 Charges directed against those detained in assemblies are exaggerated The ECtHR rules that the prosecution of peaceful protesters is a violation of the right to assembly. Although data gathering on this issue is quite difficult, the volume of ECtHR cases on this claim and the Ministry of Justice statistics offer a grim picture. The number of people against whom legal procedural action was started, and the number of those charged with the violation of Law Number 2911 have increased significantly since 2011. One reason for this trend is the legislative background. The law has extensive punitive measures for noncompliance with the broad restrictions on assemblies. For instance, assemblies are banned in places other than the routes announced by the Governorate at the beginning of the year. Therefore, participating in an assembly peacefully in any place other than the designated route could lead to prison sentences of up to 2 years. Other criminal charges are also commonly directed at protesters, such as laws related to terrorism and laws against ‘resisting civil servants’. Reprisals against protesters in courts has become frequent, another addition to the chilling effect on assemblies. The most recent ECtHR decision on the issue demonstrates this trend. In Gülcü v. Turkey, a minor was detained for two years and convicted of being a member of a terrorist organization after he attended a demonstration supposedly called by a group recognized as a terrorist organization by the state and threw rocks at the police. Other charges directed at him were supporting a terrorist organization and resisting the police. ECtHR overturned his judgment. These techniques transform into a systematic problem in which the individual taking part in protests deemed ‘illegal’ by the state authorities risk being labeled as criminals and are given aggravated sentences that don’t fit the crime.  There is discriminatory treatment in how public authorities and security forces recognize the right to peaceful assembly. In the monitoring process, discriminatory treatment was observed based on the political affiliations of the organizers, and content of assemblies, often against groups who hold opposition views and dissenting positions. Pro-government rallies and assemblies organized by public authorities had heavy security measures, and yet no interventions. Dissenting assemblies, on the other hand, faced with administrative hurdles, overbearing security measures, and disproportionate use of force. The space and time restrictions were also only applied inconsistently as well. Assemblies supporting government policies were held in all restricted areas, starting at midnight, while the Law on Assemblies bans assemblies after sunset.8 Given how important freedom of assembly is to pluralist democracies as a means of collective self-expression, the stifling of this right is not only a violation of international standards, it is also an assault to the democratic values in Turkey. 8 İHH Walk in Taksim in 28.05.2016, Syria and Russia Protest in Ankara Hacibayram Camii on 30.09.2016, and assemblies held after the coup attempt on 15.07.2016 16