Ahmet Hakan, a Turkish journalist with a history of criticizing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, published a column Friday claiming that one of his reputable sources called reports that missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was dead “garbage” and that he is still alive.
Contents: Turkey’s government takes control of last remaining independent news source; South Africans furious at Australia for condemning white farmer land confiscation
The Turkish news outlet T24 reported on Wednesday that the owner of the Doğan Media Group, which controls several of Turkey’s last remaining media outlets that do not openly support President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, agreed to sell the group to Demirören Holding, owned by a businessman who maintains friendly ties with the president.
Speaking to the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, former Turkish intelligence head Cevdet Öneş said that the Islamic State jihadist responsible for a mass shooting in Istanbul’s Reina nightclub on New Year’s Eve was a professional who “definitely” received some help from someone within the club.
Turkish authorities have now charged a total of 30 suspects for the June 28 suicide bombing attack in Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, which left 44 people dead and 240 wounded.
Almost 200,000 people have attempted to illegally cross from Turkey into Syria over the past year, and many of those individuals are seeking to join terrorist groups such as the Islamic State, Turkish intelligence announced in a report Wednesday.
The editor-in-chief of Zaman, a major Turkish newspaper, is stepping down, citing “unlawful pressure on press” as a major factor in his departure. The resignation comes a week after a major anti-government columnist was hospitalized due to a public beating.
Hundreds of attacks by Turkish nationalist mobs on Kurdish-friendly parties, Kurdish businesses, and even knowing Kurdish individuals in the wake of the nation’s struggle against the Marxist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terror group threaten the peaceful coexistence of Turks and Kurds, leaders warn.
Police officers raided Turkish magazine Nokta after they published an illustration of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan taking a selfie next to a soldier’s coffin. The officers also seized remaining copies from the newsroom.
During a week in which the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet has fought off three violent mobs at two of its headquarters, a rival columnist supportive of Islamist President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has threatened the life of Hurriyet writer Ahmet Hakan, noting that the AKP has “been merciful today and you are still alive,” but that can always change.
Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper has suffered a second, bolder attack on headquarters in both Istanbul and Ankara, following an attack earlier this week in which Islamists broke office doors with stones and sticks, while yelling, “Allahu akbar.”
Contents: Egypt’s army starts ‘The Martyr’s Right’ operation in North Sinai; Turkey’s troops enter northern Iraq to hunt PKK after terror attacks; Violence spreads in cities across Turkey; Pro-government mobs in Turkey storm Hurriyet offices for alleged Erdogan misquote; Turkey appears to be approaching civil war.
Supporters of Turkey’s Islamist ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) attacked the headquarters of major newspaper Hurriyet on Sunday night. In response, the government is seeking not to investigate the attacks, but Hurriyet, for allegedly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
A swarm of angry pro-Justice and Development Party protesters led by an Istanbul member of Parliament attacked Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper with stones, shouting “God is great” and asserting that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would continue ruling the country regardless of the upcoming election’s outcome.
At least one Turkish columnist, described as pro-government by the newspaper Hurriyet, is blaming an aggressive Internet strategy to smear critics of the majority AK Party for its own losses during Sunday’s parliamentary election.
The Turkish government has evacuated the site of the Tomb of Süleyman Şah and relocated the tomb’s priceless artifacts to protect it from the Islamic State. The Syrian government is calling the move a “flagrant aggression,” as Turkey did not request permission to traverse sovereign Syrian territory to reach the tomb.
