07/07/2017 Monitoring
PACE co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Turkey, Marianne Mikko (Estonia, SOC) and Nigel Evans (United Kingdom, EC), have expressed serious concern at the arrest of several prominent human rights defenders in Istanbul on 5 July, including Amnesty International Director İdil Eser.
“These arrests, which took place during a training seminar on human rights defenders, are another devastating signal at a time when Turkey needs to address serious human rights issues, as pointed out by the Parliamentary Assembly in its most recent resolution.”
“We ask for the immediate release of these human rights defenders, and urge the Turkish authorities to ensure that fundamental freedoms, including freedom of assembly and freedom of expression, are duly and effectively secured, and to refrain from further action which might have a chilling effect on society,” said the co-rapporteurs.
On 5 July 2017, ten human rights defenders were arrested and detained: Nalan Erkem and Özlem Dalkıran (Helsinki Citizens Assembly), İlknur Üstün (Women's Coalition), İdil Eser and Veli Acu (Amnesty International), Günal Kurşun (Human Rights Agenda Association), Nejat Taştan (Association for Monitoring Equal Rights), Şeyhmuz Özbekli (Rights Initiative) and moderators Ali Garawi and Peter Steudtner.
On 8 June 2017, Yves Pozzo Di Borgo (France, EPP/CD), PACE’s rapporteur on "Ensuring the protection of human rights defenders in the member States of the Council of Europe", expressed his deep concern after the arrest of Taner Kiliç, Chair of Amnesty International.