A journalist with Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency was fired on Friday after questioning two government ministers about accusations by a mobster against powerful Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu.
For three weeks, Turkey has been living in the rhythm of the videos posted on YouTube by Sedak Peker, an underworld figure living in exile abroad. In the videos, Packer accuses members of the government and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of various crimes and corruption.
In one of these videos, Packer claims that Interior Minister Soilo had protected him and “informed” him of the launch of an investigation against him last year in order to allow him to leave Turkey before he was arrested. Pressed by the opposition to resign, Soylu, one of the most powerful members of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government, has denied the allegations.
In this context, a journalist of the state agency Anadolu last Friday night during a press conference caused an uproar, demanding a reaction on this case from the Ministers of Industry, Mustafa Varank and Agriculture, Bekir Pakdemirli.
To the astonishment of the two ministers, journalist Musab Turan asked if the government had any plans to tackle the scandal, calling the Turkish interior minister “a man whose name is associated with serious moral misconduct”, expressing his “shame”. .
Video of this snapshot of the press conference spread like wildfire on social media. In the face of this situation, the Anadolu agency quickly announced in a statement the dismissal of its journalist, stressing that he violated the “journalistic principles” by making “political propaganda”.
“We have appealed to a prosecutor to conduct an investigation to determine whether or not (the journalist) belongs to a terrorist organization,” the Turkish news agency reported.
“Those who seek to undermine the dignity of our state will pay the price,” the Turkish presidency’s communications director, Fahrettin Altun, warned on Twitter.
