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TWO TURKISH INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS THREATENED ON TWITTER
epress.am
03.20.2012
Reporters Without Borders is very disturbed by a message posted on
Twitter on the night of Mar. 16 about an alleged plot by the shadowy
ultranationalist network Ergenekon to murder Ahmet Sik and Nedim
Sener (pictured), two investigative journalists who were released
conditionally on Mar. 12 after a year in detention, reads a statement
issued by the freedom of information watchdog on its website.
"It is not alarmist to say that these threats should be taken
seriously," Reporters Without Borders said. "The source of this tweet,
which is still unknown, needs to be investigated thoroughly. We call
on the Turkish authorities to launch an investigation at once in
other to shed light on this matter."
Posted by someone using the pseudonym "Faiz Dusmani" (Enemy of
Interest), the message said: "Attention, attention. I warn the
government and those that can should also inform it. Ergenekon is
planning to assassinate Ahmet Sik and Nedim Sener. [The organization]
is going to kill them and then blame the [Fethullah Gulen religious]
community."
Sik told Reporters Without Borders he took the threat seriously and
thought it was the work of "the circles responsible for the conspiracy"
that led to his being detained for a year on a terrorism charge. "They
want to silence me. They will be responsible for anything that happens
to me."
He added that the comments he made outside Silivri prison on the
night of his release had upset certain people who were now trying to
silence him. The speech is meanwhile the subject of a new judicial
investigation by Istanbul prosecutor Muammer Akkas.
Several journalists have received death threats in recent years,
for the most part coming from ultranationalist circles. Despite
the lengthy trials of many persons accused in connection with the
January 2007 murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, those
who masterminded his murder have never been identified.
Sik has been spending time with his family since his release but plans
to resume working within a few days for Habervesaire.com, a website
run by the students of the communications faculty at Istanbul's
Bilgi University. After a short rest, Sener plants to work for the
daily Posta.
Sik and Sener are being tried along with eight journalists working
for the Oda TV website, five of whom are still detained. They are site
owner Soner Yalcin, academic Yalcin Kucuk, publisher Baris Pehlivan,
news editor Baris Terkoglu and reporter Muyesser Ugur. They will not
have an opportunity to be granted a conditional release until the
next hearing in the trial, which is scheduled for Jun. 18.
epress.am
03.20.2012
Reporters Without Borders is very disturbed by a message posted on
Twitter on the night of Mar. 16 about an alleged plot by the shadowy
ultranationalist network Ergenekon to murder Ahmet Sik and Nedim
Sener (pictured), two investigative journalists who were released
conditionally on Mar. 12 after a year in detention, reads a statement
issued by the freedom of information watchdog on its website.
"It is not alarmist to say that these threats should be taken
seriously," Reporters Without Borders said. "The source of this tweet,
which is still unknown, needs to be investigated thoroughly. We call
on the Turkish authorities to launch an investigation at once in
other to shed light on this matter."
Posted by someone using the pseudonym "Faiz Dusmani" (Enemy of
Interest), the message said: "Attention, attention. I warn the
government and those that can should also inform it. Ergenekon is
planning to assassinate Ahmet Sik and Nedim Sener. [The organization]
is going to kill them and then blame the [Fethullah Gulen religious]
community."
Sik told Reporters Without Borders he took the threat seriously and
thought it was the work of "the circles responsible for the conspiracy"
that led to his being detained for a year on a terrorism charge. "They
want to silence me. They will be responsible for anything that happens
to me."
He added that the comments he made outside Silivri prison on the
night of his release had upset certain people who were now trying to
silence him. The speech is meanwhile the subject of a new judicial
investigation by Istanbul prosecutor Muammer Akkas.
Several journalists have received death threats in recent years,
for the most part coming from ultranationalist circles. Despite
the lengthy trials of many persons accused in connection with the
January 2007 murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, those
who masterminded his murder have never been identified.
Sik has been spending time with his family since his release but plans
to resume working within a few days for Habervesaire.com, a website
run by the students of the communications faculty at Istanbul's
Bilgi University. After a short rest, Sener plants to work for the
daily Posta.
Sik and Sener are being tried along with eight journalists working
for the Oda TV website, five of whom are still detained. They are site
owner Soner Yalcin, academic Yalcin Kucuk, publisher Baris Pehlivan,
news editor Baris Terkoglu and reporter Muyesser Ugur. They will not
have an opportunity to be granted a conditional release until the
next hearing in the trial, which is scheduled for Jun. 18.