(ap) -- The seven activists, including Amnesty's Turkey director Idil Eser, and their two trainers were taken away by police late Wednesday from their hotel. The reason for their detention was not known.

Amnesty called their detention "a grotesque abuse of power (that) highlights the precarious situation facing human rights activists" in Turkey.

Turkey has launched a massive crackdown since last year's failed coup, arresting some 50,000 people and dismissing more than 100,000 from government jobs. The crackdown initially focused on people with suspected ties to the coup attempt, but has been extended to include other government opponents.