Amnesty calls for UK government to condemn Turkey arrests

Amnesty International has called on the UK government to speak out over the detention of top Amnesty officials in Turkey over the past month.

Idil Eser, director of Amnesty International Turkey, was one of ten human rights offenders detained by Turkish authorities on 5 July while attending a routine workshop.

Four of them have been released on bail but are still under investigation, while Ms Eser and five others are remanded in custody. All ten are suspected of “committing crimes in the name of a terrorist organisation without being a member”.

Taner Kiliç, chair of Amnesty International Turkey, was arrested in June on a similar charge. Amnesty said it has never before seen both the chair and director of one of its national sections simultaneously under arrest.

Kate Allen, director of Amnesty International UK, said: “Like so many others caught up in Turkey’s terrifying crackdown, Idil and her fellow human rights activists are facing completely unfounded charges.

“The UK along with governments around the world must do more and publicly demand Idil and her colleagues’ immediate release.

“President Erdoğan needs to hear a clear message over halting his country’s descent into ever-greater authoritarianism.

“We cannot stand by as a complete collapse of human rights in Turkey unfolds before our very eyes.”

Salil Shetty, Amnesty International’s secretary general, added: “Turkish prosecutors have had 12 days to establish the obvious: that these ten activists are innocent. The decision to proceed shows that truth and justice have become total strangers in Turkey.

“This is not a legitimate investigation, this is a politically motivated witch-hunt that charts a frightening future for rights in Turkey.”