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Detained Turkish soldiers who allegedly took part in the failed military coup in July 2016. Curbs on democratic freedoms have accelerated since the coup, writes Dr Hakan Seckinelgin. Photograph: Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images

Owen Jones accurately describes the circumstances in Turkey (What I saw in Turkey is an assault on democracy itself, 18 January). However, the development of challenges to democratic principles in Turkey predates Trump. These have intensified since the AKP government lost its parliamentary majority in the June 2015 general election. The most valuable part of any democratic governance, namely public contestation of political authority through free speech, right to public demonstrations, freedom of expression and press, have gradually eroded under various government measures initiated under the claims to security. These have accelerated since the attempted coup in July 2016. A series of legal cases against public intellectuals, academics and journalists has severely curtailed practice of these freedoms. Continued charges against these people and their imprisonment are leading to self-censorship.

The other backbone of democratic life is the right to be represented and the right to represent. These are entirely disregarded by the imprisonment of elected members of parliament, cutting the voices of their voters out of the political debate. Considering that the proposed new constitutional changes are normalising these practices, talking about democracy in Turkey has become empty rhetoric. Dr Hakan Seckinelgin Associate professor (reader) in international social policy, LSE

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Democracy in Turkey is now under threat - The Guardian