December 15, 2014

The crackdown on speech in Turkey must end: Freedom House

Freedom House joins the list of prominent international rights groups condemning the detainments of journalists on Sunday.

In response to the detention of prominent journalists from the newspaper Zaman and Samanyolu Broadcasting Group on charges of establishing an armed terror organization, Freedom House slammed the allegations, whilst voicing criticism against the government for attempting to cover-up corruption charges through muzzling of press.

“The sweeping charges against the journalists and others detained today is a threat to free expression in Turkey and to anyone critical of its government,” expressed executive vice-president Daniel Calingaert.

The Freedom House vice-president’s elaborated, “These arrests appear to be government retribution against journalists reporting on corruption and criticizing the government. The crackdown on speech in Turkey must end.”

In Freedom House “Freedom in the World 2014”, Turkey is rated ‘Partly Free’ and ‘Not Free’ in “Freedom of the Press 2014”

Published on BGNNews, 14 December 2014, Sunday