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Press Release

EU reckless refugee returns to Turkey illegal

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

Press Release

Greek decision highlights fundamental flaws in EU-Turkey refugee deal

A Syrian national who arrived on the Greek island of Lesvos has won an appeal against a decision that would have led to his forcible return to Turkey, underscoring the fundamental flaws in the migration deal agreed in March between the European Union and Turkey, Amnesty International said today.

May 20, 2016

Press Release

Greece: Refugees detained in dire conditions amid rush to implement EU-Turkey deal

  Thousands of refugees and migrants are being held arbitrarily in appalling conditions amid growing uncertainty, fear and despair over their fate under the new EU-Turkey refugee deal, Amnesty International said, after obtaining access to two highly restricted detention centers on the Greek islands of Lesvos and Chios.

April 7, 2016

Press Release

Illegal mass returns of Syrian refugees from Turkey expose fatal flaws in EU-Turkey deal

Large-scale forced returns of refugees from Turkey to war-ravaged Syria expose the fatal flaws in a refugee deal signed between Turkey and the European Union earlier this month, Amnesty International revealed today.

April 1, 2016

Press Release

Amnesty International Protesters Threatened by Turkish Security in Washington

Today a delegation of Amnesty International USA staff and volunteers protested human rights abuses in Turkey in front of the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave a speech. Amnesty protestors were confronted by plainclothes Turkish security who threatened them and grabbed at their protest signs.

March 31, 2016

Press Release

Obama Must Urge an End to the Onslaught on Kurds During Turkish President’s Visit, Says Amnesty International USA

President Obama has the opportunity to address serious human rights concerns with world leaders who will be in Washington for the Nuclear Security Summit this week. In particular, he must address the continued repressive security operations in east and southeast Turkey with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

March 29, 2016

Press Release

Turkey forcibly returns dozens of refugees to Afghanistan hours after EU deal

Turkey’s forcible return of around 30 Afghan asylum seekers just hours after the European Union (EU)-Turkey refugee deal came into force shows that implementing the deal would risk refugees’ lives from the word go, Amnesty International said.

March 22, 2016

Press Release

EU-Turkey refugee deal a historic blow to rights

European leaders’ collective ‘double-speak’ fails to hide the myriad of contradictions of the deal sealed between the EU and Turkey on how to handle the refugee crisis, said Amnesty International today.

March 18, 2016

Press Release

Turkey: Amnesty International condemns bombing in Ankara’s Kızılay

Just after 6.30pm yesterday evening an explosion hit Kızılay, a public transport hub in central Ankara. According to the authorities, as of this morning, 37 people had been killed and over 100 people were injured.

March 14, 2016

Press Release

EU Turkey Summit: EU and Turkish leaders deal death blow to the right to seek asylum

The persistent preoccupation with shipping people back to Turkey instead of making unconditional efforts on resettlement and offering other safe and legal ways to Europe shows an alarmingly short-sighted and inhumane attitude to handling this crisis, said Amnesty International after European Council talks with Turkey today.

March 8, 2016

Press Release

Zaman newspaper taken over as Turkish government steamrolls press freedom

Today’s government takeover of Zaman newspaper is the latest deeply troubling episode of the Turkish authorities’ ongoing onslaught on dissenting media, Amnesty International said today.

March 4, 2016

Press Release

Amnesty International’s Annual State of the World Report Slams Governments, Including the U.S., for Global Assault on Freedoms

On the launch of its 2015 State of the World report, Amnesty International USA urged President Obama to use his last year in office to bring U.S. laws and policies in line with international human rights standards.

February 22, 2016