Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted on Friday that his country had the right to demand that Germany hand over the former editor-in-chief of opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet, who was convicted of spying two years ago.
ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th September, 2018) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted on Friday that his country had the right to demand that Germany hand over the former editor-in-chief of opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet, who was convicted of spying two years ago.
Can Dundar was arrested in 2015 for allegedly divulging state secrets after footage was published by Cumhuriyet alleging that Turkey played a role in arming Syrian militants. He was released pending trial, which found him guilty in 2016. Dundar fled to Germany where he is living now.
"Dundar was proven in court to be an agent who revealed a state secret and was convicted to five years and ten months in jail. He managed to escape to Germany, but he remains a convict... It is our inalienable right to demand his extradition," Erdogan said in Berlin.
The Turkish president came to Germany this week for a state visit and held talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday. Germany has repeatedly refused to cooperate with Turkey in its crackdown on opposition media and has been accused by Ankara of harboring enemies of the government.
