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WASHINGTON — Under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey has silenced critics, a report said.

Human Rights Watch said Erdogan has led a government campaign to crack down on critics and protesters. In a 38-page report, the New York-based group cited efforts to muzzle the media and Internet.

“Over the past year, Erdogan’s AKP has responded to political opposition by tearing up the rule book, silencing critical voices, and wielding a stick,” HRW researcher Emma Sinclair-Webb said.

The report, dated Sept. 29 and titled “Turkey’s Human Rights Rollback,” linked Erdogan’s crackdown to massive anti-government protests in 2013.

Authorities have charged thousands of protesters, some of whom face life in prison.

“For the sake of Turkey’s future and the rights of its citizens, the government needs to change course and protect rights instead of attacking them,” Ms. Sinclair-Webb said.

The Islamist government has also decimated the military’s traditional authoritative role in Turkish governance and has adopted laws that curbed the independence of the judiciary. Under Erdogan’s orders, hundreds of police officers were arrested and judges and prosecutors were reassigned.

Other measures were designed to increase government surveillance and penalties for whistleblowers and journalists. In September 2014, Ankara also expanded censorship of the Internet.

“It should also end the misuse of charges relating to anti-terrorism, crimes against the state, and organized crime against people engaged in nonviolent political activity and protest,” the report said. “It should also repeal abusive Internet laws and stop prosecuting people for nonviolent speech and journalists for publishing leaked intelligence.”

  AKP, Human Rights Watch, military andjudiciary, Report: Turkey’s Erdogan has stifled all criticism in media