Police detain 12 at meeting in island hotel in Istanbul

Police have detained 12 people, including the Turkey head of Amnesty International, İdil Eser, at a meeting on an island near Istanbul.

They had gathered at a hotel on Büyükada island in the Marmara Sea when they were taken to a police station on July 5. It was not clear why they were being held and they had not been given access to lawyers.

Amnesty called for the group's release, saying it was "profoundly disturbed and outraged" at the detentions during a digital security and information management workshop.

Among those detained were Eser and seven other human rights defenders, two foreign trainers - a German and a Swedish national - as well as the hotel owner, Amnesty's statement said.

"This is a grotesque abuse of power and highlights the precarious situation facing human rights activists in the country," said Amnesty International Secretary General Salil Shetty.