Germany's police warn journalist Celal Başlangıç of risk of assassination

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Celal Başlangıç, the editor-in-chief of Artı TV and Artı Gerçek website, has been notified by Germany's police that his life is in danger, the journalist said last night (July 20).

Two officers who visited Başlangıç at his home in Cologne also confirmed the existence of an "assassination list" consisting of the dissidents of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan şiving abroad, Başlangıç said.

Earlier in the day, journalist Erk Acarer, who also lives in Germany, shared a threatening note left in front of his home in Berlin. Acarer was also attacked in front of his home on July 7. After the attack, a Twitter account named "jitemkurt" published an assassination list of 21 journalists, artists and intellectuals living in Europe and threatened the related people to "Watch your back."

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Speaking to Artı TV, Başlangıç, whose name was also on the list, said, "We knew the names in the 21-people list. Then information was spread about a 43-people list but the names on this list were not known. The German police officers who came to my home mentioned a third list consisting of 55 Erdoğan dissidents and said that my name was on that list.

"We understood from what officers said that there is an investigation. There is a police officer handling the case and a case file. Our attorney is dealing with the matter and trying to get information. It seems like a file that the German police take seriously."

Several dissidents from Turkey currently live in exile in Germany and other European countries because of lawsuits against them. 

In 2018, Germany's Federal Ministry of Interior banned the Osmanen Germania (Germany Ottomans) group for posing a threat to individuals and the public order. It has also demanded, along with France and the Netherlands, the EU ban the activities of the Turkish nationalist Grey Wolves group.

Mafia boss Sedat Peker, who has been making online confessions on state-mafia relations in Turkey, admitted last month that he had been giving financial support to pro-Erdoğan groups in Germany.

With a population of about one-and-a-half million, citizens of Turkey are the largest foreign group in Germany. (KÖ/VK)