13/11/2019 (Agence Europe) – The European External Action Service spokesperson heavily criticised Turkey on 13 November after the re-arrest, the day before, of journalist Ahmet Altan - who had just been released on 4 November after three years in detention - on the grounds that he was a flight risk. Mr Altan is accused of having participated in the attempted coup d'état of July 2016. "The lack of credible grounds to re-arrest Ahmet Altan and his renewed imprisonment, reversing the court’s initial decision to release him, further damages the credibility of Turkey’s judiciary, in particular due to the high level of political interference. This interference needs to halt", the spokeswoman said in a statement. "Journalists need to do their job - they have no business being in prison", she added, recalling the importance of freedom of expression and media for democracy. (CG)