No journalist arrested due to his/her profession in Turkey, Turkish EU minister says

BRUSSELS (A.A) - Turkish EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis has said that there was no journalist in Turkey who was arrested due to his/her profession. Delivering a speech at Brussels Press Club on Wednesday, Bagis said, "it is true that some journalists are under arrest in Turkey but they were not arrested due to their profession. They were arrested on charges of being a member of illegal organization or in connection with a plot to overthrow the government." Bagis expressed his reaction to Turkey's not being invited to the meeting of EU foreign ministers that would be held on Thursday to discuss Syria, stating that Turkey should not be expected to comply with decisions on which Turkey would not have a say. If Turkey is expected to comply with the decisions of the EU, then it should be invited to EU summits and ministerial meetings, he said. Replying to a question, Bagis said that Turkey which experienced a serious economic crisis in 2001 has become one of the fastest-growing countries in Europe due to political stability. "We solved economic crisis with democracy," he said and added that EU should also follow a similar path.