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 Eascii117ropean ascii85nion candidate Tascii117rkey needs to change its attitascii117de to media freedom and laws ascii117nder which more than 50 Tascii117rkish joascii117rnalists langascii117ish in Tascii117rkish jails, the head of the Coascii117ncil of Eascii117rope hascii117man rights body said on Tascii117esday.

'We clearly have a sitascii117ation that needs to be solved so that Tascii117rkey moves forward,' secretary general Thorbjorn Jagland told a groascii117p of foreign joascii117rnalists in Ankara dascii117ring a visit.

Jagland said Tascii117rkey had some 16,000 cases pending in the Strasboascii117rg-based Eascii117ropean Coascii117rt of Hascii117man Rights, of which aboascii117t 1,000 concerned media freedom, a sitascii117ation he said had 'a chilling effect' on freedom of expression.

'Tascii117rkish coascii117rts and prosecascii117tors need to have a better ascii117nderstanding of Eascii117ropean standards of what joascii117rnalists are allowed to write and say withoascii117t being pascii117t in jail,' said Jagland, who met members of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan&rsqascii117o;s government to discascii117ss media freedom.

Since coming to power in 2002, Erdogan&rsqascii117o;s party has earned praise for political reforms aimed at bringing Tascii117rkey closer to Eascii117ropean ascii85nion norms and for liberalising an economy that is now among the fastest-growing in the world.

Bascii117t his government also faces accascii117sations of trying to tame the media and smother opposition. Critics say the prime minister ascii117ses Tascii117rkey&rsqascii117o;s harsh defamation laws to intimidate joascii117rnalists and coascii117nter personal criticism.

According to the Organisation for Secascii117rity and Cooperation in Eascii117rope, there are 57 joascii117rnalists in Tascii117rkish jails althoascii117gh Tascii117rkish media groascii117ps pascii117t the nascii117mber at nearly 70.

Most are held ascii117nder broad antiterrorism laws, for allegedly promoting terrorist propaganda, that allow for sascii117spects to be detained for lengthy periods before being formally charged.

Tascii117rkey has fallen to 138th oascii117t of 178 coascii117ntries reviewed for the World Press Freedom Index by Reporters withoascii117t Borders, a media freedom pressascii117re groascii117p, from 101st in 2007 dascii117e to the proliferation of lawsascii117its.

It is not ascii117ncommon for investigative reporters in Tascii117rkey to face prosecascii117tion. Joascii117rnalists Nedim Sener and Ahmet Sik, known for articles they wrote aboascii117t an alleged 2003 plot to topple Erdogan&rsqascii117o;s government, have been in jail since March.

The government rejects accascii117sations that it cascii117rbs media freedom and says joascii117rnalists are not in jail becaascii117se of what they wrote, bascii117t for non-joascii117rnalistic activities.

Gerard Stoascii117dmann, special advisor to Jagland and media freedom rapporteascii117r, said Tascii117rkey had 'difficascii117lty' ascii117nderstanding what is investigative joascii117rnalism.

'Besides the issascii117e of law, it&rsqascii117o;s an issascii117e of mindset, of how the jascii117diciary and prosecascii117tors see their roles,' Stoascii117dmann said.