Human Rights Defenders

What Human Rights Defenders does

Human Rights Defenders (HRD) is a Berlin-registered non-profit association (eingetragener Verein, e.V.) founded in 2018 by Turkish lawyers, former officials, and businesspeople who had sought political asylum in Germany. The organization provides free legal services and advocacy support to victims of human rights violations, with a primary focus on individuals connected to Turkey, including persecuted civil servants, educators, labor-rights victims, and persons with disabilities.

HRD operates four specialized victim-support platforms: the Hand in Hand (El ele) Platform for disability-related rights cases, the Victim Labor Platform for labor-rights violations, the Victim Educators Platform for dismissed or persecuted teachers, and the Anti-Persecution (Anti Kumpas) Platform addressing politically motivated prosecutions. In 2024, the organization launched the Global Human Rights Monitoring Project via hrmonitor.org, broadening its mandate beyond Turkey-specific casework toward systematic international monitoring. It also co-publishes the Turkey Rights Monitor newsletter with Solidarity with OTHERS and has produced 55+ reports, court monitoring documents, and thematic analyses since inception.

The organization's revenue model is donation- and membership-fee based with no disclosed financials, and services are delivered free of charge to beneficiaries. HRD is registered in the EU Transparency Register (October 2025) and operates with approximately 41 employees from its Berlin base, engaging with international bodies including the OSCE (Warsaw 2025, Vienna 2026) and academic partners such as JIWP and Kiel University (February 2026).

Name

Human Rights Defenders

Legal name

Human Rights Defenders e.V.

Website

https://humanrights-ev.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Human Rights Defenders is a Berlin-based non-profit founded in 2018 by Turkish asylum-seekers that provides free legal services to victims of human rights violations, primarily those linked to Turkey, via four specialized victim platforms and a global monitoring project.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Human Rights Advocacy Services

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Other Social Advocacy Organizations (813319)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Legal Services (8111), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations (BPAGAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Human Rights Monitoring, Documentation & Advocacy (BPADAGAK)

Keywords

• Human rights advocacy
• Legal aid services
• Non-profit association
• Victim support services
• Strategic litigation

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: HRD operates as a registered non-profit association (Gemeinnütziger Verein) in Germany. Donations are the primary revenue stream. The organization uses FundraisingBox for online donations. Donations are stated to be tax-deductible in Germany, and the organization can issue official donation receipts upon request.
2. Membership Fees: HRD offers membership opportunities for individuals to join the organization as Human Rights Defenders. Members are invited to contribute time, skills, and resources. The membership model serves both as a revenue source and as a volunteer acquisition channel.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Human Rights Defenders e.V. is a Germany-based non-profit association that provides free legal assistance, strategic litigation, and advocacy services to victims of human rights violations, with a special focus on Turkey. The organization operates four specialized victim-focused platforms (disability rights, labor rights, education rights, and anti-persecution), files petitions to UN human rights bodies and the European Court of Human Rights, and publishes research reports documenting torture, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, and press freedom violations.

Product overview

Human Rights Defenders e.V. (HRD) is a non-profit human rights advocacy organization based in Berlin, Germany. The organization operates as a unified advocacy platform rather than a commercial product company. HRD provides human rights case support, advocacy services, publishes reports and research publications, and engages in strategic litigation. The organization operates four specialized advocacy platforms: the Hand in Hand Platform (disability rights), Victim Labor Platform, Victim Educators Platform, and Anti-Persecution Platform. Additionally, HRD manages the Global Human Rights Monitoring Project (hrmonitor.org) for documenting and reporting on human rights situations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hand in Hand Platform A specialized platform dedicated to defending and promoting the rights of people with disabilities, operated under the HRD umbrella and managed by co-founder Hava Ciftciler.
• Victim Labor Platform A platform focused on labor rights and trade unions, supporting victims of labor-related human rights violations.
• Victim Educators Platform A platform focused on education-related human rights issues, supporting educators and students facing persecution.
• Anti-Persecution Platform A platform focused on supporting persecuted and excluded groups, addressing systematic discrimination and human rights violations.
• Global Human Rights Monitoring Project (Turkey Rights Monitor) A global project for monitoring human rights situations, documenting violations, and producing regular newsletters and reports focused on Turkey, covering arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearances, and press freedom.
• Free Legal Assistance and Case Filing End-to-end pro bono legal support provided to victims of human rights violations, from case preparation and filing through trial and enforcement of decisions, pursued at national, European (ECtHR), and UN levels.

Quantifiable outcome

• HRD submitted reports to the UN Committee Against Torture, UN OHCHR Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development, UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED), and Working Group on Enforced Disappearances (WGEID)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• International Association of Judicial Independence and World Peace (JIWP)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 February 2026HRD participated as speakers in the 21st JIWP International Conference on Judicial Independence, co-organized with Christian Albrechts Universität zu Kiel. Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Demir presented on 'Judicial Independence in Turkey: The Role of The Constitutional Court.' The conference addressed challenges in implementing ELI Mt Scopus Standards on Judicial Independence in Europe, with participation from international scholars, judiciary members, and legal experts.
• Christian Albrechts Universität zu Kiel (Kiel University)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 February 2026Kiel University co-organized the 21st JIWP International Conference on Judicial Independence with the International Association of Judicial Independence and World Peace (JIWP). The Faculty of Law and the Institute for East European Law provided academic leadership, hosting HRD's presentation on judicial independence in Turkey and the Yalçınkaya judgment.
• OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025HRD actively participates in OSCE events including the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference 2025. Presentations were given on freedom of expression (Day 3) and torture in Turkey (Day 4). The conference was organized under the Finnish OSCE Chairmanship with ODIHR support. HRD also attended the OSCE Vienna meeting on penal execution law in Turkey (March 2026).
• Solidarity with OTHERScoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024HRD partners with Solidarity with OTHERS on the Turkey Rights Monitor project, a weekly newsletter documenting human rights violations in Turkey. The newsletter covers topics such as arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearances, and press freedom violations. Published in both English and German. The partnership enables HRD to amplify their monitoring and documentation work to a wider audience across Europe.
• Hand in Hand Platform (disability rights)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Hand in Hand Platform is a specialized platform managed by HRD co-founder Hava Ciftciler, focusing on the rights of people with disabilities. The platform specializes in disability rights within HRD's broader mission. HRD is listed as a co-founder and manager of the platform. Started in 2020 as part of HRD's four-platform structure.
• Local lawyers and law firmscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018HRD works in cooperation with local lawyers to support victims in their efforts to obtain justice at the national and supranational level. These partnerships enable HRD to provide legal representation across different jurisdictions and legal systems, particularly in Turkey where local legal expertise is essential for case preparation and national-level proceedings.
• Other human rights NGOs and advocacy groupsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018HRD establishes contacts with other human rights NGOs and advocacy groups worldwide as part of its networking and coalition-building strategy. These partnerships support HRD's advocacy work by enabling joint reports, coordinated campaigns, and shared access to international human rights mechanisms.
• European Parliament and European CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018HRD completed registration in the European Parliament and European Commission Transparency Register (ID: 5517551100955-15) in October 2025, obtaining official status as a verified civil society organisation. This enables formal advocacy engagement with EU institutions and demonstrates institutional credibility.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Turkey Human Rights Litigation Support Project: Project supporting ECtHR litigation against Turkey on systemic rights issues including post-2016 purges. Highly comparable strategic-litigation model with overlapping beneficiary populations.
• FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights): Paris-based federation of 200+ human rights NGOs coordinating litigation and advocacy at UN/EU levels. Similar combined legal-assistance and international-advocacy model applied to Turkey among other countries.
• Front Line Defenders: Ireland-based organization focused on the protection of human rights defenders, with ECtHR and UN engagement. Comparable advocacy, international body submissions, and protection focus, though broader than Turkey-specific work.
• Helsinki Citizens' Assembly (HCA): Civil society network monitoring human rights in OSCE countries including Turkey, with advocacy at Council of Europe. Similar NGO-coalition and OSCE-conference engagement model.
• ECRE (European Council on Refugees and Exiles): European umbrella of refugee-rights NGOs engaged in ECtHR litigation and EU advocacy on push-backs at the Greek-Turkish border—an issue HRD directly addresses. Comparable legal-aid-plus-advocacy model.
• Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV): Turkey-based organization documenting torture and providing rehabilitation to victims of human rights violations. Most direct functional peer in HRD's primary area of focus on torture and arbitrary detention in Turkey.

Broad incumbents

• Amnesty International: Global human rights NGO producing country reports on Turkey and conducting advocacy at UN and EU bodies. Directly comparable mission and stakeholder set, but vastly larger scope and resources than HRD.
• Human Rights Watch: International human rights organization publishing detailed Turkey-focused investigations and engaging ECtHR/UN mechanisms. Closely aligned in research-driven advocacy and litigation strategy, with much broader geographic remit.
• CIVICUS: Global alliance focused on civil society space and protection of human rights defenders. Comparable UN body engagement, monitoring/research outputs, and advocacy around shrinking civic space in Turkey.

Emerging players

• Reporters Without Borders (RSF): Press freedom organization that publishes Turkey-specific press freedom reports and engages ECtHR/UN. Overlaps with HRD's press freedom topic area and conference presence, though narrower thematic focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HRDefsEN
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCbkfm3i_MY-AbImR48V2NJA
• Facebookfacebook.com/hrightsdefenders
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/humanrightsdefenders

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Human Rights Defenders