Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Press Release
Turkey: Journalists around the world demand release of 120+ jailed colleagues
The three former Al Jazeera journalists imprisoned in Egypt for more than 400 days have joined thousands of other journalists, artists and activists in an Amnesty International campaign to demand the release of more than 120 journalists jailed in Turkey in the wake of last summer’s failed coup. Mohamed Fahmy, Peter Greste and Baher Mohammed added their voices to the Free Turkey Media campaign which will culminate in a global day of action on World Press Freedom Day, 3 May. “In the purge that followed the failed coup, Turkey has become the world’s biggest jailer of journalists. Many have been held…
April 21, 2017
Report
Displaced and dispossessed: Sur residents’ right to return home
Tens of thousands of residents of the UNESCO world heritage site of Sur are among an estimated half a million people forced out of their homes as a result of a brutal crackdown by Turkish authorities over the past year which may amount to collective punishment, said Amnesty International in a new report.
December 2, 2016
Press Release
Turkey: HDP deputies detained amid growing onslaught on Kurdish opposition voices
The detention of 12 deputies from the Kurdish-rooted leftist Peoples’ Democracy Party (HDP) since last night marks the latest escalation in the onslaught on dissent amid Turkey’s state of emergency, Amnesty International said today. The detentions – on a range of “terrorism”-related charges – come on the heels of mass closures of Kurdish media outlets, the ousting of at least 24 pro-Kurdish mayors and rolling blackouts on internet access that hinder communications. They were followed this morning by an explosion killing at least eight people in Diyarbakır in the mainly Kurdish south-east of the country. “Today’s detention of HDP deputies…
November 4, 2016
Press Release
Turkey: Latest detention of journalists a “blatant misuse of powers”
In response to this morning’s detention of 11 journalists and staff from Cumhuriyet newspaper and the shutting down of 15 media outlets over the weekend, Amnesty International’s Europe Director, John Dalhuisen, said: “Today’s detention of journalists and staff from Turkey’s only remaining mainstream opposition newspaper is part of an ongoing systematic attempt to silence all critical voices. Together with the shutting down of media houses over the weekend, this is the latest wave in a post-coup purge which has turned Turkey’s once vibrant media landscape into a wasteland.” “The blatant misuse of emergency powers to shut down media…
October 31, 2016
Press Release
Turkey: Response to President Erdoğan’s speech challenging Amnesty International’s research findings
Responding to a speech today by Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in which he criticized Amnesty International’s findings that some people detained in connection with Turkey’s failed coup attempt had been beaten and tortured.
August 2, 2016
Press Release
Turkey: Intensified crackdown on media increases atmosphere of fear
As Turkey enters its second week of a three month state of emergency, the ongoing crackdown on civil society and the assault on media freedom has reached disturbing and unprecedented levels, said Amnesty International.
July 28, 2016
Press Release
Turkey crackdown by the numbers: Statistics on brutal backlash after failed coup
Human rights in Turkey are in peril following a bloody failed coup attempt on July 15. The Turkish authorities’ reaction was swift and brutal, unleashing a crackdown of exceptional proportions that has continued after a state of emergency declared five days later.
July 26, 2016
Press Release
Turkey: Independent monitors must be allowed to access detainees amid torture allegations
Amnesty International has gathered credible evidence that detainees in Turkey are being subjected to beatings and torture, including rape, in official and unofficial detention centers in the country.
July 24, 2016
Press Release
State of emergency must not roll back human rights in Turkey
President Erdogan’s announcement of the imposition of a state of emergency must not pave the way for a roll-back in human rights or be used as a pretext to further clamp down on freedom of expression and protections against arbitrary detention and torture, said Amnesty International today.
July 21, 2016
Press Release
Media purge threatens freedom of expression in Turkey
As the sweeping crackdown in Turkey following a failed coup continues, Amnesty International fears that purges are being extended to censor media houses and journalists, including those critical of government policy.
July 20, 2016
Press Release
Human rights in grave danger following coup attempt and subsequent crackdown in Turkey
Human rights in Turkey are in peril following a bloody coup attempt on July 15, which resulted in the deaths of at least 208 people and almost 8,000 arrests, Amnesty International said today. Several government officials have suggested reinstating the death penalty as punishment for those found responsible for the failed coup, and the organization is now investigating reports that detainees in Ankara and Istanbul have been subjected to a series of abuses, including ill-treatment in custody and being denied access to lawyers.
July 18, 2016
Report
No safe refuge: Asylum-seekers and refugees denied effective protection in Turkey
The European Union (EU) must immediately halt plans to return asylum-seekers to Turkey on the false pretence that it is a “safe country” for refugees, said Amnesty International in a briefing published today.
June 2, 2016