The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) Tuesday referred to as on EU international locations to place an finish to the unjust denials of visa functions from Turkish journalists.
Slamming the angle towards Türkiye as a “de facto visa embargo,” the EFJ characterised the rejection of visa functions from Türkiye by EU international locations as “discriminatory.”
The teams decried the systematic obstruction towards Turkish journalists in EU member international locations.
The EFJ famous that granting solely short-term visas to Turkish journalists – reasonably than the long-term visas that was once customary – is troubling and creates a major monetary burden.
They said this yr visa rejection charges have reached record-high ranges. The EFJ additionally highlighted that journalists, teachers, and acclaimed performing artists have been amongst these whose Schengen visa functions have been rejected.
“We urge the Schengen countries to put an end to the de facto visa embargo imposed on journalists,” mentioned Mustafa Kuleli, the group’s vp, urging diplomatic missions “to rectify their prejudiced and discriminatory attitudes toward journalists from Türkiye, as these biases obstruct reporters from fulfilling their professional responsibilities effectively.”
In current years, Turkish residents, together with journalists, have confronted quite a few challenges and unprecedented hurdles in making an attempt to acquire visas for international locations within the Schengen space which have abolished border controls amongst themselves.
These hurdles embrace heightened scrutiny of functions and important delays in securing appointments. The rejection fee for visa functions in 2023 has skyrocketed, rising from 15% in 2022 to an alarming 50%, in accordance with the EFJ.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
