France’s Foreign Press Association (Association de la Presse Étrangère) has bestowed the Grand Press Award on Le Point magazine for its cover story calling the Turkish president “The Eradicator” (L’eradicateur) over a Syria incursion conducted in October, Deutsche Welle (DW) Turkish service reported.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan filed a lawsuit alleging insult after publication of the magazine’s October issue.
The association said the magazine displayed bravery amid threats to press freedoms by covering the “Turkish invasion and the fate of the Syrian Kurds.”
“As I accepted the prize, I thought about jailed Turkish journalists who are deprived of the opportunity to do their jobs,” Etienne Gernelle, the editor-in-chief of Le Point, told DW.
In 2018 Le Point called Turkish president a dictator in its cover story and received threats from Erdoğan supporters living in France.