Journalist to drop Turkish citizenship after Erdogan arrest

Dutch journalist Ebru Umar wants to renounce her Turkish nationality. She has a Dutch passport, but was automatically also given Turkish nationality at birth, she told Giel Beelen on radio station 3FM on Thursday.

Umar's lawyer in Turkey already started the procedure to renounce the Turkish part of her nationality. She's wanted to do this for some time, but her parents did not think it a good idea. But since Umar's arrest on Saturday, they've realized that "perhaps its wise for their children to have only one nationality", she said to the radio station.

The journalist's nationality came up for discussion when a listener pointed out that Umar can be punished under Turkish law when she is in Turkey because of her nationality.

Umar was arrested in her vacation home in Kusadasi, Turkey on Saturday for insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Twitter. She was released on Sunday, but is not allowed to return to the Netherlands.

According to Minister Bert Koenders of Foreign Affairs, his ministry is working hard on her return.