A Turkish court on Friday convicted four human rights activists of terrorism charges, including two former leaders of Amnesty International, as part of a broader crackdown on opposition voices in the country. One defendant, Taner Kilic, who once led Amnesty Turkey, a top human rights watchdog, was convicted on charges of being a member of a terrorist organization and sentenced to six years and three months in prison. Three others — Ozlem Dalkiran, Idil Eser and Gunal Kursun — were convicted of “assisting a terrorist organization” and each sentenced to 25 months in jail. Their cases are the latest in a widespread crackdown on dissent in Turkey in the wake of a failed 2016 coup attempt. While the government accused the group of terrorism, critics say the trials are part of an arbitrary system under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that has targeted human rights defenders with baseless accusations and used the justice system to close down civil society activism.

Source: International New York Times July 03, 2020 17:03 UTC