Support from 5 Continents For Detained Human Rights Advocates

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On the 7th day of the detention of 10 human rights advocates, 41 rights organizations and defenders from five different continents have made a statement demanding the release of the detained advocates and made a call to the Government, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Justice.

The names of the 10 human rights advocates in detention since July 5 are:

Idil Eser, Amnesty International Turkey;
İlknur Üstün, Women's Coalition;
Günal Kurşun , lawyer, Human Rights Agenda Association;
Nalan Erkem, Lawyer, Citizens Assembly;
Nejat Taştan, Equal Rights Watch Association;
Özlem Dalkıran, Citizens' Assembly;
Şeyhmuz Özbekli, lawyer, Right Initiative;
Veli Acu, Human Rights Agenda Association;
Ali Gharavi - an IT consultant
Peter Steudtner – a non-violence and well-being trainer

Call to the Government and Ministries

The declaration signed by 41 supporters reads as follows:

"We are writing to you to express our profound dismay at the continued detention of ten human rights defenders and to call for their immediate release.

"These ten human rights defenders were detained by police in Istanbul on 5 July while attending a training workshop. Two of them were experts from outside the country providing the training. The group were held without access to lawyers and relatives for over 24 hours and their detention was extended for seven days without charge.

"The individuals in custody are members of well-known NGOs and some of the most prominent human rights defenders in Turkey and other countries. Their detention constitutes violations of the rights to freedom of expression and association.

"Most obviously, this incident runs contrary to the rights protected under the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders (http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Defenders/Declaration/declaration.pdf ).

"We therefore call for these rights to be immediately realised and for these colleagues to be released without any delay."

Signatories

1. Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, (Plaza de Mayo Anneleri) Argentina
2. Vera Jarach, Plaza de Mayo Annesi, Argentina
3. Fédération européenne des journalistes
4. PEN America, USA
5. Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, Canada
6. Wales PEN Cymru, Wales
7. PEN Norway, Norway
8. PEN UK, England
9. The Arab Forum for Sexuality Education and Health, Palestine
10. Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), Canada
11. Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS), Argentina
12. CONECTAS, Brasil
13. Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF), USA
14. Fundación Memoria Historica y Social Arhgentina, Argentina
15. International Human Rights Group Agora, Russia
16. Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), Irland
17. Madres de Plaza de Mayo Linea Fundadora, Argentina
18. Minority Rights Group International (MRG), England
19. Human Rights Committee at the Law Society (of England and Wales) England
20. Index, England
21. Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights
22. Fuuse, Norway
23. GAYa NUSANTARA, Indonesia
24. International Planned Parenthood Federation - European Network, Belgium
25. Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR)
26. Peace is Loud, USA
27. African Women's Network for Community management of Forests (REFACOF), Cameroon
28. West African Network of Young Women Leaders, Senegal
29. Federación Planificación Familiar Estatal, Spain
30. OPEN ASIA/Armanshahr, Afghanistan
31. Louisa Elkhomun, Echoes of Women in Africa ( ECOWA ), Nigeria
32. PAIMAN Alumni Trust, Pakistan
33. Niger Delta Women's movement for Peace and Development, Niger
34. RESURJ Global
35. Womankind Worldwide
36. War on Want, England
37. Association Ayotzinapan for HR in Mexico, Sweden
38. Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy, Phillipines
39. SPECTRA: Young Feminists, Rwanda
40. VISION, Pakistan
41. ATFD (Tunisian Association of Democratic Women), Tunisia

(AS/DG)