Can Dündar has been working as a journalist for the last 40 years, for several newspapers and magazines. He produced many TV documentaries focusing particularly on modern Turkish history and cultural anthropology. He worked as an anchorman for several news channels.
He stepped down from his post as the editor in chief of the daily Cumhuriyet in August 2016, after he was sentenced 5 years and 10 months of imprisonment due to his story on the Turkish Intelligence Service’s involvement in the illegal transfer of arms into Syrian war. Dündar was later arrested for charges of terrorism, espionage and revealing state secrets with the prosecutor demanding two life sentences plus 42 years of imprisonment. He spent 92 days in solitary confinement before being released by the Consitutional Court. The day Dündar received his sentence, he was assaulted by a gunman at the courthouse.
Can Dündar is currently a columnist for German daily Die Zeit and commentator for German WDR’s Cosmo. He founded the news website called #Özgürüz. Dündar has been nominated as the third candidate by Oslo Peace Institute for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017.
Human rights defenders (HRDs) in Turkey have been subjected to judicial harassment, including criminal prosecution, violent attacks, threats, surveillance, prolonged arbitrary detention, and ill-treatment. In the aftermath of an attempted coup in July 2016, the environment for the work of HRDs deteriorated even further.
