Max Zirngast

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Max Zirngast (born 1989 in Styria ) is an Austrian journalist . He was detained in Turkey from September 11 to December 24, 2018 . Exactly one year after his imprisonment, he was acquitted on September 11, 2019 on suspicion of membership in the TKP / K (Türkiye Komünist Partisi / K; Communist Party of Turkey / Funke).

life and work

Zirngast is a student, journalist and author. He studied political science and philosophy at the University of Vienna . Since 2015 he has been living, studying and working in the Turkish capital Ankara . He writes for left-wing publications and websites such as the daily Junge Welt , for re: volt and Jacobin about developments in Turkey, campaigned for Kurdish groups as an activist and studied political science at the Technical University of the Middle East in Ankara. He takes a critical look at the government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and particularly examines its Kurdish policy. He speaks fluent Turkish, was politically active, gave lectures and was close to the pro-Kurdish left-wing party Halkların Demokratik Partisi (HDP).

On September 11, 2018, Zirngast was arrested together with two Turkish colleagues in Ankara. The accusation is "proximity to terrorist organizations". Zirngast himself described this:

“My arrest was a perverse confirmation of the authoritarianism I have recorded over the past few years and which I have come up against. [...] They refrained from officially prosecuting me, instead they are holding me on the basis of vague terrorist allegations. "

- Max Zirngast : I am a journalist in a Turkish prison. Why is Erdogan afraid of people like me ?, published in the Washington Post .

A solidarity campaign was started immediately in Vienna. Former colleagues at the university wrote to request his immediate release. A solidarity campaign was also carried out at the Hellerau theater in Dresden. The Austrian section of Reporters Without Borders , represented by President Rubina Möhring , called for his release, as did the Federal Chancellor, Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister. The Turkish authorities were unanimously asked to disclose the allegations or to release Zirngast.

In the media, this case was related to the fate of Deniz Yücel and other foreign journalists. Möhring spoke in the ORF interview that there is a presumption that the arrest of the Turkish government is trying to move the Austrian government to abandon its anti-Turkish course and in return could release the journalist.

On December 24, 2018, Zirngast was released from pretrial detention, but he was not allowed to leave Turkey. The trial against him began on April 11, 2019, but was postponed to September 11, 2019 on the first day of the trial. After the public prosecutor's office had requested this, the court in Ankara acquitted him and three other defendants, and the travel ban was also lifted.

Awards

Publications

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Güney Işikara, Alp Kayserilioglu: "I Am a Socialist, I Defend Universal Values". September 21, 2018, accessed February 3, 2020 .
  2. ↑ A real scandal. The Austrian authorities and the Max Zirngast case - Free Max Zirngast solidarity campaign. In: freemaxzirngast.org. December 10, 2019, accessed February 3, 2020 .
  3. ↑ After twelve months: Zirngast in Turkey acquitted orf.at, September 11, 2019, accessed September 11, 2019.
  4. ^ Germans convicted in Turkey, Austrians arrested. In: faz.net. September 13, 2018, accessed February 3, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Alp Kayserilioglu, Joan Adalar: Erdogan takes hostage. In: jungewelt.de. September 13, 2018, accessed February 3, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Max Zirngast. In: jacobinmag.com. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Markus Bernath: Max Zirngast, student, author and activist, was arrested in Ankara , Der Standard (Vienna), September 12, 2018
  8. ↑ Orf.at: Zirngast analyzed in "Washington Post" Erdogan , December 2, 2018
  9. ↑ Junge Welt: Release requested, September 15, 2018
  10. ↑ re: volt magazine: Police put Max Zirngast under psychological pressure, September 14, 2018
  11. ^ ORF Styria: Journalist in custody: Government demands release , September 12, 2018
    The Guardian (Nigeria): Press watchdog demands Turkey free arrested Austrian journalist , AFP, September 11, 2018
    Turkish-language news service of the BBC (London): Avusturya Türkiye'de gözaltına alınan gazetecinin serbest bırakılmasını talep etti , AFP, September 11, 2018
  12. ↑ Rubina Möhring in an interview with Elisa Vass in the Ö1 Europa-Journal on June 14, 2018
  13. ↑ Der Standard: Turkey releases Austrian journalist Zirngast , accessed on December 25, 2018
  14. ^ ORF: Trial against Max Zirngast in Ankara postponed , accessed on August 3, 2019.
  15. ↑ Max Zirngast surprisingly acquitted after a trial in Turkey. Der Standard, September 11, 2019, accessed on the same day.
  16. ↑ Nominations for the “Dr. Karl Renner Journalism Prize 2018 " . OTS announcement of October 1, 2018, accessed October 4, 2018.
personal data
SURNAME Zirngast, Max
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian journalist and author
DATE OF BIRTH 1989
PLACE OF BIRTH Styria