International Reactions

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 of emergency that was declared immediately after a botched coup attempt on […]

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 TV subscription to purchasing the most highly circulated daily and membership

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 to Rhein Zeitung, revealed that 250 of 615 these civil servants were

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 widespread in Turkey in the aftermath of the July 15, 2016 coup attempt while other

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 warned that Turkey is violating the Interpol’s constitution with politically motivated arrest warrants. Addressed directly to

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 Foreign Office on Tuesday, German citizens are warned of arbitrary imprisonment on accusations of terrorism or

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 was due to travel to Germany to accept the Erich Maria Remarque Peace Prize at a

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 Cartoon Magazine for Human Rights” on Aug. 30 to attract attention to the

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 to the Gulen movement, Arslan acted as the chair of YARSAV until it

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 German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel’s warnings to German citizens about