With an oral amendment from the Socialists, the amendment does not refer to Zaman directly, but to “Turkish newspapers.” It “strongly condemns the recent attacks against European offices of Turkish newspapers and calls for a coordinated investigation into these attacks.”
Just after the Socialists' oral amendment, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, the vice-president of the Liberals who tabled the original amendment, said he regretted omitting the name Zaman but was still happy that it underlined press freedoms are a fundamental value for all. Speaking to TZ, Lambsdorff said he made the speech, which is recorded in the European Parliament's minutes, to clarify that the reference was to Zaman.
Dutch Socialist Emine Bozkurt had also called on the EU to investigate attacks against Turkish media offices in Europe as it asks Turkey to respect freedom of the press.
