French, Int’l organizations express solidarity with jailed Turkish journalists
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), National Journalists Union (SNJ) and CFDT-Journalists voiced concern for journalists jailed in Turkey and expressed solidarity with them in a program organized for World Press Freedom Day in Paris. Speaking at a...
Campaign seeks donations for purge-victim Turkish refugees in Greece
A fundraising campaign has been launched for the Turkish refugees who cross into Greece in order to escape an ongoing purge in Turkey. Thousands of people have fled Turkey due to a massive witch-hunt launched by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government...
Fear sweeping across Turkey under state of emergency: Amnesty International
“A chilling climate of fear is sweeping across Turkish society as the Turkish government continues to use the state of emergency to shrink the space for dissenting or alternative views,” Amnesty International said in its latest report on Turkey and urged the Turkish...
Turkey drops 2 spots to rank 157th out of 180 countries in 2018 World Press Freedom Index by RSF
Turkey, which has jailed more than 250 journalists and media workers, is ranked 157th among 180 countries in the 2018 World Press Freedom Index released on Wednesday by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). As the world’s biggest prison for professional journalists, Turkey...
25-year-old woman escapes Turkey’s witch-hunt as Bosnia grants asylum
A 25-year-old woman, identified as H.G., was granted asylum by Bosnian court which dismissed Turkey’s request for extradition, according to media. Reuters reported on Monday that H.G. an appeal court in Bosnia last month ruled against the extradition of H.G. on the...
Turkey violates laws prohibiting arbitrary arrest, detention: US human rights report
The Turkish government has not always observed the requirements of law that prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention and provide for the right of any person to challenge the lawfulness of arrest or detention in court, said a report released by the US State Department....
Canadian lawyers urge Erdogan to release jailed Turkish colleague with cancer
The Lawyers Rights Watch Canada (LRWC), a committee of Canadian lawyers who promote human rights and the rule of law by providing support internationally to human rights defenders in danger, on Tuesday sent a letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and...
Italian bar association calls for support for arrested lawyers in Turkey
The Italian National Bar Association, Il Consiglio Nazionale Forense, released a statement on Thursday on the occasion of the Day of the Lawyer, marked every April 5 in Turkey, to extend their support for lawyers under arrest in Turkey. In the statement, the...
Kosovo grants asylum to Turkish educator who escaped Turkey’s abduction attempt
Ugur Toksoy, a Turkish national who is believed to be a member of Turkey’s Gülen group, has been granted asylum in Kosovo, after escaping an attempted abduction by the Turkish intelligence service in Kosovo. Teksoy, a teacher at Gülen affiliated Hasan Nahi...
EU Commission on Kosovo abductions: Arbitrary arrest, exile against EU principles
The arrest and subsequent deportation of six Turkish nationals legally residing in Kosovo raise questions about the respect of the due process of law,” said Maja Kocijancic, spokesperson for the European Commission told Kosovo-based Gazeta Express on Tuesday. “The...
1,250 academics in 37 countries campaign for Bogazici students’ release
A total of 1,250 academics from more than 100 organizations across 37 countries of the world have signed a petition asking for the release of 15 Boğaziçi University students in Turkey who were detained in March for holding a protest against an ongoing Turkish military...
Human Rights Watch: Arrest of Turkish nationals in Kosovo a callous disregard for Human Rights
US-based monitoring group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the arrest of Turkish nationals in Kosovo showed a callous disregard for human rights and rule of law. According to New York Times and Balkan Insight online newspaper on Friday, HRW said Kosovo showed disregard...
Local Amnesty office asks Kosovo to avoid extradition of Turkish teachers
Amnesty International’s (AI) local branch in UK’s Kirklees distict has called on Kosovar government to avoid extradition of Turkish teachers abducted on Thursday. “Turkey chair Taner Kilic’s unlawful arrest in Turkey has showed us the arbitrariness in Turkey’s...
Human Rights Foundation asks Kosovo PM to free 6 Gulenists
US-based Human Rights Foundation has asked, in an urgent letter, to free 6 Gulenists, arrested facing deportation to Turkey at the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s order. Kosovo police early arrested the Gülenists who used to work at a group of schools...
ECtHR: Turkey violates liberty, security, freedom of expression of Şahin Alpay, Mehmet Altan
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled that Turkey has violated the liberty, security and freedom of expression of two journalists, Şahin Alpay and Mehmet Altan, who face terror charges. The ECtHR ruled on Tuesday that Turkey had acted illegally in...
Switzerland investigating allegations Turkey tried to kidnap businessman in Zurich
Federal prosecutors in Switzerland are investigating whether Turkish diplomats and intelligence officers planned to drug and kidnap a Swiss-Turkish businessman shortly after the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, local media said. A group of five including the diplomats...
3 charged with spying on Erdoğan critics in Denmark
Three people are facing trial on charges of spying on critics of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Evrensel daily reported on Monday based on an article that appeared in the Danish Berlingske newspaper. Last year Mehmet Dönmez, the Turkish ambassador in...
RSF calls Turkish journalists’ convictions ‘an act of political despotism’
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Friday condemned the sentences ranging from two to seven years in prison that 25 Turkish journalists received on March 8 in a political mass trial in Istanbul targeting opposition journalists. The sentences were issued after the 25...