Visit to Cumhuriyet by German journalist Wallraff: I got ready to be detained

                                                              
One of Germany’s renowned investigative journalists and writers, Günter Wallraff, devoted his 75^th birthday to solidarity visits and met detained journalists and their families in Turkey. Wallraff, who visited our paper, said, “I wanted to do something effective on this birthday of mine and I came to Turkey in solidarity with my colleagues who are under duress.” Wallraff also said that he will closely follow the Cumhuriyet trial whose next hearing will be on 31 October.
 
Wallraff made a solidarity visit to our paper yesterday and met with our paper’s foundation chair Orhan Erinç, publishing consultant Kadri Gürsel, lawyers Bülent Utku and Tora Pekin, editors Bülent Özdoğan and Faruk Eren, columnists Aydın Engin and Erdal Atabek along with Yonca Şık, wife of our detained colleague Ahmet Şık. Wallraff was briefed on the duress directed at journalists in Turkey and ongoing events in Turkey. Wallraff, announcing that he had come to Turkey on his 75^th birthday, commented, “Sunday was my 75^th birthday. I wanted to do something effective on this birthday of mine and I came to Turkey in solidarity with my colleagues who are under duress. Before coming here, I made all my preparations in Germany in case I was detained. Numerous officials in Germany said that I would detained as soon as I went to Turkey. And I told them, ‘In that case, going there entices me further’.” Wallraff, noting that he was closely following events surrounding the detention of journalists, said, “The best thing I can do is to report what is going on in Turkey. I think it is necessary to be insistent about coming to Turkey, and I want to be insistent.”
 
Wallraff, stating that he had spoken to numerous human rights activists and journalists in Turkey, said that he would be in Turkey for a further few days and his meetings would continue.