U.S. deeply concerned by Turkish arrest of Amnesty chief

WASHINGTON - 8 June 2017: The United States urged its ally Turkey to respect due process Wednesday after police arrested the head of the human rights group Amnesty International's chapter in the country.

Washington was "deeply concerned" about the arrest of Taner Kilic, who was among 23 detained on Tuesday in Izmir, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

Kilic was only "the latest in a series of respected human rights defenders, journalists, academics, and activists detained in Turkey," she said in a statement.

"The detentions of individuals such as Mr Kilic chill public debate and undermine the quality of democracy," Nauert warned.

Kilic and the others arrested with him are suspected of links to the movement of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of fomenting last year's failed coup.

But Amnesty International, which campaigns for the freedom of political prisoners the world over, said the arrests were part of an "arbitrary" crackdown.

The group said it did not believe Kilic's arrest was connected to his position at Amnesty, which he has directed in the country since 2014.

The Turkish government claims Gulen ordered the July 15 attempt to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and seize power.

Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, denies the accusation.

More than 100,000 people have been sacked or suspended from the public sector under a state of emergency imposed a few days after the failed putsch.

Rights group have previously criticized the vast crackdown, saying it has extended well beyond coup suspects to Erdogan's opponents.

The US statement suggested Washington has some sympathy for that view.

"These detentions, often with little evidence or transparency, are an alarming trend," Nauert said.

"We are closely following these cases, and underscore the importance of respect for due process and individual rights, as enshrined in the Turkish Constitution and consistent with Turkey's own international commitments," she added.

"As we have expressed to the Turkish government on numerous occasions, persistent curbs on free speech and other freedoms erode the foundations of democratic society."