Taner Kılıç was just doing his job, exposing human rights abuses in Turkey as Chair of Amnesty International in that country. But on 9 June 2017, he was thrown into prison on the baseless accusation of being a member of an “armed terrorist organization”.
One month later, 10 other human rights defenders, including Amnesty International Turkey’s Director were detained while attending a routine workshop for human rights activists in Istanbul.
All are on trial for “terrorism” related crimes – an absurd attempt to choke their human rights activism.
Taner is still in prison - and even though the Istanbul 10 have been released thanks to our campaigning, they are still at risk.
Taner and the Istanbul 10 are our friends and colleagues. They have dedicated their lives to peacefully protecting other people’s human rights in Turkey and elsewhere. Painting them as criminals leaves everyone vulnerable to the government taking away their personal freedoms.
We won’t stop until they’re ALL free. Join our call to free Taner and drop the charges against the Istanbul 10. Let Turkey know the world is watching.
To: Mr. Abdulhamit Gül, Minister of Justice, Republic of Turkey
Dear Minister, I feel compelled to write and call on you to drop the charges against eleven human rights defenders in Turkey, including Amnesty International’s İdil Eser and Taner Kılıç.
While eight of them, who had been imprisoned for almost four months, have been released, Taner remains in prison. They all still face shocking and baseless charges of “membership of an armed terrorist organisation.”
These 11 people have dedicated their lives to peacefully protecting human rights in Turkey and elsewhere, a vital role in any free and fair society. Yet because of the absurd and patently unfounded allegations, they now face up to 15 years in prison.
Observers like me all around the world can see that this accusation is ridiculous and simply not true. This is why I am joining hundreds of thousands of people in standing with human rights defenders in Turkey.
Defending human rights is not a crime.
[Your comments here]
Please do the right thing, release Taner Kılıç and drop the charges now.
Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
