TURKEY

TURKEY Turkish Foreign Ministry's statement on Pope Francis' visit

Turkish Foreign Ministry released a condemnation statement concerning Pope Francis' visit to Armenia and statements that he made during that visit. The ministry claimed that the Pope committed religious discrimination and argued that this visit “doesn't contribute to the peace and stability in Southern Caucasus.”
TURKEY Agos headline:  demand of election at the door

A group of people from different circles of Armenian society gathered in front of the Patriarchate and demand a patriarchal election, which couldn’t have been done for 8 years. The group placed a black wreath on the door.
TURKEY Council of Europe fears over Turkish democracy

A new report realesed by Council of Europe’s Monitoring Committee, has criticised the Turkish government on multiple counts: Human rights abuse allegations in Kurdish areas, Restrictions on press freedoms and freedom of speech, ect…
TURKEY Zenit: I wrote “he will be killed”, but it was changed

On the second day of hearings, the cross examination of Muhittin Zenit, who was an officer in Trabzon Intelligence Branch at the time of murder, is continued. Zenit said, “As an officer, I submitted my report as 'he will be killed'. It was redesigned by Engin Dinç and Özkan Mumcu.”
TURKEY Reactions against the arrest of 3 editors-in-chief on watch

Şebnem Fincancı, Erol Önderoğlu and Ahmet Nesin were arrested yesterday, because they worked as editors-in-chief on watch for Özgür Gündem newspaper. EU, Human Rights Watch, PEN and EuroMed released press statements about the arrests. They demand immediate release.
TURKEY Zenit: it is obvious what “impactful action” means

The first day of hearings started with the defence and cross examination of Muhittin Zenit, who was an officer in Trabzon Intelligence Branch at the time of murder. Questions about almost 20 missing intelligence reports, Zeynel Abidin Yavuz, the phone call that Zenit made to Erhan Tuncel after the murder were addressed to Muhittin Zenit. It is also asked who changed the intelligence report by writing “an impactful action”.