Nafiz Albayrak / New York, Oct 9 () - State Department Spokesperson John Kirby has called on Turkey to respect media freedoms and due process, while adding the United States wanted to see “free, fair, credible” elections.
“We’re concerned by the increasing number of investigations into media outlets for criticism of the government and for accusations of allegedly disseminating terrorist propaganda. We’re also concerned by the aggressive use of judicial inquiries to curb free speech” Kirby said at a press conference in Washington, while responding to a question on frequent crackdowns on Turkish press by the government.
"We call on Turkey to respect the media freedoms"
“We call on Turkey, as we have in the past, to respect the media freedoms and due process protections that are enshrined in the Turkish constitution itself. And obviously, we want to see free, fair, credible elections there” Kirby said.
Attacks against free media have been increasingly common in Turkey, the latest examples of which were a violent protest in front of the Hürriyet daily headquarters, the attack against Hürriyet columnist Ahmet Hakan, and police violence against a Dicle News Agency (DİHA) journalist.
On Sept. 6, a group of around 150 pro-government protesters led by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) MP Abdurrahim Boynukalın pelted Hürriyet’s door with rocks to force their way into the building while also attacking the newspaper’s security personnel.
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