Turkish court orders release of opposition spokeperson News
Turkish court orders release of opposition spokeperson

[JURIST] A Turkish court released a Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) [party website] parliamentarian Thursday, according to a HDP statement [press release]. Parliamentarian Ayhan Bilgen is the former speaker of the HDP and has been jailed over allegations of terrorism. This release follows a “Conscience and Justice Watch” at the Constitutional Court to protest and demand action [press release] for those they believed were unjustly and unlawfully imprisoned. The current Turkish government has removed and arrested [Reuters report] more than 150,000 people after a failed coup last year.

Turkey has faced significant political upheaval in recent months as many worry over human rights in the country. In July a Turkish court ordered [JURIST report] that six human rights activists, including Amnesty International’s Turkey Director, remain in custody pending trial for allegedly aiding an armed terrorist group. In May a trial began [JURIST report]involving more than 200 defendants over the July 2016 coup. In April Turkish authorities removed [JURIST report] more than 3900 people from their positions in the civil service and military pursuant to a new national security law published.

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