If a person involved in an attempted coup is called a journalist and released, what would you say about that in the USA? Erdoğan

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has made statements during an appearance on the Fox News channel while in the United States. When host Bret Baier pointed out that the highest number of arrested journalists is in Turkey, Erdoğan became noticeably agitated and began to admonish the host, according to ermenihaber.am.

“You are speaking like a judge right now, not like a journalist. Speak like a journalist once and get a politician's response from me,” Erdoğan responded sharply.

Not satisfied with that remark, the Turkish leader continued to express his indignation by posing a counter-question: “If a person involved in an attempted coup or a member of ISIS is called a journalist and released, what would you say about that in the USA? Would you say it is being done correctly?”

In response to the data mentioned by the host regarding the number of imprisoned journalists in Turkey, Erdoğan claimed those figures are imaginary and that there is no such thing, refusing to accept that Turkey is a country with an unfree press and imprisoned journalists.

It is noteworthy that, according to the Turkey Journalists' Union, as of early 2019, there are 144 journalists imprisoned in the country. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Turkey ranked first in 2018 as the country with the highest number of imprisoned journalists. Furthermore, a report by Reporters Without Borders indicates that Turkey ranks low in press freedom.