US concerned about Turkey's arrest of activists
The United States says it is deeply concerned about the violation of basic freedoms in Turkey after its ally arrested three free speech activists.
"This appears to be just a continuation of a troubling trend that we've seen in Turkey to discourage legitimate discourse and freedom of expression, freedom of the press," US State Department spokesman John Kirby said Thursday.
“As we've said, as Turkey's friend and ally, we urge the authorities there to ensure their actions uphold the universal democratic values enshrined in Turkish constitution, which includes freedom of speech," he said.
"In a democratic society, we believe that critical opinion should be encouraged, not silenced. We believe democracies become stronger, not weaker, by allowing an expression of diverse voices within society and the actions and the work in the important efforts of independent journalists."
On Monday, Turkish prosecutors charged a Reporters Without Borders representative, a journalist and a rights activist with “terrorist propaganda.”
The three - Erol Onderoglu, Ahmet Nesin and Sebnem Korur Fincanci - may face between two and 14 years in prison for taking part in a campaign in solidarity with a pro-Kurdish newspaper.
The US Director for Reporters Without Borders, Delphine Halgand, expressed outrage at the state prosecutor's call for the long sentences.
"Erol's imprisonment and these of the two other press freedom defenders mark a new step in the criminalization of the defense of human rights in Turkey," she said. "We will continue to fight for these rights tirelessly."
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