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August 22, 2017

Spain: German-Turkish Author Critical of Erdogan Briefly Arrested at Turkey's Request
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Also in Spain, German-Turkish author Do?an Akhanl? was briefly arrested
over the weekend at Turkey's request in a further crackdown against free
speech and human rights by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The
author has criticized Erdogan and written extensively about human rights
in Turkey, including the 2007 killing of a Turkish journalist and the
1915 Armenian genocide by Ottoman Turks. This is author Do?an Akhanl?,
speaking after being granted conditional release.

Do?an Akhanl?: "I was even shocked, so to say, when I saw the police in
front of me. Not shocked immediately, but later I was shocked that the
police went there with the intention to arrest me. That shocked me,
because I was wondering why I was of so much interest to the Spanish
police that they have gone through so much trouble, and that they, so to
say, arrested me in my hotel room."



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