Calls from US Senate to pressure Turkey

​​​​​​​Bipartisan majorities in the US Senate have called on President Joe Biden's administration to pressure Turkey to do more to protect human rights.

Calls from US Senate to pressure Turkey
10 February, 2021   07:16
NEWS DESK

54 senators have signed the letter accusing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of marginalizing the opposition, silencing critical media, jailing journalists, and waging a purge of independent judges.

"We urge you to assure President Erdogan and his administration on the need to immediately end their crackdown on the opposition at home and abroad, and to release political prisoners and prisoners of conscience and change their totalitarian course," the letter read.

Turkey, a member of NATO, said recently that it wanted to improve relations with the United States led by Biden, after Washington imposed sanctions last year over Turkey's purchase of a Russian air defense system.

Erdogan's government, under the pretext of the 2016 coup, arrested nearly 300,000 people, arrested or fired more than 150,000 civil employees, closed hundreds of media outlets, and imprisoned dozens of opposition representatives.

J.O