US concerned over Turkey's actions against opposition
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.