Following a decision by a court in Istanbul to release the Honorary Chair of Amnesty International Turkey, Taner Kilic, after more than fourteen months behind bars, Colm O’Gorman, Executive Director of Amnesty International Ireland said:
“We are overjoyed at this news. It has taken more than a year of campaigning and struggle to get here, but Taner is finally free.
“But beneath the joy and relief there will be sorrow, anger and a steely determination. Sorrow for all the things Taner has missed during his cruel incarceration. Anger that the baseless charges against him and the Istanbul 10 have not been dropped. And determination to continue our fight for human rights in Turkey and for the release of all those human rights defender journalists and others who have been unjustly jailed in the vicious crackdown.
“Today we take a moment to celebrate, but tomorrow our struggle will continue, re-energized by the example set by Taner himself: a man who knows the importance of human rights and is willing to dedicate his life to defending them.”