Turkey to start trial of rights activists, including Amnesty chief.
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Eleven human rights activists accused of terrorism charges were set to go on trial in Turkey on Wednesday in a case that has sparked widespread concern in the West and become a flashpoint in Ankara’s tension with Europe.
The activists, who include the local head of Amnesty International and a German and a Swede, face up to 15 years in prison on charges that include membership in and aid to an “armed terrorist organization”.
The activists were detained in July after they participated in a workshop on digital security held on an island near Istanbul. The case has deepened concerns that Turkey is sliding faster towards authoritarianism under President Tayyip Erdogan.
