Turkey; who also happens to be a member of NATO, makes no qualms about silencing those who speak out against the government or it's power hungry illustrious elected Dictator.
As such it takes a lot of *alls for Turkey to protest against another country that applies the same tactics to quell dissent; the pot calling the kettle black in spades.
More than 50,000 people were arrested and 150,000 sacked or suspended from their jobs in the aftermath of the failed coup on 15 July 2016. Police, military personnel, teachers and public servants were among those ensnared in the crackdown.
- Erdogan's Turkey: The full story
- Crackdown pushes intellectuals out
- The day a Turkish writer's life changed
In the most recent trial, prominent journalist Murat Aksoy and pop singer and columnist Atilla Tas were given jail sentences of 25 and 37 months respectively, on charges of aiding a terrorist organisation without being a member.
Both were allowed to go free because of the time they had already spent in jail.
Many of those convicted worked for a prominent newspaper, Zaman, which authorities took control of in 2016.
On Twitter (in Turkish), Murat Aksoy responded to the ruling, saying: "My writings may have been critical but don't deserve to be punished. I also don't deserve to be punished, just for being a journalist."
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned the convictions and called for all of those found guilty to be freed immediately.
"Turkish authorities must stop equating journalism with terrorism, and release the scores of press workers jailed for doing their job," CPJ Europe and Central Asia programme co-ordinator Nina Ognianova said in a statement.
Turkey sentences 25 journalists to jail for 'coup links' - BBC News
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