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Solidarity with Hüseyin Dogru: The EU’s Sanctions Regime Has Become a Weapon Against Journalism and Humanity
The Peace and Justice Party (FOR) condemns the Council of the European Union’s outrageous decision to sanction independent journalist Hüseyin Dogru, who is also co-founder of the online media platform RED Stream. While the real reasons for his punishment remain obscure, the European Union considers his journalism to support ‘actions by the Government of the Russian Federation which undermine or threaten and security in the Union’.
His media platform is also accused of having “close financial and organisational connections with Russian state propaganda entities and actors, and shares deep structural ties, including interlinkages between, and rotation of, individual personnel with Russian state media organisations.” It is important to note that not a single piece of corroborating evidence has been offered.
FOR condemns this extralegal persecution in the harshest manner. It is important that European citizens understand that this is not a case where Mr. Dogru was found guilty by a jury of his peers with a legitimate judge giving sentence. There was no criminal charge, no trial, and no opportunity for Mr. Dogru to defend himself. Instead, the European Council offers him only “privileged access” to secret documents – while forbidding him from speaking publicly on the matter.
FOR demands to know what right the European Union has to determine who performs journalism. Indeed, it should be clear to everyone with a critical faculty that “journalism” is a verb, not a noun.
In an ever more severe Kafkaesque action, the German government has now targeted Mr. Dogru’s wife for sanctions. Even though she is not named in the EU case and has apparently nothing to do with her husband’s activities, all of her bank accounts and financial assets have been seized. The draconian sanctions against the Dogru family, which includes three children, leave them without access to their own money, without the possibility of employment, and without any legal means of supporting themselves. As one journalist wrote, “even inviting (Mr. Dogru) for a coffee would constitute a criminal offence.”
This is not the first time the EU has behaved in such an inhumane fashion. In December, 2025, the EU imposed sanctions on Jacques Baud, a former Swiss intelligence officer and ex-colonel for allegedly spreading pro-Russian propaganda and disinformation. Apparently the EU has now given itself the power to determine what constitutes legitimate news. If anyone is in doubt, this is a major step towards a return to fascism.
FOR demands that the Norwegian government apply all appropriate diplomatic pressure until the Dogru family’s rights are restored. In addition, FOR demands that the Norwegian government take all steps necessary to ensure the protection of journalists throughout all the supranational institutions with which Norway is involved.
#SolidarityWithDogru #JournalismIsNotACrime #FOR