Detention warrant issued for four rights activists previously released in Istanbul

Ceylan Sever – ISTANBUL

An Istanbul court on July 21 issued a detention warrant for four human rights activists who had previously been released on probation after having been accused of aiding a terror group.

The warrants were issued for Nalan Erkem, Şeyhmus Özbekli, Nejat Taştan and İlknur Üstün following an appeal to their release by the Istanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office. 

They were among 10 activists who had been detained in a police operation against a digital security and information management workshop in Istanbul’s Büyükada Island on July 5. 

Six of the activists, including Amnesty International’s Turkey director İdil Eser, were arrested on July 18 on charges of being a member of an armed terror organization. 

The court however ordered the release of the four on probation and banned them from travelling abroad.