Second Threat against Evrensel Newspaper

On 17 July, the Turkish Revenge Brigade (TİT) reiterated their threat against the Evrensel ('Universal') newspaper via e-mail. This was the second threat of the TİT against the paper.

The message read, "We warned you before to leave this country together with your collaborators until 15 August 2011. 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 self-defence. We declare that we will strive after 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 Kaşif Kozinoğlu, member of the National Intelligence Agency (MIT) and detained defendant of the Ergenekon investigation.

"The threats will not change our understanding of publishing"

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 Akın Birdal and assumed responsibility for the bombing in Diyarbakır 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 and 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 Tüzel, Istanbul Deputy of the Labour, Democracy and Freedom Block; President of the Turkish Journalists Union (TGS) Ercan İpekçi; Mustafa Türkel as the President of the Tobacco, Alcoholic Beverages and Food Subsidiary Workers Union of Turkey (Tek Gıda-İş); Trade Union for Civilian Aviation (Hava-İş) President Atilay Ayçin; Deri-İş leather workers trade union President Musar Servi, Tek Gıda-İş Secretary General Mecit Amaç; Gıda-İş Secretary General Seyit Aslan, Konut-İş residential estate workers trade union President Nebile Irmak; Health and Social Service Workers Union (SES) Aksaray Branch President Ersoy Güzel, Municipal and Local Authority Trade Union (Tüm Bel-Sen) Branch No.1 President Kadri Kılıcı; Turkish Journalists Association (TGC) Vice Chair Turgay Olcaytu; writer and journalist Nevzat Onaran; Turkish Writers Union (TYS) President Mustafa Köz; director Yusuf Çetin, poets Teyfik Taş and Sennur Sezer; writers Adnan Özyalçıner and Cuma Boynukara; Evrensel Media General Publications Director Naci Tarhan; Evrensel Culture Magazine Editor-in-Chief Nuray Sancar and many lawyers and readers of the paper. (IC/ŞA)