Turkey: Six Human Rights Activists Arrested

A Turkish court today ruled the formal arrest of six human rights activists, including the director of “Amnesty International” for Turkey, who have been detained for weeks under charges of helping a terrorist group.

It is not yet clear what terrorist organization this is all about.

“Amnesty International” condemned the decision, calling it a new “over the measures taken by the government following the coup of” and the politically motivated witchage”.

We learned today that getting up for human rights is called a crime in Turkey,” said Secretary General “Amnesty International” Salil Shetty.

According to him, “ky is a moment of truth for Turkey and for the international community”.

“Amnesty International” Director for Turkey Idil Eser and Women's Coalition representative Ilknur Ustun, as well as several other activists were detained by police in Istanbul on June 5th while attending a seminar. According to “Amnesty International” for 28 hours they were denied the possibility of a lawyer or the right to contact family members.

Ilknur Ustun and three others were later released from custody, but they were not allowed to travel abroad, and were required to report regularly to the police.

Government actions after the coup have resulted in the dismissal of more than 100,000 people, as well as the imprisonment of 60 thousand others.