New charges filed against Dutch journalist stuck in Turkey

By Janene Pieters on May 5, 2016 - 13:30
800px-EbruUmar
Ebru Umar (Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Oscar). (Ebru Umar (Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Oscar))

Two more indictments were filed against Turkish-Dutch journalist Ebru Umar in Turkey, the Turkish public prosecutor informed her no Thursday. She is therefore still not allowed to leave the country, ANP reports.

One of the new charges were filed following an interview she gave to a newspaper in which she quoted from a column she wrote in Metro. In that column she lashed out at Turkish-Dutch and blamed them for her being stuck in Turkey.

“CONGRATULATIONS with your completely failed Dutch citizenship”, she wrote in the column. “CONGRATULATIONS on your loyalty to a couple of mountain goats from Turkey, goat fuckers if you will, who you follow as soon as they call for NSB (a former fascist party in the Netherlands, ed) behavior. (…) I congratulate you Dutch-Turks on your NSB behavior You are the reason I am stuck in Turkey.”

The other charge is over a cartoon showing Umar sitting and typing with a ball and chain around her leg. The ball bears the Turkish flag.

Umar has been stuck in Turkey since she was arrested on April 30th for insulting tweets about Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. She was released the next day, but is not allowed to leave the country.

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