Taraf newspaper writer Orhan Miroğlu received a death threat when he was on his way back to Ankara after promoting his latest book entitled "Dead or alive - Letters from the Diyarbakır Prison" in Istanbul.

Miroğlu took the 9.00 pm flight from Istanbul to Ankara on Friday night (3 September). He received the death threat via his cell phone at around midnight when he had arrived at the Ankara bus terminal.

"I have no intention of stepping back"

An unknown person called Miroğlu and said, "You can die any moment!" It was announced that Miroğlu hung up angrily.

Miroğlu wrote about the incident in his article published in the daily on 6 September. He said that he received threatening e-mails from time to time. Miroğlu continued:

"This sort of e-mails is sent to me too. I am advised to come to my senses and to think twice when I demand equal rights for the Kurdish people. This advice is usually given by people saying that there are thousands of Ogün Samasts [alleged triggerman in the Hrant Dink murder case] in this country".

"But I received a death threat for the first time, especially to such an effect. Maybe it would have been better not to share this with my family, but it probably was the best to tell them and so I did..."

However, Miroğlu makes sure that he has no intention of stepping back because of fear. "But nothing will be the way these cowards are expecting it or hoping for. I have no intention of stepping back a single step from the place where I am".

Some columnists were placed under police protection after the assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink on 19 January 2007.

Stop threatening intellectuals!

The Turkish Revenge Brigade (TIT) sent their most recent threat via e-mail to intellectuals who filed a criminal complaint at the prosecution against former Chief of General Staff İlker Başbuğ.

The TIT had sent an e-mail to Ufuk Uras, Oya Baydar, Mebuse Tekay, Ahmet İnsel, Aydın Engin, Mithat Sancar, Cengiz Algan, Baskın Oran and Sezgin Tanrıkulu, saying: "With the criminal complaint you filed at the Istanbul Public Prosecution you signed your own writ of execution".

The TIT was involved in seriously injuring Akın Birdal, General Chairman of the Human Rights Association (İHD) in 1998. They sent threatening messages to many people and institutions such as Prof. İbrahim Kaboğlu, lawyer Eren Keskin, publisher Necati Abay, singer Ferhat Tunç, to the Armenian Agos newspaper and Özgür Radio. (EÖ/VK)