Turkey condemned on Wednesday a Russian police raid on a television station on the Crimean Peninsula, terming the incident an "unacceptable breach" of press freedoms.
The raid on the Crimean Tatar television station, ATR, took place in Simferopol, TV officials said.
In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said: "Turkey will continue to defend the rights of Crimean Tatars who express their views through democratic channels."
According to ATR Director General Elzara Islamova, police searched every single room of the station for videos dating from February 2014 as part of an investigation into the death of two people during a demonstration in front of the Crimean Parliament prior to Russia's annexation of the peninsula.
Crimean Prosecutor General Natalia Poklonskaya said on Tuesday that the channel was being investigated in accordance with the law, Crimean News Agency reported.
Poklonskaya said the Crimean Prosecutor's Office had warned the directorate of the channel "against violation of the law on extremist activity," the agency added.
The television station has now resumed broadcasting.
Keep up to date with what’s happening in Turkey,
it’s region and the world.
You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
