International Reactions

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 Copenhagen, was summoned by Denmark’s Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen for clarification of claims […]

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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 journalists were convicted of supporting or being members of a movement led by

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UN Rapporteur says Turkish detainees reportedly tortured with severe beatings, electrical shocks, icy water, sexual assault

The UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Nils Melzer said in a written statement on Feb 27 that he was alarmed by allegations that large numbers of individuals were exposed to brutal interrogation techniques in Turkish custodies. The allegations of torture and other ill-treatment in Turkish police custody have been rising since the end of his official

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Netherlands accepts 73 percent of asylum applications from Turkish citizens: report

The Netherlands has approved of 73 percent of asylum applications filed by Turkish citizens in the country in the aftermath of a failed coup attempt in Turkey in July 2016, according to Dutch public broadcaster NOS. NOS based its story on data from the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security and said that there are

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US ‘deeply concerned’ by conviction of NASA scientist Serkan Golge

US State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said at a press briefing on Thursday that the United States is deeply concerned about the conviction earlier in the day of Serkan Gölge on charges of membership in a terrorist organization. Gölge, a dual US-Turkish citizen and a senior NASA researcher, has been held for 18 months in

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Report shows number of rights violations increased during OHAL in Turkey

A report drafted by the Diyarbakır Bar Association has revealed that there has been a significant increase in the number of rights violations in Turkey’s prisons during emergency rule, which was declared in the aftermath of a failed coup attempt in July 2016 and is still in effect. The report, which was prepared by the

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EP rapporteur: Thousands became victims of massive crackdown on all opposition voices

Kati Piri, the European Parliament’s rapporteur for Turkey, said on Tuesday during a speech in the European Parliament plenary that thousands of people have become victims of a “massive crackdown on all opposition voices” in Turkey, calling on the European Union to be “loud and clear” on the human rights situation in the country. “We, in the

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Letter campaign launched for Turkey’s imprisoned women, mothers

An initiative called Set Them Free has launched a letter campaign to show solidarity with women in jail and mothers who are incarcerated with their children. In the aftermath of a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016, more than 17,000 women from all walks of life including teachers, doctors and housewives have been jailed

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Re-arrest of AI Turkey chair a travesty of justice, says EP members

Rebecca Harms, together with other members of the European Parliament and the EP-Turkey Forum, on Thursday criticized the re-arrest of Taner Kılıç, chairman of the board of Amnesty International Turkey, by a Turkish court, calling it “a travesty of justice.” The Istanbul 35th High Criminal Court on Wednesday ordered the conditional release of Kılıç, who

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