Istanbul. Mr. Ugur Terzioglu, Chairman of the Turkish-American Business Association, has been officially awarded an honorary membership of DMW Diplomats International for his help in securing the release of two German journalists who were imprisoned for four months in Iran.
The two journalists, Marcus Hellwig and Jens Koch, were arrested by the Iranian authorities—they were accused of spying and attempting to infiltrate the Iranian security system. "I was contacted by DMW executives after my name was mentioned by the German American Chamber of Commerce," explained Mr. Terzioglu on Saturday at an event organized by the Aspen Institute Italia. "They were told that I was somebody that may be able to help during negotiations to have the journalists released. The two journalists had not done anything wrong," said Mr. Terzioglu who found out that the two reporters were being accused of entering the country on tourist visas instead of journalist visas. "They would probably have spent nine months or longer in prison awaiting their trial if their release had not been negotiated." Although Mr. Terzioglu did not negotiate himself, it was his organization that ensured that the matter was on the program of the Turkish President Abdullah Gül when he recently travelled to Iran. President Gül's appeal to the Iran authorities resulted in the two journalists receiving a fine of $50.000. Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle subsequently flew to Iran and brought the prisoners back to Germany on February 19, 2011. The press conference was held after the DMW Chairman, Günther Meinel, had travelled to Turkey to award the honorary membership to a person who is not a diplomat for the first time (in Turkey). In an official letter, Günther Meinel referred to Ugur Terzioglu as a "person who supports human rights and is prepared to provide support at an international level." At the press conference on Saturday, the organization once again read a message that was sent to President Gül in which Ugur Terzioglu is described as a key figure in the improvement of relations between Germany and Turkey. It was also disclosed that DMW would be opening an office in Istanbul to be run by Ferhat Bozcelik.