İlknur Üstün and Nalan Erkem are detained

We are in solidarity with our colleagues who are detained!
Ten women and human rights defenders including members of Women’s Coalition, İlknur Üstün and Nalan Erkem, detained yesterday (5 July 2017).

It is unacceptable that two of the prominent women’s rights defenders were detained at a time when attacks against women’s rights are getting prevalent at an alarming rate. We see this detention as an outright attack against women’s movement and all women in the country. Women’s rights struggle cannot be separated from human rights struggles.

Both of our colleagues have worked dedicatedly on eliminating violence against women, for women’s access to justice and women’s political participation. We understand that their detention is a “response” to their years of relentless work on women’s rights.

Their detention will neither deter them nor us from our struggle for women’s rights, because there is a long way to go in realisation of women’s rights in Turkey.

It’s a long road, and we will continue with our strive for women’s rights.

We are in solidarity with our colleagues and and will follow the situation closely.

Women’s Coalition -Turkey

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