Via Kayiki – On June 6, 2017 Taner Kılıç, devoted lawyer, chair of Amnesty International Turkey founding member of Mülteci-Der and a member of Kayiki network, has been detained in Izmir, Turkey.
We, members of Kayiki, call for his immediate and unconditional release and suspension of all charges. The accusations brought against Mr. Kılıç are vague and non-evidence based. Continue reading Call For Immediate Release Of Taner Kılıç, Human Rights Defender And Member Of Kayiki
Via Turkey Purge – United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement on June 8 that the agency is deeply concerned by continued reports about the alleged push-backs and refoulement at the land border between Greece and Turkey.
“Such allegations of informal forced return have been recorded before, and it is of vital importance that the Greek authorities investigate them thoroughly,” said UNHCR Representative in Greece Philippe Leclerc. “If confirmed, this is extremely worrying. The right to seek and enjoy asylum is a fundamental human right.”
Continue reading here
Amnesty International started an Urgent Action calling for the immediate release of Taner Kiliç:
Taner Kiliç, the Chair of Amnesty International Turkey, has been detained in Turkey 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. His detention is further proof of just how widespread and arbitrary Turkey’s post-coup crackdown has become. We urgently need your help to secure his release.
Sign the Urgent Action here
Via Turkey Purge – A Kocaeli-based couple, identified with initials A.T. and A.T., were arrested along with their three kids near Greek border in Edirne province, on Wednesday. The family was reportedly on their way to escape Turkey to Greece as they fear government persecution in the aftermath of the July 15, 2016 coup attempt. Continue reading Teacher couple, 3 children arrested near Greek border while on way to escape Turkey
Via The Conversation – Liza Schuster critically writes about her experiences during a flight from Istanbul to Kabul where she spoke to some of the thirty men being deported or “voluntarily returned” to Afghanistan. It was their second deportation after having been sent back to Turkey from the EU as part of the EU-Turkey deal. The article addresses not only the particular cruelty of deporting people to a war-torn country – it also shows the absence of the IOM that was supposed to support the arriving refugees:
Continue reading As violence sweeps Kabul, the rapid pace of deportations from Europe continues
Via The New York Times – The Greek government denies that account, by the Hellenic League for Human Rights and the International Federation for Human Rights, which say that twice in the last few weeks, on May 24 and June 2, Turks fleeing persecution have been shipped back to their country.
The Hellenic League documented a total of 17 forcible deportations, or pushbacks, including those of seven children. Continue reading Greek Government Accused of Deporting Turkish Asylum Seekers
Via Mülteci-Der – The refugee rights organization Mültecilerle Dayanışma Derneği (Mülteci-Der) has issued a statement today demanding the termination of the detention of human rights lawyer Taner Kılıç, founder and former chairman of the NGO and current chair of Amnesty Turkey. We post the statement below. It was originally published on Mülteci-Der’s homepage.
Continue reading Press release by Mülteci-Der on the arrest of Amnesty Turkey chair Taner Kılıç
Via Amnesty International – Responding to the news that Taner Kiliç, the Chair of Amnesty International Turkey, was today detained by police along with 22 other lawyers in Izmir on suspicion of having links with the Fethullah Gülen movement, Salil Shetty, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said:
“The fact that Turkey’s post-coup purge has now dragged the Chair of Amnesty International Turkey into its web is further proof of just how far it has gone and just how arbitrary it has become. Taner Kiliç has a long and distinguished record of defending exactly the kind of freedoms that the Turkish authorities are now intent on trampling. Continue reading Chair of Amnesty International Turkey swept up in post-coup purge
Via Turkey Purge – At least 18 lawyers including Taner Kılıç, the chairman of Amnesty International Turkey’s board, were detained on Tuesday as part of an investigation into Turkey’s Gülen group.
According to the Hürriyet daily, detainees are accused of using a smartphone application called “ByLock.”
ByLock is considered by Turkish authorities to be the top communication tool among followers of the Gülen movement, which is accused by the government of masterminding a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016.