Local head of Amnesty International, Taner Kiliç, has been arrested in Turkey.

Police detained Taner Kiliç and 22 other lawyers in the beginning of this week and on suspicion of ties to the movement of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom the Turkish authorities accuse of coup attempt last July.

“The Turkish prosecution’s decision to charge Taner Kiliç, the Chair of Amnesty International Turkey, with “membership of a terrorist organisation” is a mockery of justice, and highlights the devastating impact of the Turkish authorities’ crackdown following the failed coup attempt in July last year,” reads the statement issued by Amnesty International.

“The charges brought against him today are completely without merit. They show just how arbitrary, just how sweeping, the Turkish government’s frenzied pursuit of its perceived enemies and critics has become. He must be released immediately and the charges against him dropped,” said Salil Shetty, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, demanding the immediate release of Kiliç and withdrawal of all charges brought against him.