ISTANBUL OCT 25 (TNS): Eleven human rights activists accused of terrorism charges were set to go on trial in Turkey today (Wednesday) in a case that has sparked widespread concern in the West and become a flashpoint in Ankara’s tension with Europe.
The activists including the local head of Amnesty International and a German and a Swede, face up to 15 years in prison on charges of membership in and aid to an “armed terrorist organization”.
The activists were detained in July after they participated in a workshop on digital security held on an island near Istanbul.
Since a failed coup last year, authorities have jailed pending trial more than 50,000 and sacked or suspended some 150,000.
The first hearing was due to begin at 10 am (0700 GMT). Among those arrested were Amnesty International’s Turkey director, Idil Eser, German citizen Peter Frank Steudtner and Swedish citizen Ali Gharavi.
