Exiled Turkish journalist attacked and injured outside home in Germany

Berlin police said the assault took place in the city's Rudow district.
Berlin police said the assault took place in the city's Rudow district. Copyright AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, FILE
By Euronews with AP, AFP
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An outspoken critic of Turkish President Erdogan was assaulted by several people outside his home in Berlin, German police have said.

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An exiled Turkish journalist, who is critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has been attacked outside his home in Germany.

Erk Acarer -- a columnist for Turkey’s independent Birgun newspaper -- was injured after being assaulted on Wednesday night by three men.

He sustained some swelling on his head and was kept at a hospital for several hours for observation.

In a video on Twitter, Acarer has said that the men had warned him to stop writing and that the attack took place in the courtyard of his home outside Berlin.

Earlier, the journalist posted a photograph of himself, saying he was attacked "with fists and knives". He has blamed the attack on supporters of Erdoğan's ruling AKP party.

"I know the attackers. I will never surrender to fascism," Acarer wrote on Twitter.

German police have confirmed that Acarer was assaulted by several people in the Rudow district of the capital city.

Acarer was among a group of journalists who were prosecuted for reporting on the funeral of a Turkish intelligence officer who was killed in Libya and quietly buried.

Five of the journalists were convicted for violating Turkey’s intelligence laws and of disclosing secret information. The case against Acarer is continuing.

The 48-year-old journalist has been living in exile in Germany since 2016.

Other Turkish dissident journalists have said that his assault is a "direct message" from President Erdoğan that critics abroad can still be subjected to "aggressive violence".

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