President: Ergin and Limbourg

president: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was cracking down on the media using strong-arm tactics that included attacking publishers and detaining journalists, according to Deutsche Welle. At the time, Ergin himself was facing charges of insulting the president. Deutsche Welle Director General Peter Limbourg stated that Ergin was receiving the award because of his commitment to free expression and the fact that his newspaper was one of the few remaining independent voices in Turkey. Ergin shares the fate of hundreds of journalists in Turkey who are exposed to high risks every day in the struggle to maintain independent journalism and press freedom, Limbourg said. Freedom of speech is one of the most fundamental values of humankind, the journalist said. In accepting the award, Ergin stressed the importance of a free and independent media in holding the government to task and the role of free expression in democratic societies. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.