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On May 16, 2018, laureate Erol Önderoğlu accepted the award for Freedom of Speech. He received this award because he remained effortlessly committed to freedom of speech. Önderoğlu draws attention to the need for this freedom for men and women, in Turkey and abroad.
Erol Önderoğlu is a Turkish-French journalist, and as a correspondent for Reporters Without Borders in Turkey, has been following court cases against journalists in Turkey for more than 20 years. As editor of the independent news agency Bianet, he supports journalists. He does so by objectively reporting on the violation of press freedom laws. Thus, Önderoğlu has already written more than 4.600 articles and columns on the subject. In doing so, he was not deterred by threats and imprisonment.
More about Önderoğlu
Erol Önderoğlu was born in 1969 in Istanbul, Turkey. He grew up in France and is a French citizen. In 2016, Önderoğlu was arrested by Turkish authorities for supporting a Kurdish newspaper. From all over the world, criticism of Önderoğlu's arrest resounded. He is currently still in detention, awaiting trial.
Positions and publications
After graduating from Istanbul University in 1995, Önderoğlu went to work as a journalist for the IPS Communication Foundation - Bianet. The following year, he also started working as a Turkish correspondent for the non-profit organisation Reporters without Borders (RSF) in Paris. Önderoğlu continued to work for both organisations, which are members of IFEX. This is a global network of organisations protecting the right to freedom of speech and information. In 2015, Önderoğlu was elected to the IFEX board. He also works with the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media on publications and projects in this field.
Other laureates from 2018
Paris Climate Agreement – Christiana Figueres
Get in touch with Figueres.
Paride Taban
Get in touch with Taban.
Virunga Alliance - Emmanuel de Merode
Get in touch with De Merode
