Progressive Politics

In January, a post I saw on Twitter/X shocked me.

“URGENT: As of now, I have ZERO access to any money,” Hüseyin Dogru wrote. “I can’t provide food for my family, including two newborns, due to EU sanctions.”

Dogru is a journalist, a German citizen living in Berlin.

After reading his post, I sent him a private message offering to order groceries and have them sent to his home.

The reply shocked me even more. “Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to accept any financial or material support,” Dogru wrote.

Dogru is the first European Union citizen known to be living inside the EU to face extrajudicial sanctions imposed by Brussels – robbing him of fundamental civil and humanitarian rights.

He’s also the first person to be sanctioned specifically for his reporting related to Palestine.

“I’m not allowed to exist anymore, I’m not allowed to provide my children with the basic necessities,” he explained on The Electronic Intifada Podcast this week.

“I can’t pay my rent, I can’t pay my lawyers and yes – I’m not even allowed to accept any kind of food, water or medicine whatsoever from third parties.”