Turkey on Thursday criticized the newly appointed U.S. ambassador to Turkey over his comment about media freedom in Turkey following the detention of several journalists, local media reported.
“We believe that it is not right for an ambassador to pass judgment over an ongoing criminal investigation,” Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was quoted by the semi-official Anatolia news agency as telling reporters during a visit to Nepal.
U.S. ambassador Francis J. Ricciardone questioned Turkey’s media freedom when speaking of a recent police raid on a news website in Turkey at a reception on Tuesday.
“On the one hand there is a stated policy of support for a free press. On the other hand, journalists are put under detention. We are trying to make sense of this,” Ricciardone was quoted of telling reporters.
The ruling Justice and Development Party’s spokesperson Huseyin Celik on Wednesday criticized Ricciardone for interfering in internal affairs of Turkey.
The ambassador said in a statement on Thursday he had not commented on the merits of a particular case, saying as a foreigner there were certain things “he was trying to understand.”
Turkey on Thursday criticized the newly appointed U.S. ambassador to Turkey over his comment about media freedom in Turkey following the detention of several journalists, local media reported.
“We believe that it is not right for an ambassador to pass judgment over an ongoing criminal investigation,” Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was quoted by the semi-official Anatolia news agency as telling reporters during a visit to Nepal.
U.S. ambassador Francis J. Ricciardone questioned Turkey’s media freedom when speaking of a recent police raid on a news website in Turkey at a reception on Tuesday.
“On the one hand there is a stated policy of support for a free press. On the other hand, journalists are put under detention. We are trying to make sense of this,” Ricciardone was quoted of telling reporters.
The ruling Justice and Development Party’s spokesperson Huseyin Celik on Wednesday criticized Ricciardone for interfering in internal affairs of Turkey.
The ambassador said in a statement on Thursday he had not commented on the merits of a particular case, saying as a foreigner there were certain things “he was trying to understand.”
Turkish police raided an allegedly anti-government news website in Istanbul on Monday and detained four Turkish journalists in a probe against Ergenekon, an alleged criminal network aiming to overthrow the ruling government.
Source: http://english.cri.cn