PRESS FREEDOM IN TURKEY

That this House expresses concern regarding the upcoming trial of the 19 journalists from the newspaper Cumhuriyet in Turkey, which starts on 24 July 2017; calls for the release of these journalists and all other journalists and human rights defenders imprisoned in Turkey in connection with their work; believes that this trial represents a crackdown on freedom of speech in Turkey by the Turkish Government which has seriously accelerated under the state of emergency over the last year; further calls on the Government to ensure that in all discussions with its Turkish counterparts the protection of freedom of speech, freedom of expression and independence of the press is raised; is disappointed that Turkey was ranked 155th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders' 2017 World Press Freedom Index; and condemns the prolonged arbitrary detention without reason and the isolation of detainees by the Turkish Government, which represents a violation of international law.