Imprisoned Turkish Activists Banned from Receiving Agos Newspaper

ISTANBUL — Turkish opposition Republican People’s party (CHP) lawmakers have visited human rights activists held in Istanbul’s Silivri prison, who were detained on July 5 and jailed on “terrorism” charges during a digital security and information management workshop in Istanbul’s Büyükada Island.

As Ermenihaber reports, the inmates have been unable to receive copies of the Armenian weekly Agos because officials say it is published in “Armenian language.” Özlem Dalkiran the Founder of the Citizens’ Assembly NGO has noted the limitation is a clear violation of the constitutional right to receive information.

To remind, the activists are being accused of aiding armed terror organizations for communications with suspects linked to Kurdish and left-wing militants as well as the movement led by U.S.-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, who is accused of orchestrating last year’s coup attempt. Gulen has denied the claim.

Their arrests have added to widespread concerns about the erosion of rights and freedoms in Turkey. More than 50,000 people have been arrested after the failed July 2016 coup, including journalists and politicians, while more than 140 media organizations and nearly 2,000 NGOs have been shuttered.