US concerned over Turkey’s actions against opposition

WASHINGTON

The United States is concerned over Turkey’s actions against opposition, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert has said. 

When asked to comment on the arrest of main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Istanbul lawmaker Enis Berberoğlu, Nauert said that “they are trying to gather information.”

“We’re concerned about the greater pattern of what we see as Turkish official actions that we believe appear to target people whose views differ from the views of certain members of the government. So that’s an area of concern, and that’s something that we just continue to talk to that government about,” Nauert said during a press briefing on June 22. 

Berberoğlu was sentenced to 25 years in jail for “revealing state secrets” on June 14 in a case into Syria-bound trucks of the National Intelligence Agency (MİT).

Nauert was also asked about the situation of jailed journalists in Turkey. 

“We continue to talk about this, and that is freedom of expression. We believe in freedom of speech and freedom of the media, even speech that some nations and some leaders find to be uncomfortable. So that’s something that the United States will continue to push for,” she said.

During the press briefing, Nauert said that freedom of speech strengthens democracy.

“The freedom of speech needs to be protected, whether it’s in Turkey or in other nations as well. And we continue just to urge the Turkish government to respect and ensure freedom of expression, fair trials, a judicial independence, and other human rights and functional freedoms. So we continue to say that to them,” she also said.