Ali Gharavi

German campaigner Peter Steudtner is among the 11 human rights activists on trial in Turkey, accused of belonging to and aiding terror groups. Critics say the charges are politically motivated, Deutsche Welle reported.

The trial of the 11 activists was set to begin on Wednesday, with the defendants facing up to 15 years in jail on terrorism related charges. 

Germany's foreign minister says his country and Sweden have made a joint protest to Turkey about the jailing of two human rights activists, demanding that the men be told what exactly they are accused of.

Two human rights activists have been arrested in Istanbul a short while after being released from detention.  

Nalan Erkem and İlknur Üstün, who were previously detained and later released on condition of judicial control, were arrested on July 22. 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on July 18 sharply criticized the arrest of German human rights activist Peter Steudtner in Turkey as "absolutely unjustified" and said the German government would do all it could to secure his release.

The U.S. is "deeply concerned" by the detention of 10 human rights activists, including the Turkey head of Amnesty International, in Istanbul, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement on July 6.

Police detained 10 human rights activists on July 5, including the Turkey head of Amnesty International, İdil Eser, at a meeting on an island off Istanbul.

The activists had gathered at a hotel on Büyükada, one of the Princes' Islands in the Marmara Sea, where they were organizing a "digital security and information management workshop," according to Amnesty International.