Turkish journalist Can Dündar launches news portal in Germany

BERLIN

Renowned Turkish journalist Can Dündar launched a new Germany-based online news portal on Jan. 24, titled “Özgürüz” (We Are Free).

The date Jan. 24 was chosen to commemorate slain journalist Uğur Mumcu on the 24th anniversary of his assassination. 

The site, which Dündar will be the editor-in-chief of, will be available in Turkish and German and will function in cooperation with research organization “Correctiv.” 

Dündar said their intention was to “inform people in Turkey and tell people in Germany about what is going on in Turkey.”  

Journalist Hayko Bağdat will also join Dündar in the new venture. He said they “believe in the truth and believe that the truth is strong enough to defeat the villain.”

Dündar has been living in Germany since June 2016 and faces detention warrants as part of two separate probes back in Turkey. He was arrested in November 2015 on charges of espionage, helping a terrorist organization, trying to topple the government and revealing state secrets after publishing reports on alleged covert arms deliveries by Turkish intelligence to Syrian rebel fighters.