Turkey

Turkey– European diplomats at the trial of Can Dündar and ErdemGül (March 25, 2016)
Diplomats follow events in their country of residence and therefore regularly attend hearings as observers. This practice is in line with the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic and Consular Relations.
Freedom of expression and of the press, the right to inform, and the ability to express criticism are key elements of the democratic debate, and all the more so in a country that belongs to the Council of Europe and is a candidate for the European Union. This is the context in which our consul-general in Istanbul attended the trial of Can Dündar and ErdemGül, editor-in-chief and head of the Ankara bureau of the daily newspaper Cumhuriyet, as an observer, and in the company of other – notably European – diplomats.
France stresses that it is important for diplomats to be able to continue to do their jobs. Along with our European partners, we continue to follow developments in Turkey, a country with which we have a wide-ranging, constructive dialogue characterized by trust.