EU diplomats visit attacked Istanbul journalist

In this 2015 file photo, Ahmet Hakan Coşkun as he listens during an interview in Istanbul, Turkey. AP Photo

The consul generals of four EU countries have visited Hürriyet journalist Ahmet Hakan in his Nişantaşı apartment, where he is recovering from injuries after being subjected to a violent attack last week.

French Consul General in Istanbul Muriel Domenach, Dutch Consul General in Istanbul Robert Schuddeboomand, German Consul General in Istanbul Dr. Georg Birgelen, and Belgian Consul General in Istanbul Henry Vanthiegem visited Hakan on Oct. 8.

“We are here to pay tribute to an opinion maker who has been attacked. We would have done this to all opinion makers, whoever he or she is, but of course Mr. Ahmet Hakan is a very famous Turkish columnist and we came to show our solidarity with him,” Vanthiegem said while departing.

“He has been deliberately attacked. This kind of event, threatening a journalist or any citizen for his or her ideas, is unacceptable for Turkey. So we are also here to pay tribute to freedom of press because we believe in what Voltaire once said: ‘I don’t agree with what you say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it,” he added.

“As countries who want Turkey’s accession to the EU, we are concerned by violence against journalists. Now this issue is in the hands of the Turkish justice system,” Vanthiegem also said.