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A jump in COVID-19 cases, led by the capital Ankara, prompts new restrictions on social mobility. Dozens of health care workers have died, former government ministers have contracted the virus and doctors are warning that some cities could face a shortage of beds in intensive care units. Read more: https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/09/turkey-second-peak-coronavirus-covid19-ankara-virus.html#ixzz6X417NTMG

Amnesty launches email campaign for the release of Turkey’s political prisoners amid Covid-19: “Turkey: Release unfairly imprisoned people and most at risk from COVID-19 While the deadly COVID-19 pandemic is spreading at an alarming rate across Turkey, the lives of thousands of prisoners and staff in overcrowded and unsanitary prisons remain at serious risk. On …

AI: “Release unfairly imprisoned people” Read More »

The New York-based Human Rights Foundation has released a message on Twitter, calling on the Turkish authorities to release the prisoners of conscience in the Silivri Prison in İstanbul. “As a member of the CoE (Council of Europe), Turkey must safeguard the health of prisoners, regardless of race, color, religion, political opinion, national or social …

Human Rights Foundation urges the release of political prisoners in Silivri Read More »

Prepared Floor Remarks by U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa On COVID-19 and Political Prisoners in Foreign Countries Wednesday, May 20, 2020 VIDEO “As our country recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, I would like to take this opportunity to address the plight of an extremely vulnerable population, political prisoners abroad. In Turkey, Syria, China and …

Grassley on COVID-19 and Political Prisoners in Foreign Countries Read More »

Although Turkish officials are insisting there are no serious problems involving the coronavirus outbreak in prisons, a number of complaints from inmates have recently surfaced, indicating a dangerous health situation among prisoners. According to Deutsche Welle Turkish service, a prisoner in İstanbul’s Silivri Prison said that in addition to 44 officially confirmed coronavirus cases in …

Turkish prisoners report shortage of tests, food amid COVID-19 outbreak Read More »

Can Bahadır Yüce writes on Turkey’s response to coronavirus, and calls for the release of at-risk political prisoners While COVID-19 is indiscriminate, its impact has not been equal. The poor suffer more than the rich; the threat to the old is graver than to the young; urban communities are more vulnerable than their rural counterparts. …

This Is Not an Arthur Koestler Novel – This Is Turkey Read More »

In a letter addressed to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, members of the US Congress urged the US government to engage with the Turkish government to ensure that political prisoners are not excluded from release policies related to the coronavirus pandemic. Six members of Congress including Ilhan Omar, believed to be close to President …

Members of the US Congress urge release of political prisoners in Turkey Read More »

Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, an opposition member of the Turkish parliament and a rights activist, tweeted late on Sunday that eight inmates from İstanbul’s notorious Silivri Prison, where most political prisoners are held, were brought to the intensive care unit of a city hospital due to COVID-19. At least 191 inmates have tested positive so far, Gergerlioğlu …

Number of inmates with coronavirus in İstanbul’s Silivri Prison increases to 191: deputy Read More »

The current virus outbreak cannot be used as an excuse to worsen the human rights situation in detention facilities around the world, said Parliament’s Human Rights Subcommittee on Monday. Members of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights held a debate on Monday with experts on how the pandemic is affecting people in places of …

COVID-19: the conditions in prisons pose a serious challenge to human rights Read More »