EU strips journalist Hüseyin Doğru of livelihood over pro-Palestine reporting
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Press freedom is not negotiable.
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The petition
The Petition
EU sanctions against the German journalist Hüseyin Doğru — an attack on press freedom, democracy and the rule of law.
The German journalist Hüseyin Doğru, founder of red.media, was placed under European Union sanctions on 20 May 2025. He is accused of "systematically spreading false information about politically controversial topics, with the intention of sowing ethnic, political and religious discord among his predominantly German-speaking audience." Hüseyin Doğru has not committed any crime. He has become the victim of political arbitrariness. In reality, this is a political sanction targeting his critical reporting, including his coverage of pro-Palestinian protests in Germany.
Sanctioning Hüseyin Doğru for alleged "systematic information manipulation" can only be seen as an attempt to intimidate independent journalists and as an attack on freedom of opinion. Even the procedure for issuing the sanctions does not follow the principles of the rule of law.
The consequences of this unlawful sanctions decision are severe: Hüseyin Doğru's accounts are blocked. His assets are frozen. He is denied the right to freedom of movement that all EU residents enjoy. Minimal humanitarian benefits are only available on application and at the discretion of the authorities. Drastic restrictions apply to economic and even professional activity.
The EU sanctions against Hüseyin Doğru affect his entire family, including three young children. At one point, even his wife's account was blocked — citing her marital proximity to him. External support is criminalised. Any solidarity with Hüseyin Doğru, his wife, or even his children — financial or in kind — can be prosecuted. We are witnessing the return of political justice.
The expert opinion of former European Court of Justice judge Prof. Dr. Ninon Colneric and legal scholar Prof. Dr. Alina Miron of the University of Angers concludes that the EU sanctions regulations violate applicable EU law. The EU is using sanctions decision 2024/2643 specifically to silence critics — and is in danger of sliding into lawlessness.
We call on the German federal government to no longer enforce the EU sanctions against its own citizens, and to vote in the Council of the European Union for the lifting of the sanctions.
Journalism is not a security risk. Censorship is not EU security policy.
Whoever sanctions freedom of opinion and press freedom in the EU breaks the German constitution and undermines democratic and constitutional norms in Germany and the EU.
First Signatories
The first signatories
These journalists, artists, politicians, writers, publicists and human-rights advocates were the first to sign.
Roger Waters
Singer
United Kingdom
Kristinn Hrafnsson
Editor-in-Chief, WikiLeaks
Iceland
Yanis Varoufakis
Former Finance Minister of Greece
Greece
Sevim Dagdelen
Publicist and former Member of the German Bundestag
Germany
Claire Daly
Former Member of the European Parliament
Ireland
Jeremy Corbyn
Member of Parliament
United Kingdom
Owen Jones
Journalist
United Kingdom
Gregor Gysi
Member of the German Bundestag
Germany
Ruth Firmenich
Member of the European Parliament
Germany
Pablo Iglesias Turrión
Director of the Red television channel
Spain
Dieter Hallervorden
Actor and cabaret artist
Germany
Brian Eno
Musician
United Kingdom
Gabriel Shipton
Brother of Julian Assange and The Information Rights Project
Australia
Evarist Bartolo
Former Foreign Minister
Malta
Max Blumenthal
Journalist
USA
Sahra Wagenknecht
Publicist and former Member of the German Bundestag
Germany
Michael von der Schulenburg
Member of the European Parliament and former UN Assistant Secretary-General
Germany
Pascal Lottaz
Historian and political scientist
Japan
Christoph Hein
Writer
Germany
Günter Verheugen
Former EU Commissioner and Vice-President of the European Commission
Germany
Daniela Dahn
Writer
Germany
Moshe Zuckermann
Sociologist and university lecturer
Israel
Martin Sonneborn
Member of the European Parliament
Germany
Irene Montero
Member of the European Parliament
Spain
Daniele Ganser
Historian and publicist
Switzerland
Korkut Akın
Filmmaker
Turkey
Michael Andrick
Philosopher and publicist
Germany
Unai Aranzadi
Film director
Spain
Joan Baldoví i Roda
Member of Parliament
Spain
José Antonio Bautista
Journalist
Spain
Desiree Becker
Member of the German Bundestag
Germany
Ione Belarra
General Secretary and Member of Parliament
Spain
Ľuboš Blaha
Member of the European Parliament
Slovakia
Juan Diego Botto
Actor
Spain
Juan Branco
Attorney at law
France
Peter Brandt
Historian and publicist
Germany
Daniel Bratanovic
Editor-in-Chief, junge Welt
Germany
Nick Brauns
Editor-in-Chief of the daily newspaper junge Welt
Germany
Mark Bray
Historian
USA
Ángel Ferrero Brotons
Journalist
Spain
Francisco Sierra Caballero
Member of Parliament
Spain
James Carden
Journalist and author, former adviser to the U.S. State Department's Special Envoy for Intergovernmental Affairs
USA
Sebastian Carlens
Verlag 8. Mai (publishing house)
Germany
Laura Castel
Senator
Spain
Alicia Castro
Former ambassador
Argentina
Raúl Sánchez Cedillo
Red television channel
Spain
Adazahira Chávez
Journalist
Mexico
Javier Gallego Crudo
Journalist
Spain
Ali Dagler
Journalist
Turkey
Wolfgang Däubler
Professor emeritus of German and European Labour Law, Civil Law and Business Law
Germany
Dror Dayan
Filmmaker
United Kingdom
Fabio De Masi
Member of the European Parliament
Germany
Diether Dehm
Writer and songwriter
Germany
Danilo Della Valle
Member of the European Parliament
Italy
Özlem Demirel
Member of the European Parliament
Germany
María Teresa Pérez Díaz
Politician
Spain
Disarstar
Rapper
Germany
Ondrej Dostál
Member of the European Parliament
Czech Republic
Pablo Echenique
Vice President of Diario Red
Spain
Pablo Elorduy
Journalist
Spain
Petra Erler
Publicist
Germany
Emmanuel Fernandes
Member of the National Assembly
France
David Fernàndez
Journalist
Spain
Pastora Filigrana
Attorney at law
Spain
Olga Rodríguez Francisco
Journalist
Spain
Für Rechtsstaatlichkeit e.V.
Germany
Daniel Gago
Photojournalist
Spain
Laura Arroyo Garate
Journalist
Spain
Thomas Geisel
Member of the European Parliament
Germany
Vicent Maurí Genovés
President of Intersindical Solidària
Spain
Giorgos Georgiou
Member of the European Parliament
Cyprus
David Gibbs
Journalist
USA
Nicole Gohlke
Member of the German Bundestag
Germany
Arno Gottschalk
Member of the Bremen State Parliament
Germany
Ulrike Guérot
Political scientist and publicist
Germany
Ateş Gürpınar
Member of the German Bundestag
Germany
Enrique Javier Díez Gutiérrez
Professor at the Faculty of Education of the University of León
Spain
Norbert Häring
Business journalist
Germany
Srećko Horvat
Philosopher and author
Croatia
Andrej Hunko
Honorary Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Germany
Alberto Ibáñez i Mezquita
Member of Parliament
Spain
Mónica Oltra Jarque
Former Vice President of the Valencian Regional Government
Spain
Aitor Martínez Jiménez
Human-rights and international-law attorney
Spain
Ögmundur Jónasson
Former Minister of the Interior and Honorary Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Iceland
Jüdische Stimme für gerechten Frieden in Nahost e.V.
Germany
Markus Karsten
Publisher, Westend Verlag
Germany
Rudi Kennes
Member of the European Parliament
Belgium
Ferat Kocak
Member of the German Bundestag
Germany
Kateřina Konečná
Member of the European Parliament
Czech Republic
Alev Korun
Former Member of the National Council
Austria
Dietmar Koschmieder
Journalist
Germany
Gabriele Krone-Schmalz
Journalist and university lecturer
Germany
Ertuğrul Kürkçü
Honorary Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Turkey
Manuel Levin
Philologist and editor at the Red television channel
Spain
Nahuel González López
Member of Parliament
Spain
Giorgos Loucaides
Member of Parliament
Cyprus
Andrew Lowenthal
Founder and CEO of liber-net
Australia
Marcel Luthe
Chair of the Good Governance trade union
Germany
Moshe Machover
Mathematician
Israel
Antonio Maestre
Journalist
Spain
Alessandra Maiorino
Senator
Italy
Catarina Martins
Member of the European Parliament
Portugal
Rita Marzoa
Journalist
Spain
Águeda Micó Micó
Member of Parliament
Spain
Juan Carlos Monedero
Political scientist
Spain
Miguel Mora
Journalist
Spain
Albrecht Müller
Founder and editor of NachDenkSeiten
Germany
Mundubat
Spain
Carmela Negrete
Journalist
Germany
Katarína Roth Nevedalová
Member of the European Parliament
Slovakia
Francesca Nottola
Political adviser
Belgium
Branislav Ondruš
Member of the European Parliament
Slovakia
Muzafer Oruçoğlu
Author
Turkey
Max Otte
Economist
Germany
Fidias Panayiotou
Member of the European Parliament
Cyprus
Juan Pasarelli
Filmmaker
Germany
Daniela Pastrana
Journalist
Mexico
Patika Kitap
Publishing house
Turkey
Ana Miranda Paz
Member of the European Parliament
Spain
Rafael Poch de Feliu
Journalist
Spain
Ezgi Polat
Photographer
Germany
Ian Proud
Diplomat
United Kingdom
Fritz Pürner
Member of the European Parliament
Germany
Miquel Ramos
Journalist
Spain
Oscar Reina
General Secretary of the Andalusian Workers' Union
Spain
Lea Reißner
Member of the German Bundestag
Germany
Volker Rekittke
Journalist
Germany
Enrique Santiago Romero
General Secretary and Member of Parliament
Spain
Jean-Daniel Ruch
Former ambassador
Switzerland
Anna Gabriel Sabaté
Former Member of Parliament
Spain
Isabel Serra Sánchez
Member of the European Parliament
Spain
Javier Sánchez
Member of Parliament
Spain
Noemí Santana
Member of Parliament
Spain
Jorge Pueyo Sanz
Member of Parliament
Spain
Faysal Sariyildiz
Member of the Grand National Assembly
Turkey
Mehmet Sayar
Professor of Chemical and Biotechnology Engineering and Mechanical Engineering
Turkey
Arnold Schölzel
Former Editor-in-Chief, junge Welt
Germany
Fehim Tastekin
Journalist
Turkey
Guillermo Toledo
Actor
Spain
Eran Torbiner
Filmmaker
Israel
Miguel Urbán
Former Member of the European Parliament
Spain
Joaquín Urías
Constitutional law scholar
Spain
Aya Velázquez
Freelance journalist
Germany
Mick Wallace
Former Member of the European Parliament
Ireland
Jan-Peter Warnke
Member of the European Parliament
Germany
Florian Warweg
Journalist
Germany
Hans-Eckardt Wenzel
Musician and author
Germany
John Whitbeck
International lawyer and commentator
France
Hoban Wieland
Chair of Jüdische Stimme Deutschland
Germany
Laura von Wimmersperg
Berlin Peace Coordination
Germany
Susann Witt-Stahl
Journalist
Germany
Maria Zacharia
Member of the European Parliament
Greece
Irene Zugasti
Journalist
Spain
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The non-profit "Für Rechtsstaatlichkeit e.V." advocates for the rule of law, democratic principles, and freedom of opinion and the press. We currently fund research and independent legal opinions on the impact of the EU sanctions regime and its compatibility with rule-of-law principles. Our work is financed exclusively through donations. Every contribution makes legal expertise, public outreach and judicial review possible.
Documentation
Videos
Reports, interviews and the legal expert opinion.
In the press
Articles
Independent coverage of the case across borders.
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