Turkey’s prime minister on Tuesday shrugged off the European Union’s criticism on media freedoms, following the detentions of at least 13 senior staff members of an opposition newspaper.
In a televised speech to his party’s legislators, Binali Yildirim said Turkey will not be taught lessons by Europe, and the government will “protect press freedom until the end.”
Referring to European Parliament President Martin Schulz’s comments on Monday’s detentions of the chief editor, columnists and a cartoonist at one of Turkey’s oldest newspapers, Cumhuriyet , Yildirim said Turkey will not give in to threats and argued that the issue of media freedoms is being used by the EU to try to limit Turkey’s steps in combating terror.
