German Chancellor Merkel Says Turkey Media Crackdown "Highly Alarming"

German Chancellor Merkel Says Turkey Media Crackdown
Wed Nov 2, 2016 18:07:28

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday called Turkey's latest arrests of opposition newspaper journalists "highly alarming" and said they would impact Ankara's EU membership negotiations.

"For me and the entire government, it is highly alarming that freedom of the press and speech are being restricted again and again," she said after Turkey detained at least a dozen journalists and executives from the Cumhuriyet daily.

The Cumhuriyet arrests came after Turkish authorities fired more than 10,000 civil servants at the weekend and closed 15 pro-Kurdish and other media outlets, the latest purge since Turkey failed military coup aimed at ousting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

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