing examining the erosion of democracy, the rule of law, and fundamental freedoms in Turkey. The hearing — “Can Turkey Find Its Way Back to Freedom? Authoritarian Consolidation versus the Defense of Turkish Democracy” (live coverage) — is co-chaired by Reps. Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ) and James P. McGovern (D-MA), co-chairs of the Commission, and convenes at 2:00 p.m. in room 2128 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
Rubin, a longtime authority on Turkish politics and Erdoğan-era authoritarianism, will address the regime’s intensifying repression in the aftermath of recent electoral setbacks for the ruling party — a campaign that has swept up the political opposition, independent journalists, civil society, and religious minorities at home, while increasingly reaching critics abroad.
Human rights advocates estimate that more than 15,000 political prisoners remain jailed in Turkey, among them journalists, lawyers, elected officials, academics, and democracy activists. The government has continued to target Kurdish politicians and religious figures, block opposition news platforms and social media accounts by court order, and prosecute citizens for online speech. Restrictions on religious minorities persist, including measures affecting the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the shuttered Halki Seminary.
“Turkey’s slide into authoritarianism does not stop at its borders. It is a NATO problem, a regional-stability problem, and a test of whether the United States will stand with the millions of Turks who still want a free country,” said Gregg Roman, executive director of the Middle East Forum. “Michael Rubin has tracked this trajectory longer and more clearly than almost anyone in Washington. Congress could not ask for a sharper guide to what is happening — and to what America can still do about it.”
Witnesses will examine the broader arc of democratic backsliding in Turkey, its implications for regional stability and the NATO alliance, and the policy options available to the United States and Congress to support democracy, judicial independence, free and fair elections, and respect for fundamental freedoms.
Hearing Details:
WHAT: Congressional hearing on political persecution, election manipulation, and censorship in Turkey, and the prospects for a return to democratic governance (Rep. Smith’s press release).
WHEN: Wednesday, June 3, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. EDT
WHERE: 2128 Rayburn House Office Building (livestreamed via the Commission’s website)
WITNESSES (partial list):
Henri Barkey — Adjunct Senior Fellow for Middle East Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
Michael Rubin — Director of Policy Analysis, Middle East Forum
Serkan Golge — Senior Research Scientist; former political prisoner in Turkey
Andrew O’Donohue — Carl J. Friedrich Fellow, Harvard University; Nonresident Scholar, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
WHO: Co-chairs of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, other members of the Commission, and the witnesses.
The Middle East Forum is a Philadelphia-based applied policy research organization that promotes U.S. interests in the Middle East and protects Western civilization from Islamist threats. Founded in 1994, MEF pairs rigorous analysis with direct-action programs to advance U.S. leadership, support America’s allies, and defend religious liberty worldwide.
For more information, visit www.meforum.org.
For immediate release
For more information, contact:
Gregg Roman
Roman@MEForum.org
+1 (215) 546 5406
@GreggRoman - Twitter
