Category Archives: Kurds

Amnesty Issues Urgent Action: Hundreds at Imminent Risk of Forced Eviction

Posted on June 29, 2017 by heissenstat

Amnesty International today issued an Urgent Action calling on Turkey to halt forced evictions in the Sur District of Diyarbakir. Hundreds of residents in the Alipaşa and Lalebey neighbourhoods of the Sur district in Diyarbakır province, southeastern Turkey, are at … Continue reading →

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Amnesty: HDP deputies detained amid growing onslaught on Kurdish opposition voices

Posted on November 4, 2016 by heissenstat

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 … Continue reading →

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Amnesty: Turkey’s escalating abuses risk return to dark days of 1990s

Posted on July 5, 2016 by heissenstat

The message of Amnesty’s latest statement on abuses in Turkey’s on-going operations in south eastern Turkey could hardly have been clearer.  Things are getting much, much worse, with  “growing evidence of severe human rights violations, including torture and impunity for human … Continue reading →

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Condolence Book for Tahir Elçi

Posted on April 13, 2016 by heissenstat

Human rights lawyer/defender Tahir Elçi was shot dead in Diyarbakir on 28 November 2015. You may recall that Amnesty International organised a public meeting to pay tribute to him in January, attended by his wife, Turkan  Elçi, and one of … Continue reading →

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Amnesty International condemns take-over of newspaper

Posted on March 4, 2016 by heissenstat

In a sharply-worded response, Amnesty International described today’s take-over of Zaman newspaper  by court-appointed trustees as “the latest deeply troubling episode in the Turkish authorities’ ongoing onslaught on dissenting media.” “By lashing out and seeking to rein in critical voices, … Continue reading →

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Celebrate Dündar and Gül’s release, but recognize broader attack on press freedoms

Posted on February 26, 2016 by heissenstat

With a ruling by Turkey’s Constitutional Court, journalists Can Dündar and Erdem Gül have been released from pre-trial detention in a case that potentially could have resulted in terms of life in prison.

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Amnesty: Freedom of Expression in Turkey Deteriorates in 2015

Posted on February 25, 2016 by heissenstat

“Countless unfair criminal prosecutions, including under criminal defamation and anti-terrorism laws, targeted political activists, journalists and others critical of public officials or government policy. Ordinary citizens were frequently brought before the courts for social media posts.”  That’s the grim portrait … Continue reading →

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Amnesty’s Annual Report 2015: “Marked Deterioration” of Human Rights in Turkey

Posted on February 24, 2016 by heissenstat

In a few short pages, Amnesty International’s 2015 Annual Report detailed a rapidly deteriorating human rights environment in Turkey, particularly after the 2015 parliamentary elections and the outbreak of violence between the Turkish government and Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) in … Continue reading →

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Amnesty: Turkish Rights Abuses Must Not be Forgotten

Posted on February 10, 2016 by heissenstat

When Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu arrived in Netherlands today for one-day talks with his counterpart, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, activists from Amnesty International were there to greet him.  Their message was simple: Turkey’s on-going human rights abuses can not … Continue reading →

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The Crisis in Cizre continues

Posted on January 28, 2016 by heissenstat

Amnesty International today renewed its call for Turkish authorities to allow emergency medical care for injured individuals stranded in a basement in the town of Cizre, where they sought shelter on 23 January amid ongoing clashes between the army and … Continue reading →

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