9/6/17: Yesterday morning, police arrested eight human rights defenders and two trainers attending a workshop in Istanbul. Those arrested included Amnesty Turkey’s Director, Idil Eser.

This comes just one month after Taner Kiliç, the Chair of Amnesty International Turkey, was detained in Turkey and is wrongly suspected of belonging to the Fethullah Gülen movement, which the authorities blame for last year’s attempted coup.

He was taken into police custody along with 22 other lawyers on 6 June.

This kind of attack on Human Rights Defenders is becoming more frequent. Erdogan’s government is abusing its power, deliberately making the country a dangerous place for people who speak out for human rights.We urgently need your help to secure their release.

Tell the Turkish authorities to immediately release Taner Kiliç, Idil Eser and the others unfairly detained.

Thank you!

UPDATE 21/09/17: This action is now closed as we move into the next phase of the global campaign. Thank you to the 25,000 people who took action.

You can continue to take action for human rights in Turkey here.

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Minister of Justice
Mr Bekir Bozdağ

Dear Minister,

I am appalled to hear about the detention of the second Amnesty International Turkey leader within the space of a month.
Yesterday morning, police arrested Idil Eser along with seven other human rights defenders and two trainers, who were simply attending a workshop in Istanbul.  For more than 24 hours, they weren’t allowed to contact their families or see a lawyer – and no one even knew where they were.
They were doing nothing wrong. Some are being questioned on suspicion of ‘membership of an armed terrorist organisation’, a baseless and ridiculous accusation.
Taner Kiliç, Chair of Amnesty Internation Turkey was detained on 6 June along with 22 other lawyers. He is wrongly accused of membership of the “Fethullah Gülen Terror Organization”. Taner Kiliç is not a criminal or a terrorist; he is a longstanding defender of human rights in Turkey and must be released.
You must immediately and unconditionally release Idil Eser, Taner Kiliç and all others unfairly detained.

Yours sincerely,

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