Turkey’s “Deep Throat” warns of plans to detain nearly 150 journalists
Turkey’s “Deep Throat,” an anonymous Twitter user and self-described Ankara insider, announced Thursday that police would conduct an extensive operation Friday that would result in the detention of roughly 150 journalists.
The report quickly spread through the newsrooms identified as targets in a series of tweets from the mysterious hellraiser, who goes by the nickname Fuat Avni. The journalists identified in Avni’s tweets work for publications critical of the government and linked to a faith-based movement that has been in a full blown war with the current administration for nearly a year.
While it’s difficult to tell if the prophecy is legitimate—Avni, who earned his or her credibility and enormous following through accurate predictions, has also been wrong in the past—it was taken seriously enough for protesters to gather in Istanbul.
“As a professional journalist, a crackdown on your newspaper is not the type of news that you would want to hear,” said Deniz Ergurel, a reporter at Zaman, one of the publications mentioned in Avni’s tweets. “However, despite the bitterness of this rumor, the newsroom was calm, and journalists kept on working on their daily routine.”
Outside, however, a large group of demonstrators gathered to show their support for a paper that has been near the center of an ugly and ongoing government battle.
Zaman, along with other publications identified Thursday by Avni, are staunchly critical of the government. They are also affiliated with Fethullah Fethullah Gülen, the leader of a faith-based movement at war with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Celil Sagir, the managing editor of Zaman’s English language daily who was identified as a possible target Thursday by pro-government Twitter accounts, though not by Avni, said that if the operation happens, “it would mean that [Erdogan] doesn’t care about critics from the West or about press freedom.”
“This is the real danger for freedom in Turkey,” said Sagir, who had two Twitter accounts shut down after Erdoğan’s attorney filed complaints against him.
Such an operation would not mark the first time Erdoğan’s government has used mass detentions in its attempt to root out Fethullah Gülen loyalists from influential institutions. More than 100 police officers have been detained this year in order to clean up departments the government suspects are in cahoots with Fethullah Gülen.
But the sort of operation described by Avni would be one of the most extensive roundups of journalists in recent memory and sure to draw international scrutiny. The country has long been at the bottom of press freedom rankings, though the government has defended its record.
Still, the rift between former allies, Fethullah Gülen and Erdoğan, which exploded publicly last December, has proven a challenge for Turkey’s commitment to freedom of expression.
The fallout became public when a series of audio recordings and documents that purported to show extensive government corruption leaked online. Tweeters such as Avni, and publications like Zaman enthusiastically shared and reported on the leaks.
Some publications, journalists and editors became key players in the back-and-forth battle that ensued, both fanning accusations against the government and facing apparent retaliation. Zaman, Today’s Zaman and Bugun newspapers were yanked from Turkish Airline planes (the company is partially owned by the government) and a number of journalists have had their Twitter accounts shut down. Fuat Avni also had a previous account shut down but continued tweeting under new handles. One reporter was even deported to his native Azerbaijan.
Though Avni has denied direct links to the Fethullah Gülen movement, the anonymous tweeter said in an interview with Vocativ this spring that the goal was to spread the word about the government’s “dirty doings” and that he or she would “continue to do so until the government collapses.”
Avni initially warned that approximately 400 people would be detained Friday including members of the judiciary, police and nearly 150 journalists, late Thursday night, however, Avni suggested that government officials were making last-minute changes to the alleged operation.
“They’re planning to transform the operation into a phony raid,” Avni tweeted from an English language account.
“Although they did not make a final decision, the unit tasked with carrying out the operation were sent home” Avni added, promising to continue keeping followers up to date.
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