05/03/2016 President
PACE President has expressed his serious concern at the decision taken by an Istanbul Court to entrust to state-appointed trustees the control of the media group to which the newspapers Zaman and Today’s Zaman, well known for their independent opinions, belong.
"It is another worrying development with regard to media freedom in Turkey -he said. "Pluralism in media and access to independent and diversified sources of information are cornerstones of democracy- he added.
He urged the Turkish authorities to take all available measures to reverse the effects of these undue restrictions and refrain from further undermining freedom of expression and silencing critical voices. He stressed that this is a basic requirement for compliance with Council of Europe democratic standards.