Following the conclusion of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit to the UK, Kate Allen, Director of Amnesty International UK, said:  

“Theresa May was right to raise human rights with President Erdoğan and stress that Turkish authorities must uphold international human rights obligations.

"For most of the past two years, the Turkish authorities have set about almost entirely dismantling civil society in the country. Human rights defenders - including our Amnesty colleague Taner Kılıç - have been locked up, organisations have been closed down, and a climate of fear now pervades the country.

“Turkey must lift the current state of emergency and stop crushing human rights activists and those who dare criticise it. The UK needs to continue to push the Turkish authorities on their human rights commitments before there is no independent, critical civil society left in the country.”