Wau Holland Foundation Funds Legal Costs in Case Against EU Sanctions Imposed on a German Journalist

Under the 17th EU Sanctions Package (see p. 29, item 20), Mr. Hüseyin Doğru, a German national and accredited journalist, living and working with his family in Berlin, was sanctioned in May 2025 on charges of “coordinated information manipulation” - without a right to a hearing, justified solely based on the decision of the EU Council of Ministers. This means that his bank account(s) and assets have been frozen, allowing him to only access € 506 per month, and he is prohibited from engaging in gainful employment as well as leaving Germany.

He holds no citizenship other than his German citizenship. The EU has herebyset a precedent: for the first time, an EU citizen, who also resides in the EU has been sanctioned and his freedom of movement has been taken [1].

The WauHolland Foundation considers Mr. Doğru to be a victim of political persecution. The Boards has decided to cover the costs of his legal defense before the European Courts (General European Court, European Court of Justice,, European Court of Human Rights). For the Foundation too do so, the Deutsche Bundesbank must review every single attorney’s and court fee invoice and allow us to settle them on Mr. Doğru behalf. To this end, a Letter of Intent was sent to the Deutsche Bundesbank mid-July 2026.

  • Campaign website call to lift the sanctions against Hüseyin Doğru

  • A political and legal analysis of Mr. Doğrus case by the Erhard-Eppler-Kreis explains the [facts of the case in detail] (https://erhardepplerkreis.substack.com/p/eine-belastungsprobe-fur-den-rechtsstaat)

  • ZDF’s aspekte, aired on June 12th, 2026 [features a 9-minute segment on the Hüseyin Doğru case] (https://www.zdf.de/play/reportagen/aspekte-106/meinungsfreiheit-zensur-debatte-100)


[1] The last person to be “ostracized” before Hüseyin Doğru was [Georg Forster] (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Forster) in 1793 by Emperor Franz II for “collaborating with the Parisian revolutionaries”.


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