BERLIN: Turkish journalist Erk Acarer, one of several reporters critical of Ankara living in exile in Berlin, said Thursday he was attacked and injured outside his home and told to stop writing.
Acarer said in a video posted to Twitter that three armed assailants ambushed him in the courtyard of his building late Wednesday in an account confirmed by police.
A unit that investigates political crimes has taken over the probe.
The reporter, a columnist for the left-wing Birgun newspaper, said he was treated in hospital and released.
Acarer, who has lived in Germany since 2017, said he recognized the attackers and that one warned him against continuing to write.
Accusing the ruling AKP and the nationalist MHP of involvement in the assault, Acarer vowed to keep working as a journalist.
Turkish authorities have issued multiple arrest warrants against Acarer with regard to his articles and social media messages, including one accusation of “insulting the president” over a news article published in 2020.
Fellow Turkish dissident writer Can Dundar, who fled to the German capital in 2016, slammed the assault on Twitter as a “direct message” from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to show that Ankara “can even attack a journalist in Berlin who is critical of the regime.”
A Turkish court in December sentenced Dundar, the former editor-in-chief of the Cumhuriyet daily, to more than 27 years in jail on espionage and terror charges for one of the reputable paper’s stories.
Journalist Mesale Tolu, a German citizen who in 2017 spent several months in jail in Turkey, also spoke out in Acarer’s defense.
“So many people seek protection in Germany and are still subjected to aggressive violence here,” she tweeted.
“That’s got to stop.”
Turkish press workers’ union DISK Basin-Is tweeted its support for Acarer.
“You cannot cover up the truth through such attacks,” it said. “We stand by Erk Acarer.”
Rights groups routinely accuse Turkey of undermining press freedom by arresting journalists and shutting down critical media outlets.
The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists listed Turkey as one of the top jailers after China in its most recent annual global report.
Exiled Turkish journalist attacked outside home in Germany
https://arab.news/rktg8
Exiled Turkish journalist attacked outside home in Germany
- Exiled Turkish journalist living in Germany was attacked by three men who warned him to stop writing.
- Turkish authorities have issued multiple arrest warrants against Acarer with regard to his articles and social media messages.
Pioneering Asharq Al-Awsat journalist Mohammed al-Shafei dies at 74
- Egyptian was known for his fearless coverage of terrorist, extremist groups
- One of handful of reporters to interview Taliban leader Mullah Omar in 1970s
LONDON: Mohammed al-Shafei, one of Asharq Al-Awsat’s most prominent journalists, has died at the age of 74 after a 40-year career tackling some of the region’s thorniest issues.
Born in Egypt in 1951, al-Shafei earned a bachelor’s degree from Cairo University in 1974 before moving to the UK, where he studied journalism and translation at the University of Westminster and the School of Oriental and African Studies.
He began his journalism career at London-based Arabic papers Al-Muslimoon and Al-Arab — both of which are published by Saudi Research & Publishing Co. which also owns Arab News — before joining Al-Zahira after Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
Al-Shafei joined Asharq Al-Awsat in 1991 and spent 15 years on the sports desk before shifting to reporting on terrorism. He went on to pioneer Arab press coverage in the field, writing about all aspects of it, including its ideologies and ties to states like Iran.
His colleagues knew him for his calm demeanor, humility and meticulous approach, marked by precise documentation, deep analysis and avoidance of sensationalism.
Al-Shafei ventured fearlessly into terrorist strongholds, meeting senior terrorist leaders and commanders. In the 1970s he was one of only a handful of journalists to interview Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban, and conducted exclusive interviews with senior figures within Al-Qaeda.
He also tracked post-Al-Qaeda groups like Daesh, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and Boko Haram, offering pioneering analysis of Sunni-Shiite extremism and how cultural contexts shaped movements across Asia and Africa.
During the war on Al-Qaeda, he visited US bases in Afghanistan, embedded with international forces, and filed investigative reports from active battlefields — rare feats in Arab journalism at the time.
He interviewed Osama bin Laden’s son, highlighting a humanitarian angle while maintaining objectivity, and was among the few Arab journalists to report from Guantanamo, where his interviews with Al-Qaeda detainees shed light on the group’s operations.
Al-Shafei married a Turkish woman in London in the late 1970s, with whom he had a son and daughter. He was still working just hours before he died in London on Dec. 31.
