Tag Archives: human rights watch

Amnesty: “Domestic Security Bill” Threatens Human Rights

Posted on February 23, 2015 by heissenstat

Amnesty International today condemned a controversial “domestic security bill” currently before the Turkish Parliament.  Issuing an urgent action to its worldwide membership, Amnesty stated that the legal changes  “threaten human rights, including the prospect of increased arbitrary detention, excessive use … Continue reading →

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Dark Days Ahead: Thinking about Turkey’s Tear Gas Purchase

Posted on December 17, 2014 by heissenstat

I have been going over a number in my head these past few days.  1.9 million.  That, according to Amnesty International, is the number of tear gas canisters and gas grenades that Turkey has ordered from a South Korean manufacturer … Continue reading →

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Orwell in Translation: Turkey’s New Spy Law

Posted on April 29, 2014 by heissenstat

One step forward, three steps back.  That, sadly, has been the direction of Turkey’s human rights record of late. On the plus side, a wave of individuals associated with the KCK who had been held in pre-trial detention for years … Continue reading →

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Human Rights Watch: Justice for Berkin

Posted on March 11, 2014 by heissenstat

Emma Sinclair-Webb of Human Rights Watch, writes on the death of Berkin Elvan: Fifteen-year-old Berkin Elvan has died after 269 days in a coma. The Istanbul schoolboy incurred a head injury that doctors say was most likely inflicted by police … Continue reading →

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Human Rights Watch: Turkey “increasingly autocratic”

Posted on January 21, 2014 by heissenstat

Human Rights Watch issued its annual report today.  The section on Turkey notes some positive steps, including a reform package, efforts at a peace process with Kurds in Turkey, and the hosting of hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.  Nonetheless, … Continue reading →

Posted in Amnesty International, Excessive Force, Freedom of Assembly, Freedom of Association, Freedom of Expression, Hrant Dink, Impunity, Kurds, Minorities, PKK, Press Freedom, Religious Freedom, Turkey | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Human Rights Watch: Turkey “increasingly autocratic”

Turkey applies for Pınar Selek’s extradition

Posted on December 29, 2013 by heissenstat

According to press reports, Turkey has applied to France for the extradition of Pınar Selek, who was sentenced this past January to life imprisonment for a 1998 bombing at the Egyptian Bazaar in Istanbul. Selek’s kafkaesqe trial has been widely … Continue reading →

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Human Rights Watch Report: Strengthen Law Reform Bill

Posted on March 27, 2013 by heissenstat

Earlier this week, Human Rights Watch issued a report on prospective judicial reform in Turkey. While it notes several positive steps, it highlights a series of weaknesses in the reforms currently envisioned, including the fact that “reforms leave unchanged article … Continue reading →

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Human Rights Watch highlights on-going concerns in Turkey

Posted on January 31, 2013 by heissenstat

Human Rights Watch, in its newly issued 2013 World Report, has highlighted some of the most serious human rights issues in Turkey, including attacks on freedom of expression, assembly, and association, violence against women, and excessive force by security services.

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Human Rights Lawyers Arrested (Update)

Posted on January 22, 2013 by cecbill

Last week, Amnesty USA’s Human Rights Now reported that  fifteen “human rights lawyers known for defending individuals’ right to freedom of speech and victims of police violence” had been arrested in pre-dawn raids in Istanbul. Today, according to press reports and Human … Continue reading →

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Human Rights Watch: Revise or Repeal Internet Law 5651

Posted on December 24, 2012 by heissenstat

Human Rights Watch has issued an important assessment of the Ahmet Yıldırım internet case. On December 18, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Turkey had violated the right to freedom of expression through an overly broad blocking of … Continue reading →

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