International Reactions

French journalist Olivier Bertrand, who was deported by Turkey on Sunday after three days in detention, has said his time in custody was nothing compared to what dissidents face in Turkey. “A big thank you to all for your mobilization. I’m writing right now the story of my detention and interrogation for Les Jours. Unfortunately […]

Turkey has fallen into the “not free” category of countries ranked by Freedom House in its Net 2016 report, with the NGO watchdog citing how Ankara suspends mobile and Internet connections in many different parts of the country while noting that “Pro government trolls have escalated their campaigns to harass opposition voices.” The report, which

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), a consultative body of the European Union, expressed very serious concern for the current situation in Turkey with regard to respect for fundamental rights. “While the crime committed in attempting to seize power by violence is to be strongly condemned, under no circumstances can an attempted coup d’état

“The HDP is the latest casualty of the snowballing purges ordered by Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the aftermath of the failed coup on July 15th. Over 36,000 people have been arrested and 100,000 sacked, most of them from state jobs. Mr Erdogan has imposed emergency rule and put Turkish politics in a stranglehold,”

The progress report on Turkey that was issued on Wednesday by the European Commission expressed concern over the Turkish government’s purge against Gülen movement members, saying “any allegation of wrongdoing needs to be examined with due process, transparent procedures, and the right of every individual to a fair trial or equitable administrative process should be

Christian Mihr, director of the German arm of Reporters Without Borders, has called on Turkish government to grant visa, resident permit to Turkish journalists who are subject to persecution at home. “Germany should immediately provide convenience for Turkish journalists in obtaining visa, resident and work permit,” Mihr told a Deutsche Welle reporter on Wednesday. “Turkish journalists do not want

The London-based human rights organization Amnesty International has launched a campaign for urgent action against Turkish government’s tightening control over media outlets. Below is the statement released by the rights group on Nov. 8. “Nine journalists and board members with the Turkish opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet were imprisoned on 4 November pending their trial. This brings

Just a day after the lawyer for several political prisoners urged the international community to monitor Turkish prisons amid rumors of prison breaks being staged in order to massacre prisoners, an American academic who correctly predicted a military coup in Turkey prior to July 15 gave a similar warning in a piece published on the

Turkey’s purge of academics has already harmed the reputation of its higher education sector, the latest Free to Think report from the New York-based Scholars at Risk (SAR) noted adding that it risks greater damage by isolating Turkish scholars, students, and institutions from the international flow of ideas and talent. Released on Oct. 31, SAR’s report chronicled 158 assaults