Jailed journalist Ayşenur Parıldak given courage award by Norwegian rights group
Ayşenur Parıldak, a 27-year-old reporter from Turkey’s now-closed Zaman newspaper who has been behind bars for 13 months, was named the recipient of the first Shahnoush Award by the Oslo-based Vigdis Freedom Foundation (VFF). “The Vigdis Freedom Foundation is proud to...
UN rights commissioner calls on Turkey to terminate post-coup emergency rule
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, in an opening statement for the 36th session of the Human Rights Council, expressed concern about the deterioration of human rights in Turkey and urged the Turkish government not to renew a state...
‘615 Turkish civil servants sought asylum in Germany since coup attempt’
A total of 615 Turkish civil servants have applied for political asylum in Germany since a failed coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016, according to German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere. Deutsche Welle reported on Monday that, the German minister, who spoke...
One-dollar bills, newspaper subscription, bank accounts seen as evidence of coup-plotter links: SCF report
A recently released report by the Stockholm Center for Freedom (SCF) has revealed how the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has abused the rule of law and jailed innocent people on absurd charges, from possessing a dollar bill and cancelling a cable...
Sweden, Germany urge EU to act against Turkey’s Interpol abuses
German and Sweden urged the European Union (EU) Commission to act against what they said Turkey’s politically-motivated arrest warrants through Interpol. In a joint letter signed by both countries foreign ministers Simon Gabriel and Margot Wallström, the commission is...
Economist: Torture, abductions return to Turkey but international response is weak
Torture has re-emerged in Turkish prisons amid the fallout from the last year’s abortive coup, however international response has remained weak so far, according to the Economist magazine. In an article on Sept 7, Economist underlined that torture have become...
Germany warns travellers to Turkey over arrests without due process
The German foreign ministry has updated a travel warning for citizens currently holidaying or planning to vacation in Turkey, saying they could be arbitrarily imprisoned on terror charges or links to terrorist groups. According to the travel update from German Federal...
PEN Int’l urges Turkey to lift travel bans on author Aslı Erdoğan
PEN International said on Monday it is concerned about travel restrictions imposed by Turkish authorities on award-winning author and honorary PEN member Aslı Erdoğan and called for their immediate removal. In a statement on its website, PEN International said Erdoğan...
Indian political cartoonist portrays forced disappearances of Turkey’s purge
Aseem Trivedi, an Indian free speech activist and cartoonist, has drawn cartoons of 13 Turkish citizens who have allegedly been abducted or disappeared after a coup attempt on July 15, 2016 in Turkey. The cartoons were published in the “Black & White – Online...
Imprisoned Turkish judge among 3 finalists for CoE’s human rights prize
Murat Arslan, the last chairman of Turkey’s Judges and Prosecutors Association (YARSAV) was shortlisted along with two other candidates to the 2017 Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize by the Council of Europe (CoE). Under arrest since Oct 26, 2016 over his alleged links...
Germany’s Green Party: Turkey’s ‘red notice’ lists prepared by a police state
Cem Özdemir, co-leader of the German Green Party, has said the lists received from Turkey of people and companies allegedly affiliated with the Gülen group have been prepared by a police state, not by a state of law, Deutsche Welle reported on Monday. Referring to...
620 Turkish citizens have applied for asylum in Germany in July, ministry says
The number of Turkish citizens who fled Turkey following a failed coup last year and applied for asylum in Germany reached 620 in July, over 433 in June and 498 May, the German Interior Ministry said on Thursday. According to a Deutsche Welle report on Thursday, the...
Merkel says Turkey abusing arrest warrants through Interpol
Turkey has been misusing arrest warrants it issues in cooperation with Interpol, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday. "We must not misuse international organizations like Interpol for such purposes,” she said. Merkel’s statement came only a day after Doğan...
Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk says so many innocent people in Turkish prisons
Nobel laureate novelist Orhan Pamuk said Turkey has imprisoned so many innocent people in arbitrary ways very recently, leading him to feel guilty even when working. In an interview with the US-based Slate magazine on Aug 18, Pamuk said: “As I tell my girlfriend, all...
International Press Institute says 171 journalists currently behind bars in Turkey
According to the International Press Institute (IPI) currently a total of 171 journalists are imprisoned in Turkey due to their journalistic activities. The international media watchdog called for the immediate release of jailed journalists in Turkey on its website...
Political cartoonist draws mothers of Turkey’s purge
Aseem Trivedi, a free speech activist and cartoonist has drawn cartoons of 15 mothers and their newly born babies, who have been detained or arrested by the Turkish government on coup charges either when they are pregnant or shortly after giving birth. Triverdi...
OBS to Turkey: Release human rights defenders immediately, unconditionally
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme between the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) has urged Turkey to release jailed human rights defenders in the country. The...
German media group Turkey at ECHR over reporter’s arrest
WeltN24, the German media group that publishes Die Welt daily newspaper, has lodged a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), over Turkey’s jailing of journalist Deniz Yücel. The veteran Die Welt reporter was first detained as part of an investigation...