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Press Release

Authorities should ensure LGBTI Pride marches in Türkiye go ahead safely and without the interference and intimidation of previous years.

May 17, 2024

Press Release

Two strikes that killed 23 civilians during Somali military operations supported by Turkish drones must be investigated as war crimes.

May 7, 2024

Report

Iranian and Turkish security forces have repeatedly pushed back Afghans who attempt to cross their borders to reach safety, including by unlawfully opening fire on men, women and children, Amnesty International said today. In a new report, They don’t treat us like humans, the organization also documents numerous instances - mostly at the Iranian border - where security forces have shot directly at people as they climbed over walls or crawled under fences. Afghans who do manage to enter Iran or Turkey are routinely arbitrarily detained, and subjected to torture and other ill-treatment before being unlawfully and forcibly returned. 

August 30, 2022

Press Release

Catastrophic attacks on human rights and gender equality over the past twelve months have lowered protection for and upped threats against women and girls across the globe, Amnesty International said today.  

March 7, 2022

Update

On February 16, 2022, Amnesty International USA's Turkey Advocacy Specialist Deniz Yuksel addressed members of the U.S. Helsinki Commission during a briefing on "Conflict of Interest? Foreign Policy and Human Rights in Turkey." Her testimony detailed Turkey's worsening human rights crisis, including the government's weaponization of the judicial system, its crackdown on dissenting voices, and efforts to criminalize human rights defenders. Amnesty calls on the U.S. government to adopt a consistent, comprehensive, and whole-of-government approach to Turkey which centers human rights. Click here to read the statement Turkish anti-riot police officers try to disperse a rally marking the International Women's…

February 17, 2022

Press Release

Abusive policing and excessive reliance on law enforcement to implement COVID-19 response measures have violated human rights and in some instances made the health crisis worse, Amnesty International said today.

December 16, 2020

Press Release

The trial of three police officers accused of killing prominent human rights lawyer Tahir Elçi presents a long overdue chance for justice, Amnesty International said today. On November 28,2015, Tahir Elçi was shot in the head shortly after giving a statement at a press conference in the city of Diyarbakır, where the first trial hearing of three of the accused begins today.  A 2019 report by Forensic Architecture concluded, by a process of elimination, that Tahir Elçi was most likely killed by one of three police officers present at the scene. These officers face charges of ‘causing death by culpable…

October 20, 2020

Press Release

Following a majority court ruling to convict Taner Kılıç for ‘membership of the Fethullah Gülen terrorist organization’ and to convict Özlem Dalkıran, İdil Eser and Günal Kurşun for ‘assisting the Fethullah Gülenterrorist organization’, Andrew Gardner, Amnesty International’s Turkey researcher who observed the hearing said: “Today, we have borne witness to a travesty of justice of spectacular proportions. This verdict is a crushing blow not only for Taner, Özlem, İdil and Günal and their families but for everyone who believes in justice, and human rights activism in Turkey and beyond. “The decision of the court is staggering. During 12 court hearings, each and every allegation has been comprehensively exposed as a baseless…

July 3, 2020

Press Release

Ahead of the May 17 International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOTB) Amnesty International calls on the government of Turkey to take urgent action to counter the increasing number of discriminatory statements and policies by state officials against LGBTI people. The authorities must instead promote equality both in their statements and actions. On April 24, a senior state official at the Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) blamed homosexuality and people in relationships outside marriage for the spread of HIV, urging followers to combat this “evil” in a Friday sermon focusing on the Covid-19 outbreak. These homophobic statements were publicly supported…

May 13, 2020

Report

People’s rights are being violated by governments in Europe and Central Asia, who are cracking down on protests and seeking to erode the independence of the judiciary to avoid accountability, Amnesty International said today as it published its annual review of human rights in the region. The organization praised those brave people who took to the streets to defend their own and others’ rights but warned that governments continue to perpetrate human rights violations with impunity across the region. “In 2019, people in Europe and Central Asia were threatened, intimidated, prosecuted, subjected to excessive use of force by police, and…

April 16, 2020

Press Release

Amid growing concerns over the spread of COVID-19 in prisons, the Turkish government is accelerating the preparation of a draft law that will reportedly release up to 100,000 prisoners. This is a welcome step.

March 30, 2020

Press Release

Ahead of a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Moscow tomorrow (Thursday, March 5) to discuss the escalating military conflict in Idlib in Syria, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East Research Director, said: “The Moscow summit represents an opportunity for Russia and Turkey to prioritize the safety of civilians."

March 4, 2020