"We are profoundly disturbed and outraged that some of Turkey’s leading human rights defenders, including the Director of Amnesty International Turkey should have been detained so blatantly without cause. This is a grotesque abuse of power and highlights the precarious situation facing human rights activists in the country. Idil Eser and those detained with her must be immediately and unconditionally released," Amnesty International’s Secretary General Salil Shetty said, as quoted in the statement.
In June, the chairman of Amnesty International Turkey Taner Kilic was arrested, along with 22 other activists over alleged involvement in the July 2016 coup attempt.
The detention order refers to suspected members of a group run by US-based cleric Fethullah Gullen, who are accused of plotting to overthrow Turkish President Recep Erdogan.
Amnesty International previously issued a report detailing the arbitrary dismissals of more than 100,000 civil servants and military members in the 10 months since the coup attempt.
