Turkish opposition journalist Can Dundar decided against taking part in a joint press conference of the German and Turkish leaders on his own, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday during her briefing with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th September, 2018) Turkish opposition journalist Can Dundar decided against taking part in a joint press conference of the German and Turkish leaders on his own, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday during her briefing with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Earlier in the day, local media reported that Erdogan may cancel the briefing if Dundar was present.
"Mr. Dundar's decision to not take part in the press conference was made by him personally. He pointed this out publicly. To address some of the misunderstandings, I will point out once again that we have a legal framework for accreditation, and there are not 'two kinds' of accreditation where some journalists have the right to ask questions and others don't," Merkel said.
The chancellor added that she and Erdogan had different opinions regarding Dubar's case.
Dunbar, the former editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet newspaper, was sentenced to almost six years of prison in Turkey for disclosing state secrets in 2016, after the news outlet published footage alleging that Turkey had a role in arming Syrian militants. After being charged, the journalist fled to Germany. Ankara is currently seeking to extradite him.
