Writer Ragıp Zarakolu Investigated for 'Hinting at Coup' over Column Article

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Writer and publisher Ragıp Zarakolu is under investigation for "targeting the constitutional order by giving a coup message" over a column article published in Evrensel newspaper and Arı Gerçek website.

Both President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Fahrettin Altun, the presidency's communications director, had filed a criminal complaint against Zarakolu after the article was published on May 5.

In the article titled "There is No Escape from the Ill Fate," Zarakolu shared his thoughts on the military coups and governments in the history of the republic.

Ahmet Özel, an attorney of the president, alleged that Zarakolu stated his desire for a coup by comparing Erdoğan with Adnan Menderes, a former prime minister who was executed after the 1960 military coup.

In response to the accusations by government officials, Zarakolu said that "he had fought against putschists and putschist tendencies throughout his life." (EMK/VK)