Cem Küçük

Pro-government journalist Cem Küçük has suggested the killing of fugitive suspects linked to the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), accused of being behind last year’s failed coup attempt.

The Diyarbakır Bar Association has filed a criminal complaint against pro-government journalists Cem Küçük and Fuat Uğur after the former suggested torture tactics that could be used against suspects tried in connection to Turkey’s July 2016 coup attempt.

Some longtime figures in the cadre of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) have failed to walk with the party, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said May 2 on his way back to Turkey from his visit to India. 

When asked about a recent debate stirred among pro-AKP columnists, Erdoğan said one side of the debate comprised certain figures who supported the AKP in the past. 

An armed attack was staged on pro-government journalist Cem Küçük's house in Istanbul's Güngören district late Feb. 20. 

Küçük, who is a columnist for daily Yeni Şafak, said his brother was living in the house. 

"They are sacking the same academics who would have been sacked by the post-coup regime if it had succeeded."

National press bodies have condemned the attack on veteran Hürriyet columnist Ahmet Hakan, who has long been targeted by politically-motivated threats and was injured after an assault in front of his home early on Oct. 1.

Hürriyet columnist and CNNTürk program host Ahmet Hakan legally requested that the Turkish government appoint a permanent security detail 17 days before he was targeted in a physical attack on Oct. 1, legal documents show.

A pro-Justice and Development Party (AKP) columnist in Turkey has issued a death threat to a columnist of daily Hürriyet, saying ?we could crush you like a fly.?