Persecuted Turkish journalist named honorary Paris citizen

The city of Paris has named exiled Turkish journalist Can Dundar as an honorary city, Parisian Mayor Anne Hidalgo announced on Tuesday. The former editor-in-chief of the daily Cumhuriyet is a defender of freedom of speech, Hidalgo said.

The centre-left government-critical newspaper was founded in 1924 and has been targeted by President Recep Erdogan repeatedly during the past year, especially since Dundar published an article revealing that Ankara was allegedly shipping weapons to Syrian rebels. 

Dundar now lives in Germany in exile, after being sentenced along with writer Erdem Gul to five years in jail for their reporting.    (dpa)