6 European activists held in Turkey while investigating prison conditions
Their arrest came on the same day that police detained a Turkish journalist working for Deutsche Welle for ‘spreading false news’
They were detained in Istanbul on Thursday after meeting a legal collective called the Office of People’s Rights (HHB), said Naim Eminoglu, head of the Istanbul section of the Progressive Lawyers Association (CHD), who is defending them.
Known for defending individuals seen as political opponents, HHB has been frequently targeted by Ankara on suspicion of ties to the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front – a far-left group designated as a “terror group” by Turkey, Belgium and the US – a charge denied by the collective.
“The international delegation of lawyers, journalists and rights activists arrived in Turkey on February 18,” Eminoglu said, adding that the CHD had been informed by police that they “had been arrested ahead of their expulsion” and their passports were confiscated.
“They were transferred to the migration directorate and were not allowed to meet with their lawyers. The CHD has learnt that they are now being taken to Istanbul airport to be deported,” he said.