Today, further raids and arrests of academics and human rights activists took place in Turkey. The detainees are members of the Anadolu Culture Foundation , whose chairman Osman Kavala, a Turkish entrepreneur and philanthropist who also enjoys a high reputation Brussels and in the European Parliament, has been in pre-trial detention without indictment for over a year now.
Rebecca Harms, Green Member of the European Parliament and an expert on Turkey, comments:
"Today's raids and arrests illustrate that the repression of critics and uncomfortable citizens in Turkey continues even after the end of the state of emergency. The new wave of arrests serves to further spread fear and insecurity. This kind of justice goes against all critical thinking, freedom of thought and art.
The EU and the Member States must stand up to this and put all their weight, including their economic weight, to oppose this arbitrariness. The arrests also confirm the criticism that the European Parliament's rapporteur, Kati Piri, has just presented in her new report on Turkey."
