U.N. report condemns Turkish government for arbitrary detention and violating human rights

NEW YORK — In its annual report, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Working Group on Arbitrary Detention decried the campaigns of arrest carried out by the government of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), saying that the arbitrary detentions violate international law and human rights.

The Working Group also monitored Ankara’s violation of provisions of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights which prohibit ill-treatment, torture, and individual freedom in addition to the right to security, fair treatment, and freedom of expression.

The report stated that security forces raided homes without search or arrest warrants and arbitrarily arrested people, indicating that the accusations against the suspects were not based on any material evidence.

The report also stated that thousands of academics and intellectuals, including doctors and judges, were arrested, and some extrajudicially killed, after the attempted coup in Turkey in 2016.