08/06/2017 Legal Affairs and Human Rights
“I am deeply concerned at the arrest of Taner Kiliç, a lawyer and head of Amnesty International in Turkey, suspected of belonging to the Gülen movement,” said Yves Pozzo Di Borgo (France, EPP/CD), Rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on "Ensuring the protection of human rights defenders in the member States of the Council of Europe".
"I call on the Turkish authorities to examine the charges against him in accordance with the standards of the European Convention on Human Rights, in particular by respecting the right to a fair trial and the principle of the presumption of innocence,” he added. “If these charges prove unfounded, Mr Kiliç should be released immediately,” concluded Mr Pozzo Di Borgo.
Taner Kiliç, who has headed the Turkish branch of Amnesty International since 2014, and 22 other lawyers were arrested in Izmir on 6 June. These arrests are part of the purges carried out by the Turkish authorities following the coup attempt of 15 July 2016.