Berlin/Istanbul, July 8, (dpa/GNA) – A Turkish journalist critical of the government in his own country and who lives in exile in Germany has been attacked at his home in Berlin, police reported on Thursday.
Erk Acarer was injured when several assailants known to him attacked him in the Neukoelln district of the German capital on Wednesday evening.
He suffered a head wound and received medical treatment as a result of the attack, which took place in the inner courtyard of the block where he lives.
In a video on Twitter on Thursday, Acarer said he was attacked by three armed attackers, one of whom shouted in Turkish, “You will not write.”
He said he has information about the assailants, but the authorities advised him against sharing any details with the public for the safety of the investigation.
“This is proof that everything we wrote and said against the Islamist and fascist AKP-MHP government is correct,” Acarer said, referring to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its ultra-nationalist ally in parliament.
“Now is time to be fiercer … we will continue to bring you to account,” Acarer concluded in a reference to Erdogan’s government.
Acarer and his family are under police protection.
Acarer has been charged in Turkey along with other journalists with the publication of secret information on state security and on the activities of the intelligence services.
According to Amnesty International, reports about a member of the Turkish security services killed in Libya were part of the reason behind the charges.
GNA