Turkey using courts, laws to target dissent ahead of votes-Human Rights Watch

FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a meeting of his ruling AK Party in Ankara, Turkey January 5, 2023. Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan's government has cracked down more aggressively on dissent and political opponents ahead of Turkish elections with censorship and prison sentences, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday.

Presidential and parliamentary elections are set for no later than mid-June but Erdogan has said they could come earlier. Polls show he and his Islamist-rooted AK Party could lose after 20 years in power.