White House concerned over arrest of Turkish journalists
The WHITE HOUSE
Date posted: December 16, 2014
White House has expressed concerns over the arrest of Turkish journalists, including Zaman daily editor-in-chief Ekrem Dumanlı, called on Ankara to conduct investigations in a manner consistent with the rule of law.
“We noted with concern the arrests of a number of journalists and other members of the media over the weekend,” White House National Security Council spokesman, Mark Stroh, said in a statement on Monday. He added that Washington has long maintained that freedom of the press is an essential element in all healthy, successful democracies.
“We urge the Turkish authorities to conduct investigations quickly, transparently, and in a manner consistent with the rule of law,” the statement stated.
Turkish media has been facing an unprecedented crackdown as the executives of Turkey’s two leading media outlets have been, since Sunday, in custody and are being questioned as part of a government-orchestrated police operation that has dealt a heavy blow to freedom of the press.
Dumanlı, Samanyolu Broadcasting Group General Manager Hidayet Karaca along with other journalists, scriptwriters, columnists, producers were detained in a sweeping operation on Sunday.
Turkey’s prolonged and arbitrary detention of journalists, human rights defenders, and politicians following the 2016 coup attempt have set back the country’s human rights record, Human Rights Watch said in its World Report 2020 published on Tuesday.
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The Fountain 100th Issue Essay Contest
With its 100th issue, The Fountain invites you to join us in our celebration. Write in an essay a projection of yourself on your 100th birthday. What would you say to yourself at that age? What would your 100-year-old self tell you back? Would it be a conversation of praise and/or regret? Praise for achievements in your career, but regrets for a destroyed family? Warnings for the mistakes you did in your projected future or you will do in your past; pitfalls you happened to be dragged into, temptations you could not resist; or celebrations for the good character you were able to display and sustain a whole life, a precious life wasted or a life lived as it was meant to be.
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