Moulton, Gonzalez lead more than 170 Members of Congress in Call to Uphold Our Commitments to Supporting Human Rights, Rule of Law, Democratic Values
The bipartisan group includes the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs
Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH) with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Gregory Meeks (D-NY) and Ranking Member Michael McCaul (R-TX) sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling on the United States government to elevate human rights in the U.S.-Turkey relationship to address the troubling human rights abuses taking place under Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. More than 170 Members of Congress joined Moulton and Gonzalez’s call for accountability.
The letter is available for download here. The full text of the letter is as follows:
Dear Secretary Blinken,
As the Biden administration formulates its foreign policy in regard to Turkey, we ask that you aim to address the troubling human rights abuses taking place under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey has long been a key United States ally. Unfortunately, President Erdogan has strained the relationship between our nations. Strategic issues have rightfully received significant attention in our bilateral relationship, but the gross violation of human rights and democratic backsliding taking place in Turkey are also of significant concern.
President Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party have used their nearly two decades in power to weaken Turkey’s judiciary, install political allies in key military and intelligence positions, crack down on free speech and free press, and wrongfully imprison political opponents, journalists and minorities. Since 2016, more than 80,000 Turkish citizens have been imprisoned or arrested and more than 1,500 nongovernmental organizations have been closed to suppress political opposition. Among those arrested on dubious criminal charges include three Turkish staff employed by the U.S. State Department. We urge you to prioritize their cases, including their immediate release and dismissal of all charges, in your engagements with Turkey.
President Erdogan’s government even brought its style to the streets of our nation’s capital, when during Erdogan’s 2017 visit to the United States, Turkish security personnel assaulted peaceful protestors and federal employees. Four of Erdogan’s guards still face charges in the United States for the incident. They remain at large in Turkey.
While it is in our mutual interest for the United States and Turkey to remain strategic allies and repair the rifts between us, we believe changes to President Erdogan and his party’s behavior are vital to seeing that relationship restored. We hope that the State Department under your leadership and the Biden administration more broadly will elevate human rights and democratic backsliding concerns in our bilateral relations. To that end, we pledge to work with you so that we can not only advance our nation’s national security interests, but also uphold our commitments to supporting human rights, the rule of law, and democratic values.
Sincerely
Seth Moulton Anthony Gonzalez
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Alma S. Adams, Ph. D. Colin Allred
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Jodey C. Arrington Jake Auchincloss
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Don Bacon Donald S. Beyer Jr.
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Stephanie Bice Gus M. Bilirakis
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Dan Bishop Earl Blumenauer
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Suzanne Bonamici Carolyn Bourdeaux
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Brendan F. Boyle Anthony G. Brown
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Julia Brownley Ken Buck
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Tim Burchett Herrera Butler
Member of Congress Member of Congress
G.K. Butterfield Ken Calvert
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Salud O. Carbajal Tony Cardenas
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Earl L. “Buddy” Carter Joaquin Castro
Member of Congress Member of Congress
David N. Cicilline Yvette D. Clarke
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Emanuel Cleaver, II Andrew S. Clyde
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Steve Cohen Gerald E. Connolly
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Jim Cooper Jim Costa
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Joe Courtney Dan Crenshaw
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Charlie Crist Jason Crow
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Henry Cuellar Sharice L. Davids
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Danny K. Davis Rodney Davis
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Peter A. DeFazio Suzan DelBene
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Ted Deutch Lloyd Doggett
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Mike Doyle Tom Emmer
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Veronica Escobar Anna G. Eshoo
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Adriano Espaillat Dwight Evans
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Randy Feenstra Brian Fitzpatrick
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Lizzie Fletcher Virginia Foxx
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Lois Frankel Ruben Gallego
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Andrew Garbarino Jesús G. "Chuy" García
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Carlos A. Gimenez Vicente Gonzalez
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Josh Gottheimer Garret Graves
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Mark E. Green Al Green
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Raúl M. Grijalva Michael Guest
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Brett Guthrie Diana Harshbarger
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Vicky Hartzler Alcee L. Hastings
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Jahana Hayes Kevin Hern
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Jody Hice J. French Hill
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Jim Himes Richard Hudson
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Darrell Issa Ronny Jackson
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Hakeem Jeffries Mike Johnson
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. Kaiali'i Kahele
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Marcy Kaptur John Katko
Member of Congress Member of Congress
William R. Keating Trent Kelly
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Ro Khanna Derek Kilmer
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Andy Kim Young Kim
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Adam Kinzinger Raja Krishnamoorthi
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Ann McLane Kuster John B. Larson
Member of Congress Member of Congress