Wednesday

4th Oct 2023

Anti-Erdogan reporter risks deportation from Germany

  • Turkey has jailed more journalists than any other country (Photo: Reuters)

A Turkish journalist based in Germany and a vocal critic of president Recep Tayyip Erdogan is facing deportation to Turkey.

German media on Sunday (28 October) reported that Turkish journalist Adil Yigit's residency permit had not been extended and that he must leave the country by the end of January.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

The 60-year old reporter had staged a protest in Berlin last month during a press conference between chancellor Angela Merkel and Erdogan.

He was escorted out of the press briefing by security officers for wearing a T-shirt inscribed with the legend "Freedom for journalists in Turkey", in a move defended by the German government.

"The two things have to be related, there's no other possible explanation," Yigit told German news agency DPA.

Erdogan had also referenced Yigit in a speech he gave to members of the conservative Islamic ruling party AKP in Ankara in early October, describing him as a troublemaker.

Yigit writes for German newspaper TAZ and runs the Turkish blog Avrupa Postasi. He has spent 36 years in Germany.

The DPA reports that migration officials in Hamburg decided not to renew his residency permit because he is not gainfully employed and no longer has any connection with his children.

Turkey is the world's biggest jailer of journalists and was ranked 157th among 180 countries in the 2018 World Press Freedom Index, according to Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based NGO.

Turkey has accused reporters and editors in the country of having ties to US-based Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gulen.

Turkey says Gulen was the mastermind behind a failed military coup in July 2016, a charge he denies.

The Stockholm Centre for Freedom, an journalist-run advocacy group, says 237 journalists and media workers were in jail as of earlier this month. Most were in pre-trial detention.

Turkey has also issued detention warrants for another 148 exiled journalists and shut down around 200 media outlets following the failed coup.

Deniz Yucel, a correspondent for the German daily Die Welt, had been detained for a year in Turkey before his release in January.

EU billions had 'limited' effect in Turkey, audit finds

The EU got "limited" effect for the €9bn it spent trying to modernise Turkey in recent years, auditors have said. Turkey has been "backsliding" on reforms since 2013 due to "lack of political will", the European Court of Auditors found.

EU reveals 10 'critical tech' in bid to de-risk from China

The EU Commission published a list of 10 technologies with the potential to: undermine peace and security, violate human rights, or harm the EU's interests. The next step is to assess the risks, and then focus on mitigation measures.

Column

Northern Europe — the new Nato/Russia frontline

The world has changed, not least in northern Europe, which is rapidly becoming one of the new frontlines between Nato and Russia. It is sometimes said that even the largest avalanche is caused by something small. Watch Northern Europe

Opinion

The EU-Kenya free trade deal shows a waning 'Brussels effect'

EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis popped a bottle of champagne in early June 2023. After the failed ratification of an Economic Partnership Agreement with the East African Community in 2016, he finally could declare success. However, there's little to celebrate.

Latest News

  1. EU demands 'full clarity' from Warsaw on visa-scandal
  2. EU reveals 10 'critical tech' in bid to de-risk from China
  3. EU Commission at a loss over latest snub from Tunisia
  4. Northern Europe — the new Nato/Russia frontline
  5. The EU-Kenya free trade deal shows a waning 'Brussels effect'
  6. Hoekstra pledges to phase-out fossil fuel subsidies
  7. 10 years on from the Lampedusa shipwreck — what's changed?
  8. EU ministers go to Kyiv to downplay fears on US, Slovak aid

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  2. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators, industry & healthcare experts at the 24th IMDRF session, September 25-26, Berlin. Register by 20 Sept to join in person or online.
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators & industry experts at the 24th IMDRF session- Berlin September 25-26. Register early for discounted hotel rates
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us