Turkey criticised over political rights

The watchdog group Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday (November 1st) accused Turkey of using anti-terror laws to stifle Kurdish protests and send peaceful demonstrators to jail. “When it comes to the Kurdish question, the courts in Turkey are all too quick to label political opposition as terrorism,” Emma Sinclair-Webb, author of the 72-page document, said. “The government should complete the task of reform by changing laws relating to adult demonstrators, to bring them fully into line with Turkey’s human rights obligations,” she added, pointing out that “throwing people in jail is no way to halt terrorism — or protest.”