Turkish journalist at daily Bugün is threatened


Date posted: February 20, 2014

ANKARA

A journalist at the Ankara branch of the daily Bugün has claimed that he received a threatening phone call which he describes as “insulting and discomforting.” The threat follows recent similar claims by Cüneyt Özdemir, a writer at the newspaper Radikal and anchor of the 5N 1K program broadcast by the CNN Türk TV station.

 

Adem Yavuz Arslan said in an interview with Today’s Zaman that he was threatened by a columnist at a Turkish newspaper, and that the columnist claimed to have read a report prepared by the Prime Ministry Inspection Board (PMIB). Arslan’s name was in the report, the columnist said, because Arslan is accused of cooperating with an anti-government gang in the police department.

“If there is an operation, you will be arrested,” Arslan quoted the columnist as saying. “Some people from the pro-government media are calling journalists from other news outlets and are threatening them; one of those journalists is me,” Arslan continued. He also claimed that the columnist advised him to choose carefully whether he is pro-government or working for the opposition, because he might “have a bad experience.”

Arslan described the incident as “insulting and discomforting,” and said that “there is a slander campaign going against writers and correspondents, whereby a police operation is mentioned, and a warning that they risk being arrested. And it is all being organized by government officials,” Arslan alleged. “Just because it’s possible to assert the existence of a gang, it does not follow that 40 innocent people are in the gang.”

 

Ever since a bribery and corruption scandal erupted on Dec. 17 last year, which resulted in the detention of the sons of some government ministers and certain businessmen close to the government, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has described the corruption investigation as a “dirty operation” aimed at toppling his government. He says a gang nested within the state — referring to members of the Hizmet movement — in collaboration with foreign powers, is behind the operation.

Source: Todays Zaman , February 20, 2014

Tags: | | |


Related News

Individuals can force change

Instead of Erdoğan’s accusations that the Hizmet movement had plotted to unseat his government, couldn’t it have been a handful of good men and women within the bureaucracy, i.e., the judiciary and the police, who leaked the investigation documents on Dec. 17 to the public to prevent these crimes from being covered up?

Erdogan Purge Against Gulenists Could Prove Lucrative

The power struggle between the Turkish state and the Fethullah Gulen-led Hizmet Movement continues to reverberate in Turkey. The number detained, arrested, jailed, and dismissed from their jobs since the July 15 coup attempt has reached well over 100,000, 40,000 of whom have been detained on suspicion of having links with Hizmet. One third of the highest-ranking armed forces officers have been dismissed. Almost every major institution—military, judiciary, media, education, business—has been affected.

HAPPENING NOW: Police await outside Esenyurt Eslife hospital to detain woman who just gave birth

A group of police officers reportedly await outside Esenyurt Eslife Hospital in order to detain a woman who gave birth late on July 3, according to tweets posted by the woman’s family members.

[Part 4] Gülen calls for respect of diversity in Turkey to end polarization

Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who has inspired the popular civic and social movement called Hizmet, called for the respect of diversity in Turkey, expressing his concern over growing polarization in society.

Woman says husband abducted after losing job in post-coup crackdown

A recently established Twitter account claims in a series of tweets that Turgut Çapan was abducted in Turkey’s capital of Ankara. While the reason for the alleged abduction is yet to be known, earlier tips submitted to Turkey Purge as well as a number of other media articles reported on several mysterious incidents of abduction involving Gülen followers.

The Encyclopedia of Islam and hate speech

Erdoğan’s obvious target was Fethullah Gülen, but it is clear that he also attacked anyone who doesn’t think like him with phrases such as “false prophets,” “fake mystics” and “so-called scholars.” This denigration is problematic especially in terms of secularism. Indeed, the prime minister hurls gross insults at religious interpretations that diverge from his own. In his capacity as a prime minister, he imposes his beliefs and acts onto those who do not think like him. One step beyond these remarks would be the prime minister’s supporters’ resorting to violence against those he places on the bull’s eye.

Latest News

Sacramento leaders gather for Iftar dinner in celebration of Ramadan

SEO Skill Suite: Tools for Keyword Research, Technical & Backlink Analysis

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

In Case You Missed It

Don’t be fooled by Hizmet conspiracy theories

Better late than never: Gülen’s Kurdish education initiative

US avoids commenting on Gülen’s extradition

3 detained Turkish educators and their families handed over to Turkey by Gabon

African students sad over govt’s move to wipe out Kimse Yok Mu

Mother of 2 detained while visiting jailed husband during Eid holiday

Editorial Opinion: Mistreating [Turkish] Teachers

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News