Can Dündar

Can Dündar

Can Dündar receiving the 2015 Reporters Without Borders Prize
Born (1961-06-16) 16 June 1961
Ankara, Turkey
Nationality Turkish
Education
Occupation Columnist, TV host, documentarian
Title Ph.D.
Spouse(s) Dilek Dündar
Family Ege Dündar (son)

Can Dündar (Turkish pronunciation: [d͡ʒan dyn'daɾ], born 16 June 1961 in Ankara[1]) is a Turkish journalist, columnist and documentarian. Editor-in-chief of center-left Cumhuriyet newspaper until August 2016,[2] he was arrested in November 2015 after his newspaper published footage showing the State Intelligence MİT sending weapons to Syrian Islamist fighters.[3]

One of the best known figures in Turkish media,[4] Dündar has written for several newspapers, produced many television programs for state-owned TRT and various private channels including CNN Türk and NTV, and published more than 20 books. In 2016, Can Dündar, together with Erdem Gül, were awarded the Prize for the Freedom and Future of the Media, by the Leipzig Media Foundation, lead partner of the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom.[5] Since June 2016, he has lived in exile in Germany, with an arrest warrant against him in Turkey.[6][7]

Early life and education

Dündar studied journalism at the Faculty of Political Science, Ankara University, and graduated in 1982. He continued his education at the London School of Journalism in 1986. He received his master's degree in 1988 and in 1996 earned his Ph.D. in political science from the Middle East Technical University, Ankara.[1]

Publishing career

Dündar has contributed to various print publications, including Hürriyet (1983–1985), Nokta, Haftaya Bakış, Söz and Tempo. He wrote for Sabah from January 1999 to April 2000 and Milliyet from January 2000.[1] On television he has been involved in Yanki (1979–83) and 32. Gün (1989–95) among others.[8]

His work often "traces Turkey’s evolution into a modern nation and provides historical and political detail regarding crucial events, debates, and conflicts." This includes profiles of historical and political figures such as Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Ismet Inönü, Nazim Hikmet and Vehbi Koç.[8] His screenplay for the 2008 film Mustafa depicted the founder of the Republic of Turkey as a regular man with fears, passions and human expectations, rather than a life-size hero.[9]

Conflict with the government and 2015 arrest

A longstanding columnnist for Milliyet, Dündar was laid off in August 2013 for "writing too sharply" about the Gezi protests and the developments in Egypt, as the paper's owner Erdoğan Demirören put it. Dündar recalled: "It was said to me, ‘We do not wish to see stories that will displease the prime minister in this paper. Everything displeases them, and after they are displeased, they go after us’."[10]

Subsequently, he turned to the center-left Cumhuriyet, and on 8 February 2015 became the newspaper's new editor-in-chief. In November, Cumhuriyet was awarded the 2015 Reporters Without Borders Prize for its "independent and courageous journalism."[11]

Shortly thereafter, Dündar and Cumhuriyet's Ankara bureau chief Erdem Gül were arrested on charges of being members of a terror organization, espionage and revealing confidential documents, facing sentences of up to life imprisonment. The investigations had been launched in May, after the newspaper published photos depicting weapons transferred to Syria in trucks of the National Intelligence Organization, subject of the MİT trucks scandal. In June 2015, Turkish President Erdoğan had publicly targeted Dündar, stating: "The individual who reported this as an exclusive story will pay a heavy price for this."[12]

After 92 days in prison, Dündar and Gül were released on 26 February 2016 after the Supreme Court decided that their detention was an "undue deprivation of liberty".[13]

Assassination attempt, jail sentence and exile

On 6 May 2016 there was an assassination attempt witnessed by multiple reporters in front of the Istanbul courthouse where Dündar had just been defending himself against charges of treason. The assailant was stopped by Dündar's wife and a member of parliament, Muharrem Erkek, before he could fire more than two shots.[14] Dündar was unhurt, but another journalist suffered an injury in the leg. The assailant was taken into custody by plain-clothed police.[15][16] On the same day, Dündar was sentenced to imprisonment for five years and 10 months for ″leaking secret information of the state″.[17]

Dündar moved to Germany in June 2016.[6] In August 2016, he stepped down from his position of editor-in-chief in Cumhuriyet and announced that he would continue as a columnist in the newspaper.[2] An arrest warrant in absentia was issued in Turkey for him on 31 October 2016.[18]

Private life

He is married to Dilek Dündar, and the couple has one child. His father allegedly worked for the National Intelligence Organization.[19]

Documentaries

Books

References

  1. 1 2 3 haberler.com, CAN DÜNDAR
  2. 1 2 "Veda vakti". Cumhuriyet. 15 August 2016. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  3. ↑ Raziye Akkoc (26 November 2015). "Turkey arrests editors over reports Ankara supplied weapons to Syrian fighters". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  4. ↑ Aydin, Nurulllah; Soncan, Emre (2009-01-10). "Gölbaşı ammunition may shed light on unsolved murders". Today's Zaman. Retrieved 2009-01-09. Can Dündar, a prominent writer and documentarian...
  5. ↑ European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, "Dündar and Gül receive Prize for the Freedom and Future of the Media" (27 June 2016). Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Can Dündar Almanya Cumhurbaşkanı ile görüştü". NTV. 7 November 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "Can Dundar: Exiled Turkish Journalist on Media Crackdown". The Wall Street Journal. 31 October 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  8. 1 2 encyclopedia.jrank.org, Dündar, Can (1961–)
  9. ↑ Ateş, Toktamış (2008-11-02). "Can Dündar and 'Mustafa'". Today's Zaman. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  10. ↑ Salih Sarıkaya (17 October 2014). "Turkish Journalist Can Dündar fired for writing columns that might 'disturb' the prime minister in Turkey".
  11. ↑ "Cumhuriyet newspaper wins journalism prize from Reporters Without Borders". Today's Zaman. 18 November 2015. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  12. ↑ "Cumhuriyet daily's Dündar, Gül arrested over report on Syria arms transfer". Zaman. 2015-11-26. Archived from the original on 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  13. ↑ "Can Dündar ve Erdem Gül 92 gün sonra serbest". Hürriyet. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  14. ↑ Gul Tuysuz (7 May 2016). "Turkish journalist Can Dundar shot at outside court". CNN. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  15. ↑ Samuel Osborne (6 May 2016). "Turkish journalist survives assassination attempt before receiving 5 year sentence for 'revealing state secrets'". The Independent. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  16. ↑ "Turkey: Cumhuriyet editor Can Dundar shot at outside Istanbul courthouse". 2016-05-06. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
  17. ↑ "Can Dündar ve Erdem Gül'e hapis cezası". Milliyet. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  18. ↑ "Can Dündar hakkında yakalama kararı çıkarıldı". Milliyet. 31 October 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  19. ↑ Acar, Erkan (2008-02-11). "Nuri Gündeş: Can Dündar'ın babası MİT görevlisiydi". Zaman. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
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