The Turkish Revenge Brigade warned the employees of "Evrensel" to leave the country by 15 August or risk attacks.
(BIANET/IFEX) – “The Turkish Revenge Brigade threatened our newspaper” was the headline of “Evrensel” newspaper after a repeated threat was sent to the paper via e-mail. The paper filed a criminal complaint and was supported by many readers, lawyers, journalists and others.
On 17 July 2011, the Turkish Revenge Brigade (TİT) reiterated their threat against the “Evrensel” (‘Universal’) newspaper via e-mail. This was the second threat from the TİT against the paper.
The message read, “We warned you that you have until 15 August to leave the country, along with your collaborators. This is our last warning. We hereby announce that we will carry out operations wherever necessary by using the legitimate right of the glorious Turkish nation to defend itself. We declare that we will strive for a Turkey that is a hundred percent Turkish”.
The list of people and institutions that were recently threatened by the TİT includes the “Evrensel” daily as well as the “Armenian Agos” newspaper and a number of academics and Kurdish politicians.
The threatening e-mail was sent from an e-mail account in the name of Kasif Kozinoglu, member of the National Intelligence Agency (MİT) and detained defendant of the Ergenekon investigation.
Representatives of the “Evrensel” newspaper filed a criminal complaint against the TİT at the Fatih (Istanbul) Courthouse on Wednesday, 20 July.
The paper declared, “The TİT previously carried out the assassination of Akin Birdal and assumed responsibility for the bombing in Diyarbakir in 2006 that left ten people dead, two of whom were babies and seven children. We say once more that we are not going to refrain from journalism that is based on the people’s right to learn the truth nor from a publication concept that is founded on the brotherhood of the people.
The “Evrensel” newspaper representatives were supported by several politicians, union leaders, journalists and writers when they submitted the criminal complaint to court, among them:
– Levent Tuzel, Istanbul deputy of Labour, Democracy and Freedom Block
– Ercan İpekci, president of the Turkish Journalists Union (TGS)
– Mustafa Turkel, the president of the Tobacco, Alcoholic Beverages and Food Subsidiary Workers Union of Turkey (Tek Gida-İs)
– Atilay Aycin, president of the Trade Union for Civilian Aviation (Hava-İs)
– Musar Servi, president of the Deri-İs leather workers trade union
– Mecit Amac, secretary general of Tek Gida-İs
– Seyit Aslan, secretary general of Gida-İs
– Nebile İrmak, president of the Konut-İs residential estate workers trade union
– Ersoy Guzel, president of the Health and Social Service Workers Union (SES) – Aksaray Branch
– Kadri Kilici, president of the Municipal and Local Authority Trade Union (Tum Bel-Sen) Branch No.1
– Turgay Olcaytu, vice-chair of the Turkish Journalists Association (TGC)
– Nevzat Onaran, writer and journalist
– Mustafa Koz, president of the Turkish Writers Union (TYS)
– Yusuf Cetin, director
– Teyfik Tas, poet
– Sennur Sezer, poet
– Adnan Ozyalciner, writer
– Cuma Boynukara, writer
– Naci Tarhan, director of Evrensel Media General Publications
– Nuray Sancar, Evrensel Culture Magazine Editor-in-Chief
