The United States government has declined to comment on the mistreatment of Anadolu Agency reporter Bilgin Sasmaz in Ferguson, the American town hit by riots.
In a State Department press briefing on Wednesday, deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf was asked to comment on the mistreatment and detention of Sasmaz on Tuesday.
She replied: “I certainly don’t speak for the local police in Ferguson. What we’ve said is that freedom of expression is an incredibly important principle that we adhere to here in the United States.”
In video footage of Sasmaz’s detention, a police officer threatens to kill Sasmaz. The officer has been suspended from duty.
Under further questions from reporters, Harf added: “I don’t have any details on his case specifically. I’d refer you to the local authorities.”
Harf was questioned whether it was hypocritical for the U.S. to criticize other countries for attacks on press freedom when police were detaining journalists in Ferguson. She said: “I would wholly disagree with your notion that there’s any hypocrisy, that somehow these are in any way comparable. They are not.
“I would, as I said yesterday, put our record here in the United States of when there are problems, when we have course to correct and fix things, we do so transparently and honestly and openly."
“I would call on other countries, including Turkey, to do the same thing. And when they don’t, we will continue speaking out about it.”
According to the Freedom of the Press Foundation, at least 16 journalists have been arrested in Ferguson, Missouri, since protests over the killing of black teenager Michael Brown began last week.
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