Chief editor of slain casino boss's newspaper threatens journalist

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The editor-in-chief of a newspaper owned by Halil Falyalı, a casino boss from Northern Cyprus who was assassinated on Tuesday (February 8), has threatened another journalist because of his comment on the killing.

Vatan Mehmet, a columnist and the assistant news manager of daily Kıbrıs Postası, commented on Falyalı's funeral on Twitter. Mentioning Ali Genç, the press advisor of the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ), he wrote, "Won't you even send a wreath? You had worked together a lot."

In response to Mehmet, Alihan Pehlivan, the editor-in-chief of Gündem Kıbrıs newspaper, wrote, "Don't worry, I'll prepare one for you..."

The Press Laborers' Union (Basın-Sen) of Northern Cyprus denounced Pehlivan's words, calling him "more royalist than the king."

"In an environment where our island has been turned into a place where crime and mafia are running rampant and the press is silenced through different means ... those who are more royalist than the king throwing threats at journalists ... is the final straw," said the union.

"It should be known that the Turkish Cypriot press has existed and will continue to exist in an environment where different views can be freely expressed and heavy criticism can be made.

"As the threat made is a crime, we state that we will stand by our member Vatan Mehmet as a union if he starts a legal struggle.

"We emphasize that we strongly condemn Alihan Pehlivan's transgression and criminal attitude against the right to free expression and criticism in the press sector, of which he is a member as well, and that we will never allow such mafia approaches." (HA/VK)