No Turkish journalist arrested for writing stories, Turkish FM says

MADRID – Anadolu Agency

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said that here are no journalists currently under custody in Turkey just for doing their jobs and writing stories. 

The minister's comments appeared in four Spanish dailies Saturday following a one-day official visit to Madrid on Friday, during which he gave an interview to El Pais, El Mundo, ABC and La Razon. 

"There is not a single journalist who is under custody in Turkey for writing stories. If there is one, I would like to know who he/she is," 

Çavuşoglu said in response to a question about the freedom of the press in Turkey. 

"Those who revealed themselves as journalists have either supported terrorism or terrorist organizations."

So many people have been arrested [in Turkey] because they actively supported the [July 15] coup attempt, and some people used the media as a propaganda tool," Çavuşoğlu said, adding it was important to distinguish between those journalists who were being "critical" versus "getting involved in the coup plot". 

Çavuşoğlu also criticized the media rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF), saying its report on the press freedom in Turkey was not "objective".