STATE OF MEDIA FREEDOM IN TURKEY

That this House is concerned about widespread reports of growing authoritarianism in Turkey, particularly illustrated by, but not restricted to, the state censorship and imprisonment of journalists in Turkey; notes the continued imprisonment since 14 December 2014 of Hidayet Karaca who is the chief executive of a Turkish television network of channels, and the arrest of 20 journalists in a series of dawn raids in Turkey in mid-December 2014, including Ekrem Dumanli, who is the editor-in-chief of Turkey's largest circulating newspaper and Sedef Kabas, who is a television presenter facing a prison sentence for posting a tweet about a corruption probe involving high-profile names, and most recently the arrest, charge and remand of investigative journalist Mehmet Baransu; welcomes the statement by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and the EU Commissioner for Enlargement Negotiations that the latest crackdown is against the European values and standards Turkey aspires to be part of; further notes the need for the Turkish authorities to remove travel bans imposed on journalists and to drop all criminal charges against them and release all other journalists behind bars in the country; and further calls on the Government to raise these and other concerns that give rise to a growing sense of authoritarianism in Turkey with their counterparts in Turkey.