Mr. Gerry Carson:

I will read some of the requests we put to the Turkish Government. The government should release all imprisoned journalists held on the basis of journalistic activities, even when they support ideas the government finds offensive and halt the criminal prosecution of journalists in connection with their reporting and commentary.

We want the Turkish Government to halt the use of the anti-terror laws against journalists, in particular when authorities conflate the expression of political views the government finds offensive with outright terrorism. Such a practice contravenes Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. We want to see an end to the practice of jailing journalists for prolonged periods as they await trial or a court verdict.

We have documented dozens of cases in which journalists have been held for many months or even years without having been convicted of a crime. Fundamentally and comprehensively, we want a reform of all laws used routinely against the press, including provisions in the penal code and anti-terror law that criminalise news gathering and publication of critical or opposing views.