Turkey begins trial of 11 Amnesty staff

Activists protest against the arrest of Amnesty workers in Turkey [Gryffix/Twitter]

Eleven human rights defenders detained over terrorism charges have begun their trial today in Turkey, Reuters reported.

The Turkish forces, under the control of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, arrested lawyers and human rights defenders after attending a workshop on digital security. The case has sparked a worldwide worry over Turkey’s justice system triggering tension with Europe.

“This is ostensibly a trial of human rights defenders attending a workshop on an island in Istanbul, but in fact it is the Turkish justice system and Turkish authorities that are on trial,” John Dalhuisen, Amnesty’s director for Europe and Central Asia, said.

Read: Turkish prosecutor seeks 15-year jail sentence for rights activists

Taner Kilic, chair of Amnesty Turkey, was arrested and detained in June along with 22 other lawyers on suspicion of being involved with the Gulen movement. Among the detained individuals is Amnesty International’s Turkey Director, Idil Eser.

More than 50,000 people have been detained since the failed coup last year in Turkey, and some 150,000 government staff have been sacked. Turkey has taken a no-tolerance attitude to any individuals who may have been involved with US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara for orchestrating the abortive putsch.

Gulen denies any involvement in the failed coup.

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