Amnesty International yesterday said that Turkish police had detained its Turkey director and others, calling for their immediate release.
Amnesty International Turkey director Idil Eser was detained on Wednesday along with others during a “digital security and information management workshop” on Buyukada, one of the Princes’ Islands off Istanbul, the human rights group said in a statement.
The Hurriyet daily said a total of 12 had been arrested in a police raid on a hotel on Buyukada, a popular retreat with Istanbul residents.
There was no immediate comment from the police or indication of what those arrested were accused of.
“We are profoundly disturbed and outraged that some of Turkey’s leading human rights defenders, including the director of Amnesty International Turkey, should have been detained so blatantly without cause,” Amnesty International secretary-general Salil Shetty said.
They must be “immediately and unconditionally released,” Shetty said.
The whereabouts of those detained was unknown.
Amnesty International said the seven others detained included Ilknur Ustun of the Women’s Coalition, lawyer Gunal Kursun and Veli Acu of the Human Rights Agenda Association.
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
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