6 Rights Defenders Arrested, 4 Released on Probation

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Özlem Dalkıran, İdil Eser, Günal Kurşun, Veli Acu, Ali Garawi and Peter Steudtner who were among the 10 rights advocates detained during a training workshop on July 5 in Büyükada have been arrested.

The four other rights advocates; Nalan Erkem, İlknur Üstün, Nejat Taştan and Şeyhmus Özbekli have been released on probation and on condition of an international travel ban. They have to appear before a police department and give signature three times a week.

10 rights advocates taken into custody during a training workshop on digital security in Büyükada were brought before prosecutor's office in İstanbul Çağlayan Courthouse yesterday (July 17) and were referred to court for arrest on charge of "being a member of an armed terrorist organization".

In the arrest warrant, the rights defenders are being accused of holding a meeting without any previous announcement under cover of a "training workshop" and that they discussed about how to prevent data from being seized by police or third parties.

CLICK - 10 Rights Defenders Referred to Court for Arrest

In addition, it has also been claimed that the detainees were in possession of documents regarding Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça who were discharged from their positions through a statutory decree and have gone on a hunger strike demanding their jobs back, had connections with certain people who are currently arrested and that they had contacts with people using ByLock, an encryptedcommunication software allegedly used among members of the Gülen Community.

What happened?

Nalan Erkem and Özlem Dalkıran (Helsinki Citizens Assembly), İlknur Üstün (Women's Coalition), İdil Eser (Human Rights Watch Director to Turkey) and Veli Acu (Human Rights Agenda Association), Günal Kurşun (Human Rights Agenda Association), Nejat Taştan (Association for Monitoring Equal Rights), Şeyhmuz Özbekli (Rights Initiative), Ali Garawi (human rights trainer), and Peter Steudtner (German citizen human rights trainer) were taken into custody during a training workshop in Büyükada, one of the Prince Islands in İstanbul.

On July 11, an additional seven days of detention was issued for the rights advocates. (ÇT/DG)