2 OSCE election observers refused entry to Turkey: report
Two European parliamentarians has been barred from entering Turkey ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections on Sunday. The bans for the two parliamentarians from Germany and Sweden, European countries that are home to large ethnic Turkish communities, are...
In 2017, 16,640 Turkish citizens claimed asylum in EU, neighboring countries: report
A total of 16,640 Turkish nationals claimed asylum in 32 countries in the European continent in 2017, a recent report noted. Malta-based the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) released asylum statistics compiled from the 28 EU countries as well as Norway,...
Switzerland issues arrest warrants for 2 Turkish diplomats allegedly involved in plan to kidnap businessman in Zurich: report
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has issued arrest warrants for two Turkish diplomats for allegedly planning to kidnap a Turkish-Swiss businessman, according to the Swissinfo news website. Diplomatic immunity reportedly does not apply to the men, who...
Canadian rights activist Nemat to jailed journalist Parıldak: We love you, think of you, do our best to make sure world knows about you
“Please know that we love you, think of you, and do our best to make sure the world knows you. You are not alone. Don’t let darkness steal away all light from you. I pray and hope that your light overcomes,” said a letter penned by Marina Nemat, a Canadian...
UN rights council urges Turkish gov’t to release Kacmaz family
The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the UN Human Rights Council has called on the Turkish government to immediately release Mesut Kaçmaz and Meral Kaçmaz, a couple that was abducted from their home after midnight in Lahore on September 27, 2017 and deported...
Turkey’s Eren Keskin awarded 2018 Anna Lindh Prize
The Sweden-based Anna Lindh’s Memorial Fund has awarded human rights lawyer Eren Keskin with the 2018 Anna Lindh Prize. “She has worked tirelessly to help violence-deprived girls and women, as well as LGTBQ people and Syrian needers in Turkey,” said Lena...
Turkey’s post-coup crackdown leads to climate of fear, self-censorship in academia: HRW
Turkey’s universities are experiencing a period of self-censorship and a lack of academic freedom as hundreds of academic staff members face prosecution and thousands more have lost their jobs, international nongovernmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) said...
Turkey’s State of Emergency shrinking space for dissidents : UN
“Protracted restrictions on the human rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association are incompatible with the conduct of a credible electoral process in Turkey,” Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the UN High commissioner for human rights, said in a statement on...
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...