Reactions have mounted in Turkey against a government-orchestrated move to seize the nation’s best-selling newspaper Zaman and its affiliate publications including Today’s Zaman as part of a crackdown on critical and independent media.Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Murat Emir spoke on Friday morning when the takeover of Zaman was still a rumor circulating on social media. Emir said that he saw the move as the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) trying to silence free and independent media.Expressing that the media in Turkey faces new attacks every day, Emir said that the majority of these assaults were being done under the guise of the law. “We [CHP] condemn all attempts to subdue the free media. We are against all attacks [against the media] and believe these attacks must come to an end.”
HRW says Zaman takeover aims to eradicate opposition, calls on Turkish gov’t to reverse it
The Human Rights Watch (HRW) said a ruling by an İstanbul court to appoint trustees to Turkey’s largest media group, Feza Media Group, is the yet another attempt by the government to eradicate opposition by silencing critical media, calling on authorities to reverse the action.
Leaked emails reveal Erdoğan’s son-in-law’s team fabricated news against Gülen in US
An email included in Wikileaks’ Monday publication of the leaked emails of Berat Albayrak, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law and Turkey’s minister of energy, shows that Albayrak fabricated news with pro-government people in the United States in order to defame the Gülen movement in the US media.
Seized Gülen dormitory ransacked, becomes home to junkies
A private dormitory in İstanbul’s Esenyurt district has become home to junkies and has been ransacked by unknown parties on multiple occasions since the residence was seized as part of an investigation into the Gülen movement in the aftermath of a coup attempt.
Child with fever denied treatment as father under arrest over Gülen links
A three-year-old child with high fever has been denied treatment at a hospital since his father was arrested over alleged links to the Gülen movement, leading to a suspension of the child’s eligibility to access the nationwide social security system.
Turkey’s Religious Directorate says profiled expats via mosques in 38 countries
Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) has gathered intelligence from imams in 38 countries on the activities of suspected followers of the Gülen movement, according to the Hürriyet Daily News.
Teacher making students pose with nooses sparks outrage
As a note to the photo he wrote, “We want justice.”
The teacher, identified as Aydın Erekmen, posted the controversial photo in the aftermath of twin bomb attacks in İstanbul on Saturday night that claimed the lives of 44 people and injured more than 160 others.
HRW report: Turkey’s silencing of media, assaults on press freedom shield state from scrutiny
A report by US-based rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) released on Thursday said that Turkey’s government has all but silenced independent media in an effort to prevent scrutiny or criticism of its ruthless crackdown on perceived enemies.
The assault on critical journalism sharpened in 2014 but accelerated after a failed coup attempt in July 2016, denying Turkey’s population access to a regular flow of independent information from domestic newspapers, radio and television stations about developments in the country, HRW said.
Turkey paid $36 million to Erdoğan’s son-in-law’s company for 6 UAVs[CORRUPTION]
Some $36.77 million has been paid from the Turkish state budget to the Baykar Makina company, owned by the family of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law Selçuk Bayraktar, for six unmanned aerial vehicles the company manufactured, according to a story in the Birgün daily on Friday.Bayraktar married Sümeyye Erdoğan, Erdoğan’s younger daughter, earlier this year, while Erdoğan’s first son-in-law Berat Albayrak is currently Turkey’s energy minister.
Belgian justice minister orders close scrutiny of Diyanet mosques amid spying claims
Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens has announced that he has ordered security and intelligence units in the country to closely monitor mosques operated by the Turkish Religious Affairs Directorate, or Diyanet, amid reports that the Diyanet asked imams to spy and inform on Belgians of Turkish origin suspected of being active in the faith-based Gülen movement.
