April 2025
Letter in Support of Release and Acquittal of All Detained Students and Family Members in Istanbul, Turkey
Letter in Support of Release and Acquittal of All Detained Students and Family Members in Istanbul, Turkey
SIGNATURE COUNT: 126
The IRF Community and Rumi Forum is circulating a letter addressed to the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), expressing urgent concern over the continued detention and prosecution of individuals—primarily women and students—on religious freedom grounds in Istanbul, Turkey. We call for the immediate release and full acquittal of R.Ç., Z.Ş.T., and all remaining defendants, asserting that their continued detention for peaceful religious expression represents a grave violation of international human rights standards and undermines the principles of religious freedom.
Informative Sources:
Turkish Minute. (2025, February 20). Rights advocate decried terrorism charge against high school girls for associating with peers. Turkish Minute.
Turkish Minute. (2025, February 18). 3 defendants released, 2 remain jailed in trial of high school girls on terrorism charges. Turkish Minute.