'Turkey Is the Biggest Jail for Journalists in the World'

Jailed Turkish Editor Slams EU Deal with Erdoğan's 'Fascist Government'

Can Dündar speaks to the press in November before a court hearing.

THE GUARDIAN: Can Dündar, held for his story alleging Turkey armed Islamist rebels in Syria, says EU is betraying its democratic values

The editor of Turkey’s most influential dissident newspaper has said in an interview from his prison cell that the country’s ongoing crackdown on journalists is the worst in its history and that he was imprisoned for doing his job.

Can Dündar, the editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet, also said the EU was betraying its democratic values by seeking a rapprochement with the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in the hope that he would stem the flow of refugees into Europe while ignoring human rights violations.

“We always looked at the European Union as an anchor, a model to raise the standard of democracy in Turkey to universal levels, not as leverage to dictatorships,” he said. “Now, if the EU, in order to stop the influx of refugees by turning our lands into a big concentration camp, agrees to turn a blind eye while Erdoğan spurns democracy, human rights, freedom of press and rule of law, it means that the EU is discarding its founding principles in order to protect its short-term interests.” » | Kareem Shaheen in Beirut | Tuesday, January 19, 2016

THE GUARDIAN: I revealed the truth about President Erdogan and Syria. For that, he had me jailed: Turkey’s regime not only smuggled guns into Syria, it used ‘state security’ as an excuse to imprison the journalists who reported it » | Can Dündar | Monday, December 28, 2015