Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Turkish counterpart on the upcoming trial of Amnesty International Turkey’s (a) honorary Chair Taner Kiliç and (b) former Director Idil Eser and their nine co-defendant human rights defenders.

We remain concerned by the Amnesty arrests in the summer of 2017 of eleven human rights defenders, including Amnesty Turkey's former director, Idil Eser, and former chair, Taner Kiliç. We have followed the cases closely, including attendance at court hearings. We have raised their cases at Ministerial level with the Turkish Government on several occasions, as well as raising them in January this year through the UN's Universal Periodic Review of Turkey. We hope that the outstanding charges against them can be brought to a timely and equitable conclusion. We will be monitoring the next hearing in early July.

The United Kingdom recognises that human rights defenders play an essential role in promoting and protecting democracy, respect for human rights, and the rule of law. We regularly raise our human rights concerns with the Turkish authorities at the highest level, particularly around detentions, freedom of expression and association. We continue to urge the authorities to ensure that all detainees are treated in accordance with relevant international human rights standards, such as access to legal representation and medical care We will continue to engage the Turkish Government on these important issues. We are clear in our expectation that Turkey, like all countries, should live up to its human rights obligations towards all its citizens.