In Turkey, six former employees of the newspaper "Cumhuriyet" (Musa Kart, Mustafa Kemal Güngör, Emreİper, Hakan Kara, Önder Çelik and Güray Öz) have to go back to prison after a failed appeal. Rebecca Harms, Member of the European Parliament and regular observer of the Cumhuriyet trial in recent years, criticizes this harshly:
"I strongly condemn this latest escalation against Turkish journalists shortly before the International Press Freedom Day on 3 May. During the days of trial observation in Silivri, I understood how trumped-up those charges were. The accusations brought forward, for example about using the HandyApp Bylock, do not justify either the trial or the punishments. I have the impression to look at the ruins of a constitutional state. If the Turkish government has a real interest in normalising relations with the EU, then it must fully respect freedom of press and plurality of opinion."
Rebecca Harms will observe the trial of cameraman Kemal Demir and co-worker Kemal Karagöz in Istanbul on 2 May and participate in two events to mark International Press Freedom Day on 3 May.
