Turkish Gov’t media targets exiled journalists, their lives at risk


Date posted: September 27, 2016

Following President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s statement that no country is safe for Gülen movement sympathizers, the pro-Justice and Development Party (AKP) media targeted exiled journalists in the US and Europe on Monday.

The Sabah daily, which was run by Serhat Albayrak, brother of Berat Albayrak, the son-in-law of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, published a story on Monday about investigative journalist Aydoğan Vatandaş, who lives in the US, claiming that he was whistleblower “Fuat Avni.” Publishing secretly taken photos and videos of Vatandaş, who used to write articles for The Huffington Post and Today’s Zaman, the daily labeled him a terrorist.

In another story published by the pro-Erdoğan daily Yeni Şafak, exiled journalists, including former Today’s Zaman Editor-in-Chief Bülent Keneş, were claimed to be living in Europe and engaged in efforts to create a multilingual news website with funds supplied by Germany and Austria. The daily also claimed that Gülen sympathizer journalists have been working on a TV channel in Germany.

The AKP government has speeded up a media crackdown since a July 15 foiled coup attempt. The government has closed down more than 130 media organizations and jailed in excess of 120 journalists. Dozens of critical journalists have left Turkey due to the crackdown.

The news stories came after President Erdoğan on Sept. 19 threatened followers of the faith-based Gülen movement living all over the world, saying that no country is safe for them.

“No country, no region anywhere in the world, is a safe haven for FETÖ [an acronym the government has been using to refer to the Gülen movement] and militants,” said Erdoğan during a press conference at İstanbul Atatürk Airport, before flying to New York for the UN General Assembly.

In August, the pro-government media threatened critical journalists with extrajudicial killings. During a program on Kanal 24, Ersoy Dede and Hikmet Genc were discussing how to get rid of critical journalists living in exile by bringing to mind the ASALA case.

Dede said that “In this country, I witnessed how ASALA was finished [off]. One morning we will wake up and see some scum being caught at Sabiha Gokcen Airport. The media will cover the story like this: “Tuncay Opcin, Emre Uslu and Ekrem Dumanli …”

Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) has been tasked with locating, arresting and even killing military officers who fled Turkey after allegedly taking part in a failed coup attempt in July, according a story in the Vatan daily on Aug. 30.

Source: Turkish Minute , September 26, 2016

Tags: | | | |


Related News

Purge-victim mother of three dies of heart attack

Rana Ozturk, a mother of three children and the wife of Engin Ozturk who has been under arrest for 15 months over alleged ties to the Gulen group, died several days after a heart attack, media reported on Nov 21.

Lamb-hunt in the Netherlands

“Once, a wolf drinking water from the river notices a lamb by the water and runs towards him. He is planning to eat up the lamb. But to block any likely help and to shift the blame onto the lamb by psychological pressure and thus eat it up comfortably, the wolf says, “Why did you […]

US lawmaker says Gülen should not be extradited, calls his movement strongest element against radical Islamists

United States (US) Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, released a statement on Monday, saying that the US should turn down the Turkish president’s demand of the extradition of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen as he could not be part of a coup attempt, calling his movement “strongest element in his society opposing radical Islamist terrorism.”

Documents expose plot to hold Hizmet responsible for KPSS cheating

The Zaman daily has published documents which reveal that a plot was devised to unjustly hold the members of the Hizmet Movement responsible for a cheating scandal at the State Personnel Examination (KPSS) in 2010.

Jailed journalist Ayşenur Parıldak given courage award by Norwegian rights group

Ayşenur Parıldak, a 27-year-old reporter from Turkey’s now-closed Zaman newspaper who has been behind bars for 13 months, was named the recipient of the first Shahnoush Award by the Oslo-based Vigdis Freedom Foundation.

What Is Next In Turkey?

The generals were never the script writers of the coups but only players. The script writers of the coup on July 15 in Turkey aimed to simulate a coup as if it was staged by the Gulen movement. It was simply a false flag. While only a few hundred soldiers were involved in the coup, more than ten thousand officers were purged and arrested. While the police officers challenged the coup plotters, twelve thousand police officers were fired two months after the coup.

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

Erdoğan is helping Hizmet community in three ways

Turkish school extended help to Turks after earthquake in Nepal

Path of Prophet offers solutions to social ills

Prime minister’s inconsistencies raise eyebrows

Gülen urges Turkey to preserve, advance achievements in democratization

Farewell of Pak-Turk Teachers: Symbolic Burial of a Heart

Statement on Chapel Hill Shootings

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News