Moscow Calls on West to React to Turkey's Press Crackdown

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russia calls on its Western partners to demand compliance with European and international freedom of speech standards from Turkey, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Saturday.

Zakharova provided as examples Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's refusal to accept a Constitutional Court decision to release two senior Cumhurriyet journalists, and the raids of Zaman opposition daily and other outlets under the Feza Media Group on Friday.

"We are convinced that these subjects require the most meticulous and impartial review by the Council of Europe and the OSCE [the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]. We hope that our Western partners will reject fears of irritating Ankara. It should be strongly demanded to comply with European and international commitments in terms of freedom of expression and media," she noted.

Last week, the Turkish Constitutional Court ruled that the detention of Cumhuriyet editor Can Dundar and its Ankara bureau chief Erdem Gul violated their rights. Erdogan refused to respect the court’s decision, accusing the journalists of espionage and the court itself of violating the Constitution.

The two were placed in pre-trial detention in November for a May 2015 publication bringing to light the involvement of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) in arms deliveries to Syria.

On Friday, another Turkish court ordered the Zaman newspaper to be placed under the management of government trustees, causing violent clashes between activists and police that continued on Saturday.

Turkey's crackdown on journalists and restrictions on freedom of speech have been criticized by the international community, including the United Nations, United States, the European Union, Russia and the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) organization.

RSF ranks Turkey 149th out of 180 countries in press freedom.