Sweden's foreign minister slammed Turkey on Wednesday for jailing a Swedish citizen along with several human rights activists, including Amnesty International's Turkey director, after a raid on a workshop in Istanbul. A Turkish court on Tuesday ordered Ali Gharavi, an IT strategy consultant, and five other human rights activists, to remain in custody for allegedly aiding a "terror" group.
"It is our understanding that Gharavi was in Turkey to participate in a peaceful seminar about freedom of the internet and we have urged Turkey to quickly clarify the grounds for the accusations against him," Margot Wallstrom said in a statement. "(The Swedish government) is greatly concerned about the developments in Turkey, especially regarding democracy, respect for human rights and the principles of (the state)," she added. Gharavi was attending a workshop on Buyukada, one of the Princes' Islands off Istanbul, on July 5 when police interrupted and detained 10 people.