Freedom of expression in Recep Erdoğan’s Turkey has been raised in the UK’s Parliamentary proceedings for the second time this year.
Cartoon by KAP
As reported by English PEN, MPs debated the state of affairs in Turkey on Thursday afternoon in Westminster Hall and specifically the impact on human rights of measures taken since last summer’s attempted coup.
The debate, called for by Joan Ryan MP, followed on from Stewart McDonald MP’s Early Day Motion noting the deterioration of press freedom within the country.
Shadow Minister of State for Europe, Fabian Hamilton MP said that the level of interest from both parliamentarians and members of the public indicated that a full debate in the House of Commons was warranted.
UPDATE: a transcript of the debate is now available via Hansard.
Readers of this site will now that CRNI’s particular concern is focused upon the wellbeing and liberty of cartoonist Musa Kart and his colleagues from Cumhuriyet newspaper who face their 130th day in prison on remand without trial.
The paper reports today that a formal application has been made to the European Court of Human Rights in an attempt to secure their release.
“The investigation is political, not legal. Ruling circles, uncomfortable with what Cumhuriyet publishes, want to stop it from appearing.”
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