Three Uighurs who fled from China to Turkey have described forced abortions and torture by Chinese authorities in the far western Xinjiang region. They were speaking ahead of giving evidence to a people’s tribunal in London that is investigating if Beijing’s actions against ethnic Uighurs amount to genocide. One woman said she was forced to […]
Continue ReadingTurkey has withdrawn from a European treaty protecting women from violence that it was the first to sign 10 years ago and that bears the name of its largest city. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decree annulling Turkey’s ratification of the Istanbul Convention is a blow to women’s rights advocates, who say the agreement is crucial […]
Continue ReadingTwo students have been arrested in Turkey on charges of inciting hatred and insulting religious values for a poster depicting Islam’s most sacred site with LGBT flags. The arrests came after top Turkish officials condemned the poster, displayed at an exhibition in Turkey’s prestigious Bogazici University. For weeks, students and faculty have been protesting over […]
Continue ReadingA Turkish court on Monday sentenced a suspected member of so-called Islamic State to life in prison for the New Year’s Eve attack on a nightclub in Istanbul in 2017 that left 39 people dead. Abdulkadir Masharipov, of Uzbekistan, was convicted of 39 counts of murder and one count of attempting to overthrow the constitutional […]
Continue ReadingTwo friends who attempted to travel to Syria have been found guilty of preparing for terrorist acts in support of the so-called Islamic State. Safwaan Mansur, from Birmingham, and Hanzalah Patel, from Leicester, travelled to Turkey in 2016 and 2017 after checking out an area near the Syrian border on TripAdvisor, a two-week trial was […]
Continue ReadingA terror suspect accused of planning to join Islamic State claimed to have visited a Turkish province bordering Syria as a “tourist excursion” after checking the area out on TripAdvisor, a jury has heard. Safwaan Mansur, from Birmingham, and Hanzalah Patel, from Leicester, both deny a charge of travelling to Turkey in preparation for terrorist […]
Continue ReadingTurkish President Tayyip Erdogan wrapped up an ill-tempered visit to Germany on Saturday with a visit to Cologne, where a security lockdown kept supporters and protesters away from a ceremony to open the country’s largest mosque. Police snipers were stationed on rooftops and the area was cordoned off after the city authorities cancelled plans for […]
Continue ReadingEvery Saturday for 23 years, dozens of people have held a vigil in a central Istanbul square, sitting in silence and holding pictures of relatives who went missing in police detention. The group was about to stage their 700th demonstration last Saturday when Turkish police told them their protest was banned, before firing tear gas […]
Continue ReadingTurkey will retaliate against a U.S. decision to impose sanctions on two senior ministers over the imprisonment of Pastor Andrew Brunson, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday. Washington sanctioned Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu over the pastor’s detention. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said the two men played leading roles […]
Continue ReadingTurkish police deployed in central Istanbul on Sunday to enforce a ban on the city’s annual gay and transgender pride march, blocking off a main street and dispersing groups of demonstrators who gathered nearby. Police with riot shields and helmets sealed off entrances to Istiklal Street, where organisers had planned to hold the march before […]
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