Turkey to seize Can Dündar's assets if exiled journalist does not appear in court within 15 days

The Istanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court has ruled that Can Dündar’s assets will be seized if the renowned journalist does not attend a trial against him within 15 days. Dündar fled to Germany after being convicted in 2016 on charges of revealing state secrets in a story about arms shipments to Syria.

Duvar English

An Istanbul court on Sept. 17 ruled that the Turkish government will seize the assets of Can Dündar, former editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet newspaper, if the renowned journalist does not appear in court within 15 days, online T24 newspaper reported.

The court's decision came upon the request of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor in this regard. The Istanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court said that Dündar will be treated as a “fugitive” if he does not return to Turkey within 15 days following the publication of the relevant announcement on the official gazette.

Following the court's decision, Dündar tweeted: “The Turkish court’s decision shows the unlawful nature of the Turkish judiciary and aims to criminalize my work as a journalist. We will not be silenced!”

An hour later he also wrote on Twitter: “I have not done anything else other journalism in 40 years. There is a house and a summer house registered on me and my wife, which we have earned out of an honest living. And another house which was left to me from my deceased father, in which my mother is still living by herself…This is our 40 years of labor that the court has seized in four minutes.”

Dündar has been in living in exile in Germany since 2016. He fled Turkey after being convicted of espionage for publishing a story about Turkish arms shipments to Syria rebels.

Turkish court blocks access to Can Dündar's online radio station 'Özgürüz'Turkish court blocks access to Can Dündar's online radio station 'Özgürüz'
Topics Turkey Cumhuriyet Can Dündar Dündar