Twitter users rebuff press freedom criticism from ‘world’s biggest jailer of professional journalists’
The Turkish presidency’s media and communications chief has been mocked for Twitter posts suggesting France “is becoming an increasingly dangerous place for journalists”.
Fahrettin Altun on Thursday said he was “deeply concerned” by French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent criticism of a journalist with France’s Le Figaro newspaper.
The journalist reported on a meeting between Mr Macron and a Hezbollah member of Lebanon’s Parliament.
Mr Altun claimed the French leader “dreams of a world in which he is not subject to scrutiny or reality”.
But several users on Twitter were quick to draw attention to Turkey’s record on press freedom, mocking the official’s criticism of Mr Macron.
“A quick reminder that there are 85 journalists in jail in Turkey,” wrote one user.
Another asked: “Is there a word for shame in Turkish?”
Other users noted that Turkey led the world for the number of journalists behind bars.
Reporters Without Borders, which monitors press freedom around the world, ranked Turkey 154th out of 180 countries in its 2020 Global Press Freedom index.
“Turkey is the world’s biggest jailer of professional journalists,” the group said.
It said detained journalists are often “denied any effective legal recourse”.
