MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The infringement on freedom of press in Turkey calls for a response from the European Union and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Russian Foreign Ministry's Human Rights Ombudsman Konstantin Dolgov said.
"The Turkish authorities continue their harsh crack down on journalists undesirable for [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan," Dolgov wrote on Twitter, adding "Will the EU and the OSCE react?"
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, a Russian television crew working for the Rossiya-1 channel was detained and deported from Turkey on December 7, for allegedly violating rules for foreign journalists working in the country.
Earlier this month, three journalists from Today’s Zaman daily were handed suspended prison sentences of over a year for insulting Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on social media.
In November, Cumhuriyet newspaper editor-in-chief Can Dundar and the publication’s Ankara bureau chief Erdem Gul were arrested on charges of espionage and treason after publishing a report that included photos of trucks carrying weapons bound for Syria.
Large-scale protests were held in the county after the arrest of the journalists. Ankara accused the reporters of divulging state secrets, while press freedom groups called for action against Turkey's attempts to gag media.
Turkey ranks 149th out of 180 in the 2015 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index.
