AKP member threatens journalist Murat Ağırel with death

Murat Ağırel

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Journalist Murat Ağırel has made public the threatening messages he received from a member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Emrah Çelik, who sent the threatening messages, had fought for a jihadist group in Syria. Photos of him posing with severed heads surfaced in 2019.

"You'll love this state! We didn't forget those who betray us under the guise of Kemalism," he says in the first message he sent to Ağırel.

In response, the journalist says he didn't forget those who cooperated with "the enemies of the republic," apparently referring to the AKP.

"The republic is a bus stop. When the time comes, we'll take down all of you," says the jihadist. "I'll take care of you myself. We'll surely come together one day."

Ağırel responds, "You can't do shit. You don't have the courage. You can only throw threats."

Çelik continues threatening the journalist, saying, "I'm not threatening you, I'm saying we'll come together and talk.

"Don't confuse us with other people, we don't know what threat is. When the time comes, you'll understand. I'll also remind you of the 'shit'. Don't delete the messages, I'm going to make you read these."

Bu ''klavye yiğidi'' ni tanıyın.Bunlar bir ekipmiş İST3 ekibiymiş.Bu arkadaş orada görevliymiş ve bizzat gelip benimle görüşecekmiş.

Profesyonelce tehdit ediyor aklı sıra.

Trol sanmayın sonraki tweetlere bakın. pic.twitter.com/TkW0SO5CtF

— Murat AĞIREL (@muratagirel) August 10, 2021

In an interview with Artı TV last year, Çelik desribed himself as a follower of the al-Qaeda and said he was a member of the Turkmen troops fighting the government forces and ISIS in Syria. He said he had an "eternal bond of love" with President and AKP Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He also confirmed posing with severed heads of Syrian soldiers.

Ağırel, a columnist for daily Yeniçağ and a pundit for Halk TV, is known for his critical stance towards the government. He was imprisoned twice for his reports.

In the 2018 election, he was nominated as a parliamentary candidate by the İYİ (Good) Party but was not elected.

He received threats in the past as well. He released the threatening messages he received in February and blamed the AKP's Melih Gökçek, the former mayor of Ankara, for the threats. (HA/VK)