US Urges Immediate Release of Activists Arrested in Turkey

The United States has condemned the arrests of human rights activists in Turkey and called on the government in Ankara to immediately free the detained, US Department of State spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters in a briefing on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — A Turkish court ordered that six human rights activists are detained on suspicion of preparing the military coup of July 15, 2016, the watchdog said in a press release Tuesday. The local director of Amnesty International, Idil Eser, is among the six detained activists.

"The United States strongly condemns the arrest of six respected human rights activists, and calls for their immediate release," Nauert said. "Prosecutions like this with little evidence or transparency undermine Turkey’s rule of law and the country’s obligations to respect individual rights."

Nauert explained the United States has encouraged the Turkish government to release the detained and remove the provisions of the state of emergency that allow indiscriminate prosecution of individuals.

The spokesperson added that the United States will continue to "keep an eye" on the situation in Turkey.

The Turkish authorities have detained thousands of individuals after an unsuccessful military coup on July 15, 2016 over their alleged support for the Gulen Movement, commonly referred in Turkey as the Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organization (FETO).

Ankara considers the Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen and FETO to be behind the attempted coup.