Exiled Turkish journalist attacked outside home in Germany
A Turkish journalist, who is critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government and has been living in exile in Germany, was injured after being attacked outside his home by three men who reportedly warned him to stop writing.
Erk Acarer, a columnist for Turkey’s independent Birgun
newspaper, said in a video posted on Twitter that the attack occurred late
Wednesday in the courtyard of his home outside Berlin. He sustained some
swelling on his head and was kept at a hospital for several hours for
observation.
Berlin police confirmed the assault, saying Acarer was
attacked by several people on Wednesday evening in the Rudow district.
In a video posted on Twitter, Acarer said that one of his
attackers warned him in Turkish: “You will not write.”
Earlier, the journalist posted a photograph of himself,
saying he was attacked “with fists and knives.”
“I know the attackers. I will never surrender to fascism,”
Acarer wrote.
Acarer was among a group of journalists who were prosecuted
for reporting on the funeral of a Turkish intelligence officer who was killed
in Libya and was quietly buried. Five of the journalists were convicted for
violating Turkey’s intelligence laws and of disclosing secret information. The
case against Acarer is continuing.
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