Turkish journalist Can Dundar decided not to attend Erdogan-Merkel press conference after learning that the Turkish leader was considering canceling if he were there, AP reported. 

The former editor of the Turkish opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet tweeted on Friday that he believed German journalists would ask questions on his behalf.

“Erdogan would have canceled the press conference using me as an excuse and would have avoided answering questions,” he noted.

Dundar was convicted in 2016 for disclosing state secrets after his newspaper published photographs of Turkish special services transferring weapons to Syria. As a result, he fled to Germany.

Erdogan is in Berlin on a state visit. He considers the journalist a “terrorist".