Erdogan Blasts Foreign Diplomats for Attending Trial of Journalists

In a nationally televised speech on Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at foreign diplomats who attended the trial of two prominent Turkish journalists being tried for espionage. Charges against the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Cumhuriyet and its Ankara bureau chief stem from critical pieces they published when Erdogan’s government was accused of illicitly delivering arms to Syria. The action against the Cumhuriyet pair was only a sample of Erdogan’s unrestrained anger at journalists critical of his regime. In his speech, the president chided the foreign envoys who attended the trial, demanding “Who are you? This is not your country, it’s Turkey.” His angst was directed at several diplomats from the European Union and the German ambassador.