土耳其以“幫助恐怖分子”爲由關押6名人權活動人士

Turkey has jailed six human-rights activists, including Amnesty International's Turkey chief, for allegedly aiding terrorists.

Police arrested the six during a raid on a hotel on the island of Buyukada on July 5, during a digital security workshop. On Tuesday a court in Istanbul ordered them to remain behind bars until a trial.

In addition to Amnesty's director of operations in Turkey, Idil Eser, German and Swiss human-rights workers were among the detainees.

Turkish media reports said the six are accused of having been in contact with Kurdish and leftist militants and suspected members of the movement led by exiled Muslim cleric Fetullah Gulen - once President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's close ally, but now at the top of the Turkish government's most-wanted list.

"This is not a legitimate investigation. This is a politically motivated witch hunt that charts a frightening future for rights in Turkey," Amnesty secretary general Salil Shetty said Tuesday.

The United States also condemned the arrests.

"Prosecutions like these with little evidence or transparency undermine Turkey's rule of law and the country's obligation to respect individual rights," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters.

The U.S. urged Turkey to drop the charges, free the six prisoners, and lift provisions of the country's state of emergency that allow what the U.S. spokeswoman called the "indiscriminate prosecutions of individuals."

Turkey extended its post-coup state of emergency three more months this week, shortly after voters narrowly approved a referendum to amend the constitution and expand President Erdogan's powers.

U.S. President Donald Trump congratulated Erdogan on his referendum victory, but many European Union leaders fear the impending constitutional changes will further erode human rights and free speech in Turkey and muzzle the opposition.

More than 50,000 people have been arrested during a yearlong crackdown since last year's coup. In addition, 110,000 civil servants, members of the military and law-enforcement agencies were dismissed for either participating in the coup or actively sympathizing with the plotters.土耳其關押了六名人權活動人士，包括國際特赦在土耳其的負責人，罪名是幫助恐怖分子。

警方7月5日對王子島一家旅館發動突襲，逮捕了這六個人，當時他們正在參加一個數字安全研討會。伊斯坦布爾一家法院星期二裁決，這六人繼續關押，等待開庭。

除了國際特赦在土耳其的負責人艾德爾·伊瑟外，被捕的還有德國和瑞士人權工作者。

土耳其媒體報道說，這六個人被控跟庫爾德、左翼激進分子，以及流亡的穆斯林教士居倫領導的運動成員有聯繫。居倫一度曾是土耳其總統埃爾多安的親密盟友，如今已是土耳其政府通緝名單的首犯。

國際特赦祕書長薩利爾·賽迪說，“這不是合法調查，而是有政治動機的獵巫行動，讓土耳其人權前景堪憂。”

美國也對這次逮捕事件表示譴責。

國務院發言人諾爾特告訴記者說：“這樣毫無證據和透明度的迫害，削弱了土耳其的法治和土耳其尊重個人權利的義務。”

美國敦促土耳其放棄指控，釋放六名在押者，結束土耳其緊急狀態的相關規定。國務院發言人說，這些規定讓土耳其政府可以“不分青紅皁白地對個人進行迫害”。

本週早些時候，土耳其將未遂政變後實施的緊急狀態延長了三個月。此前不久，土耳其選民以微弱多數批准了一項全民公決，修改憲法，擴大總統埃爾多安的權力。

美國總統川普對埃爾多安的全民公決勝利表示祝賀，但是很多歐盟領導人擔心，即將出現的憲法改動會進一步侵蝕土耳其的人權和言論自由，讓反對派無法發聲。

土耳其未遂政變以來歷時一年的鎮壓行動中，有5萬多人被捕，還有11萬公務員、軍人和執法人員被解除職務，有些是因爲參與政變，有些是因爲積極同情政變策劃者。