German Parliament Approves Naturalization of Turkish Journalist
Berlin, December 30, 2024 – The German Parliament has voted in favor of granting German citizenship to Can Dündar, a prominent Turkish journalist who has been living in exile in Germany since 2016.
Dündar, who was editor-in-chief of the Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet, was convicted in Turkey of espionage and insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after publishing a story in 2015 that exposed the Turkish government’s involvement in arms smuggling to Syria. He was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison, but fled to Germany before serving his sentence.
The German government granted Dündar asylum in 2017, and he has since become a vocal critic of the Erdoğan regime. His application for German citizenship was supported by both the governing Social Democrats (SPD) and the Green Party, as well as by the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Free Democratic Party (FDP).
In a statement, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock welcomed the Parliament’s decision, saying it was “a strong signal of our commitment to freedom of expression and the rule of law.”
Dündar expressed his gratitude to the German government and people for granting him citizenship. “This is a great honor for me,” he said. “I am proud to be a German citizen and to live in a country that values democracy and human rights.”
The naturalization of Dündar is seen as a symbolic victory for freedom of speech and human rights advocates. It also highlights the growing tensions between Germany and Turkey, which have been at odds over a number of issues, including the treatment of journalists and civil society activists in Turkey.
Einbürgerung eines türkischen Journalisten
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