The
European Union and the United States have condemned a series of police raids in
which journalists and executive were arrested in Turkey. They were seen as
targeting opponents of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Deutsche Welle, 14 Dec 2014
Federica
Mogherini, the European Union's foreign policy coordinator and Johannes Hahn,
the commissioner for enlargement negotiations, issued a joint statement on
Sunday, to express their disapproval of the raids, which occurred earlier in
the day.
"The
police raids and arrests of a number of journalists and media representatives
in Turkey today are incompatible with the freedom of media, which is a core
principle of democracy," read the statement, which was posted on the EU's
website.
It added
that the operation ran contrary to "the European values and standards
Turkey aspires to be part of."
The United
States also condemned the raids, with State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki
saying Washington was "closely following" the situation.
"Media
freedom, due process, and judicial independence are key elements in every
healthy democracy and are enshrined in the Turkish constitution," a
statement released by Psaki said. "As Turkey's friend and ally, we urge
the Turkish authorities to ensure their actions do not violate these core
values and Turkey's own democratic foundations."
Police arrested at least 24 people in the raids on media outlets on Sunday, including
executives, journalists and former police officers.
Erdogan
critics targeted
The outlets
raided are seen as being close to a US-based Muslim cleric, Fetullah Gulen, a
former ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but whom Erdogan now accuses of
orchestrating a plot to bring down his government.
Among the
premises targeted in the operation were the headquarters of Turkey's largest
circulation newspaper, the Zaman daily, as well as that of Samanyolu
television, both of which are affiliated with Gulen.
Ekrem
Dumanli, the editor-in-chief of Zaman was among those arrested.
The
official Anatolia news agency reported that those detained had been accused of
a number of offences, including "using intimidation and threats" to
"form a gang to try and seize state sovereignty", "forgery"
and "slander."
Hundreds of
supporters had gathered outside of Zaman's headquarters outside of Istanbul
prior to the raid there, preventing police from entering the building. Later,
plainclothes officers returned and arrested Dumanli.
"Let
those who have committed a crime be scared. We are not scared," Dumanli
said as he was led away by police.
pfd/jr (AP, AFP, Reuters)
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