Rights Defenders Ali Garawi, Peter Steudtner Referred to Silivri Prison

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Rights defenders Ali Garawi and Peter Steudtner who were taken into custody during a training workshop on July 5 in Büyükada along with other eight rights defenders were arrested and sent to Maltepe Prison. They were transferred to Silivri Prison yesterday (August 1).

Rights advocates İdil Eser, Özlem Dalkıran and Nalan Erkem who were put into Bakırköy Prison first, were transferred to Silivri Prison on July 31.

Rights defenders İlknur Üstün who was also arrested as part of the same operation in Büyükada sits in Sincan Prison.

The attorneys of the rights defenders stated that their clients have not been sent to their wards yet and were still being kept alone in quarantine. The attorneys will visit the rights defenders today in Silivri Prison.

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.

On July 18, Eser, Dalkıran, Kurşun, Acu, Garawi and Steudtner were arrested. Erkem, Üstün, Taştan and Özbekli were released on probation and international travel ban was imposed on them. (ÇT/DG)