Purge-victim Kurdish artist Zehra Dogan given Index on Censorship’s arts award
The London-based Index on Censorship, a campaigning publishing organization for freedom of expression, has given this year’s Freedom of Expression Arts Award to Kurdish painter and journalist Zehra Doğan, according to a statement on the organization’s website. Index...
No evidence of criminal activity in indictment against Kavala, 15 others: HRW
An indictment accusing civic leader Osman Kavala and 15 others of financing and organizing mass protests in Turkey in 2013 in an attempt to overthrow the government provides no credible evidence of criminal activity, Human Rights Watch said on Monday. The defendants...
Report: Turkey asked Germany to arrest 925 people since 2016 coup
Turkish government has asked Germany to arrest 925 people as part of its post-coup manhunt since July 15, 2016, German daily Welt reported Friday. Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has received 990 requests from Turkey, of which 925 aimed at arrest...
US, Germany and UK slam Kosovo for last year’s deportation of Turkish citizens
Extradition of six Turkish nationals by Kosovo authorities suspected of their alleged links to Fetullah Gulen’s movement, was in violation in violation with dozens of regulations and marked an “egregious breach of democratic values” that highlights the...
Amnesty volunteer Webb to jailed journalist Parıldak: Please try to stay strong. You are not alone
Felicity Webb, an Amnesty International activist from the UK, has written a letter of solidarity to journalist Ayşenur Parıldak, who is among the dozens of journalists arrested in Turkey in the aftermath of a failed coup attempt in July 2016. In her letter Webb wrote...
Group of activists walking across Europe raises 40,000 euros for Turkish refugees in Greece
A group of activists from the UK raised 40,000 euros for needy Turkish nationals who have landed in Greece as refugees in the face of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s post-coup witch-hunt. Bold Medya online news outlet reported Tuesday that the group has collected...
Ever wondered about Turkey’s global abduction programme?
Ever wondered about Turkey’s global abduction programme and allegations of secret torture sites in the country? If yes, a team of nine media organizations from eight countries, coordinated by @correctiv_org, a non-profit investigative newsroom in Europe,...
WSJ: Turks fleeing Erdogan fuel new influx of refugees to Greece
Thousands of Turks flee Turkey due to a massive witch-hunt launched by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government against the Kurds and the Gülen Group in the wake of a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016. Around 14,000 people crossed the Evros frontier...
9 int’l organizations urge EU to raise Turkey’s freedom of expression crisis during upcoming meetings
The nine international organizations, on Wednesday, issued a letter aimed at European Union officials who are scheduled to meet with a Turkish delegation this week, urging them to take action to address the freedom of expression crisis in the country. “More than...
Turkish activist Osman Kavala spends another birthday in İstanbul prison
Turkish businessman and activist Osman Kavala turns 61 in İstanbul’s notorious Silivri Prison where he has been held in pre-trial detention since November 2017 on terror and coup charges. Artists, academics and activists gathered in various cities around the...
HRF publishes full page ad telling President Erdoğan ‘You are not welcome’
The New York-based Human Rights Foundation (HRF) on Tuesday took over the city’s subway newspaper to demand an end to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “brutal crackdown against anyone who opposes him.” The foundation published a full-page ad...
1,172 Turks claimed asylum in Germany in July: report
A total of 884 Turkish citizens applied for asylum in Germany throughout June while this number rose to 1,172, according to the country’s Interior Ministry, Deutsche Welle reported. In the first six months of 2018, a total of 4,329 Turkish citizens applied for asylum...
Mongolian FM: Any attempt to abduct Turkish nationals is violation of sovereignty
The Mongolian Foreign Ministry on Friday issued a statement on the abduction of a Turkish national in the country earlier the same day, underlining such an unacceptable act would be “a violation of Mongolia’s sovereignty and independence” and that Mongolia would...
US to impose ‘large’ sanctions on Turkey over ‘long time detainment’ of American pastor Brunson
President Donald Trump has announced that the United States will impose sanctions on Turkey if American pastor Andrew Brunson, who was put under house arrest after two years in pre-trial detention on Wednesday, is not fully released “immediately.”...
Crackdown on education sector in Turkey deals blow to free thought: report
A crackdown on critical thinking in Turkey with an unprecedented witch hunt targeting teachers, academics and other professionals in the education sector has dealt a huge blow to free thought in the country, according to a report released by the Stockholm Center for...
IFJ calls on Ukraine to protect journalist from deportation to Turkey
The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) has called on the Ukrainian government to take urgent action to protect Ukraine-based Turkish journalist Yunus Erdoğdu, who reportedly fears for his safety after the abduction of other Turkish...
HRW warns Turkey’s new anti-terror bill normalizes State of Emergency powers
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said Turkey’s newly-drafted anti-terror law normalizes the powers that the Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government enjoyed under the State of Emergency in the aftermath of the July 15, 2016 failed coup. On July 18, 2018, the Turkish government...
OSCE: Deportation of journalist from Ukraine to Turkey reason for concern
The recent deportation of Turkish journalist Yusuf Inan from Ukraine has raised concern over freedom of expression, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said in a statement Thursday. “Journalists should not be prosecuted for expressing their...