This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
1 Journalist Dead, 3 More Arrested After Exposing Turkey Arming Syrian Extremists
Submitted by Claire Bernish via TheAntiMedia.org,
Just over a week after Cumhuriyet Editor-in-Chief, Can Dündar, represented the Turkish daily news outlet in receiving a press freedom award, he and another top editor were arrested and jailed on charges of espionage. In question was a controversial article exposing arms shipments from Turkish intelligence to Syrian extremist rebels.
“We have been arrested,” tweeted Dündar on Thursday. “Don’t worry, these are medals of honor for us.”
He explained further: “We are accused of ‘spying.’ The president said ‘treason.’ We are not traitors, spy [sic], or heroes; we are journalists. What we have done here is an act of journalism,” said Dündar before testifying on Thursday. “Of course, this prosecution will help enlighten how these incidents took place, rather than how we covered this story.”
Now a third Turkish journalist has been arrested, according to local reports. Ertu?rul Özkök, a reporter for Turkish daily Hüriyet, has been arrested for a slanderous criticism of who is presumed to be Erdo?an — even though the president wasn’t explicitly named anywhere in Özkök’s article. As if more evidence of Turkey’s quashing free press and free speech were needed , Özkök potentially faces five years and four months in prison for expressing this opinion.
Dündar and Ankara correspondent, Erdem Gül, if found guilty on charges of spying, as well as aiding a terrorist organization, could spend the rest of their lives in a Turkish prison — for doing their job. There is a painfully ironic undercurrent in the charges considering the subject of the article is the Erdo?an administration’s complicity in arming Syrian extremists (read: terrorists).
Erdo?an himself sued Dündar and accused Cumhuriyet of releasing false information and spying when the story first exploded, stating at the time the journalist responsible would “pay a heavy price,” as the Wall Street Journal reported.
Despite Cunhuriyet’s recent honor from Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF, or Reporters Without Borders), under the paranoid, watchful eye of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, journalists — and dissenters — have faced sweeping general censorship. Dündar and Gül might be the most prominent recent examples of Erdo?an’s attempt to keep “state secrets” concealed from public scrutiny, but they’re not the first journalists to poke this particular sore spot.
In fact, the last time a reporter tried to expose Turkey’s complicity in arming Syrian extremists, she met an untimely and as-yet unexplained death under seriously suspicious circumstances that remain inscrutable to this day — even to her own family.
PressTV reporter Serena Shim, a U.S. citizen, had been investigating the flow of anti-Assad militants and weapons from Turkey’s border region into northwestern Syria amidst heavy fighting near the town of Kobanî. During this time, she attracted the attention of Turkish Intelligence (MiT — Millî ?stihbarat Te?kilat?). Though locals knew her and the integrity of her reporting, MiT proceeded to question them and requested her whereabouts — under the unfounded guise Shim had been acting as a spy.
In reality, Shim had “uncovered evidence of secret Western assistance to the Islamic State” — a particularly touchy subject for Erdo?an, as seen in the arrests of Dünbar and Gül. Her video evidence of this assistance — reportedly “proof of Islamic State terrorists using United Nations World Food Program vehicles for a convoy” into Syria, likely akin to Dünbar and Gül’s discovery — has never been recovered. Her passport and wedding ring, seized by Turkish authorities sometime after her death, have never been returned to her family.
Serena Shim and her cousin, cameraperson Judy Irish, unlike the arguably more fortunate Dünbar and Gül, were ostensibly “hit by a truck after turning into the opposite lane on a highway access road,” as reported in wtfrly.com. Shim was killed, though discrepancies are plentiful in official reports, including whether she died at the scene or an hour later from heart failure in the hospital. Shim and Irish were inexplicably taken to hospitals over 25 miles apart from each other by Turkish military officials, not police, who ‘investigated’ the wreck. After outrage from Shim’s family, Turkish authorities — who first claimed they were unable to locate the vehicle responsible for hitting Shim and Irish — eventually produced photos of the accident, which they then claimed had been caused by a cement truck driver.
Shim’s family has yet to receive answers from either Turkish or U.S. authorities about her dubious demise. On October 20, 2014, Marie Harf of the State Department took questions from the press on a number of subjects, including rumors surrounding Shim’s death. According to the transcript:
QUESTION: Does the U.S. have any comment on reports the death of U.S. citizen Serena Shim in Turkey may be more than just a car crash, following her reports that ISIS militants are being smuggled across the Syrian border?
HARF: Yes. We can confirm that she died in Turkey on October 19th and extend our deepest condolences to her family and friends. Officials from the U.S. Consulate General in Adana are in contact with her family and providing all possible consular assistance. For any details or information about the investigation, I think local authorities in Turkey are handling that.
QUESTION: But I mean, the question was whether you believe that her death had anything other than to do than [sic] a car crash.
HARF: I just don’t have anything further for you than that.
QUESTION: Can you take the question?
HARF: I can, but I don’t think I’m going to have anything further.
On November 20th, the media again attempted to press for answers about Shim’s death during a daily briefing given by Jeff Rathke. Per the transcript:
QUESTION: It’s about the journalist Serena Shim, who died in Turkey under very suspicious circumstances. Did her death raise suspicions here at the State Department?
RATHKE: Well, I think we’ve spoken to this in the briefing room several weeks ago, after it happened. I don’t have anything to add to what the spokesperson said at the time, though.
QUESTION: But then she died several days after she claimed she had been threatened by the Turkish intelligence. Have you inquired about this? Have you asked questions? Is there really nothing new about this?
RATHKE: Well, I just don’t have any update to share with you. Again, this was raised shortly after her death. The spokesperson addressed it. I don’t have an update to share with you at this time.
This icy response sharply contrasts that given by the State for other ‘American’ journalists killed or captured in the area for whom President Obama’s administration appeared to react with care and criticism, such as with James Foley (who was beheaded by ISIS).
U.S. State Dept. spokesperson Mark Toner released a statement on Thursday concerning the arrests of Dünbar and Gül:
“We are troubled by the pre-trial arrest yesterday of senior editors of the respected Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet.
“The investigation, criminal charges, and arrest raise serious concerns about the Turkish government’s commitment to the fundamental principle of media freedom. These events are only the latest in a series of judicial and law enforcement actions taken under questionable circumstances against Turkish media outlets critical of the government.
“We call on Turkish authorities to ensure that all individuals and organizations — including but not limited to the media — are free to voice a full range of opinions and criticism, in accordance with Turkey’s constitutional guarantees of media freedom and freedom of expression.”
Most troubling in the silencing of Shim, Dünbar, Gül, and now Özkök are the very real consequences the verity of their reports of the Erdo?an government’s complicity in arming and aiding the Islamic State could have in NATO operations in the region. Should their separate, same discoveries have merit — and considering Erdo?an’s swift and heavy-handed reaction, they likely do — Turkey’s agenda stands at cross purposes with the supposed coalition goal of stunting ISIS. Even Vice President Joe Biden implicated Turkish involvement in the ISIS arms trade, though he apologized and essentially recanted that claim shortly afterwards.
Shortly after Shim’s mysterious death, the Daily Mail revealed video of Turkish border police having friendly interactions with ISIS fighters — apparently further evidence supporting the journalists’ claims.
The U.S. and other allies of Turkey quickly reacted in solidarity with the recent downing of a Russian jet that apparently breached Turkish air space — but is it possible that alliance isn’t as committed to ending ISIS’ growth as it purports to be? Though mostly unstated by the media and State, it has been widely and critically rumored U.S. involvement in the Syrian imbroglio has far more to do with deposing President Bashar al-Assad than leveling the burgeoning Islamic State.
In one of Shim’s final reports from her investigation, she revealed local Turkish populations near the Syrian border simply want an end to fighting. She disclosed many refugee camps in that border region were, in actuality, training camps for militants.
In interviews with local residents, it became clear Erdo?an’s stance on Assad — whom they claim the president used to call “our brother” — sharply reversed after consulting with U.S. officials.
According to Shim, locals stated, “We want Turkey and Syria to be friends again. We want the Syrian militants outside of Turkey’s territory.” She also explained locals “blame their government for the entire chaos taking place across the border [in Syria], calling their Prime Minister a ‘puppet of Israel and the United States.’”
Shim’s family is still waiting for information from the U.S. about her death. Judy Irish survived the deadly ‘accident,’ but so far has not come forward with any public statements about the incident. Press freedom in Turkey, meanwhile, has become a bit of an oxymoron.
Perhaps Voltaire said it best:
“To determine the true rulers of any society, all you must do is ask yourself this question: Who is it that I am not permitted to criticize?”
- 1368 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -


Chinese buffets are the cheapest in town. A penny saved is a penny earned. repeat customer discount.
PEKING KITTEN
Ingredients
1 Kitten
Honey
Hoisin Sauce
1 package Peking Kitten Pancakes
2 Bunches Scallions
1 Cucumber
Preparation Instructions
Carefully shave the fur off of the kitten.
Roast kitten per instructions on the kitten wrapper.
Poke holes in skin to allow fat to drain while roasting.
15 minutes before kitten is cooked, remove from oven and baste with honey. Then return kitten to oven.
Trim scallions, keeping only white and pale green parts.
Peel cucumber and slice lengthwise in thin segments.
Remove kitten from oven and carefully slice skin from the kitten into small segments (1x2 inches).
Carefully scrape any remaining fat from the kitten.
Carve kitten into small/thin meat segments.
Place pancakes on plate and add Hoisin sauce, kitten meat, kitten skin, scallions, and cucumber to taste.
Why don't "we in the USA" have journalists asking "Why did WTC7 fall down?". Is it because they might go to jail ... or be nail gunned? Or do we just not have any journalists who aren't "part of the problem"?
Some in fact are continuing to ask about WTC7. The present campaign by Architects and Engineers for 911 Truth, including placing a large billboard in Times Square, is a good example. See http://www.ae911truth.org/
Christopher Bollyn is another example. See http://www.bollyn.com/
They walk on water.
A&E for 911 truth are not journalists. And though they've collected lots of money and created some professional presentations and have traveled this country and Canada with their dog and pony show, they've been totally ineffective.
You can't have so much money and be that ineffective by accident.
I run an ongoing poll of people who know about WTC7. I show them the video and ask what they're looking at ... have they ever seen it before. Just last night I polled number 193 and 194. They knew nothing about it. Thus, those polled who know about it remains at just 15 ... less than 8%. Yet 100% polled knew about WTC1 and 2.
What stuns me is people's reaction to the news on being polled. No reaction!!! Try it yourself and see.
If there are any puppets in the room, then the biggest of all is the stooge OBAMA. To even think that this man is president, with presidential power to rule America is laughable om the face of it. That this black was elected is laughable.
America's elite in the CIA, NSA,AIPAC, Corporate Media, Pentagon, Wall Street and Money center Banks act together as the ruling cabal in America. Obama was chosen as a black face to divert attention from the polices they planned to use Obama to carry out over 4-8 years. Puppet Obama does as he is told. The elite rulers pull his strings. ISIS is a CIA asset.
Correct, Obama was selected president so that the USA could pretend to the electorate and the world to be a progressive liberal democracy. Nothing could be further from the truth and Obama does nothing more than read a prepared script.
Meanwhile the globalist agenda of weakening and controlling sovereign states through a combination of debt, corruption and trans-national agreements like the TPP continues unchecked.
Nyet, CIA only has liabilities in the long run of events yet to unfold.
Are we just going to ignore the fact that Voltaire never said that?
C'mon now, ZH. You're better than having to resort to fake quotes by respected individuals in history to make a point and get clicks. That's petty AF, and not why I read ZH. If I want that type of nonesense I'll go click on a sponsored "news" link on fuckbook.
While it is true that Voltaire did not actually write/say this, there seems to be little need to be a cunt about it.
It is widely misunderstood to be a genuine quote.
Doesnt really matter who actually had that thought.
Now, go try discussing Jewish Privilege at Brown and see how far you get in that bastion of 'progressive' thinking...
http://dissidentvoice.org/2014/09/does-jewishwhite-privilege-exist/
http://jewish-privilege.tumblr.com/post/123874780244/uncw-prof-vows-to-d...
That is such a bullshit response. I'm here holding ZH to the standard we all expect, it's why we're here.
It does matter who said it, that's why whoever made that quote decided to put voltaire's name at the end of it... Doing that bullshit works great when you agree with it. Will you say the same thing if it's a quote that isn't suitable to your beliefs? That fact of the matter is it isn't the TRUTH. Sorry, am I holding ZH to too high a standard? Is it too much to expect the very intelligent individuals that write these posts to do very simple fact checking? I agree with the quote, but using a fake quote to drive a point home is utter bs and done by the most disreputable news sites.
It bears repeating…
Does the source change the truth of the statement a single iota?
----
Psychotic Erdogan claims bar president ?#Elci? was killed by Kurds despite the fact the lawyer was an activist & defender. His 1000-room palace makes Hillary’s mansions look like Appalachia.
Yes, because context changes and validity changes.
If I claim Putin said their govt has had a history of mass killing of it's citizens and indifference to the deaths of their soldiers it that OK just because it is true but never said by Putin?
How many times are quotes attributed to those who never said them on ZH.
Does the source change the truth of the statement a single iota?
----
“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” —Voltaire 1765
You can relax now.
Also this British journalist died in Turkey recently under suspicious circumstances.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/19/jacqueline-sutton-foreign-o...
Erdogan is ISIS. Will these governments act accordingly?
“The investigation, criminal charges, and arrest raise serious concerns about the Turkish government’s commitment to the fundamental principle of media freedom." -- U.S. State Dept. spokesperson Mark Toner
When the US government has the ability to detain any person indefinately, without trial, I'm going to call Mark a lying sack of shit.
See NDAA.
MEDIA: THOUSANDS OF RUSSIAN TROOPS ARE DEPLOYED IN THE ARMENIAN-TURKISH BORDER (11/29/2015)
A new report by the Ministry of Defence, circulating in the Kremlin, says President Putin this morning ordered the 58th Army, with headquarters in the North Caucasus Military District, immediately deploy "choice" regiments and brigades electronic warfare, air defense systems, multiple launch rocket systems fire, anti-tank, infantry and artillery troops on the Turkish-Armenian border, which in total includes about 7,000 Russian military. According to the report, the legal component of the authorization for this massive combat deployment is associated with the joint agreement of the Russian-Armenian air defense system, which President Putin ordered signed on 11 November which will be finally signed this week by Prime Minister Medvedev. Since Armenia is now becoming an important part of a joint Russian air defense systems, the Russian Armed Forces will be able to withstand the threats from Turkey. It is also important to note, that these forces will be protected, as well as their colleagues working in Syria, the S-400 Triumf (NATO: SA-21 Growler) and electronic warfare systems Krasuha-4, which will give them almost complete control over 85 percent of the territory of Turkey.
http://beforeitsnews.com/conspiracy-theories/2015/11/us-gives-their-prox...
Ou boy - here we go... lizzard people site
Rothschild, Murdoch, Cheney & the Genie of Stolen Syrian Oil
http://theantimedia.org/what-rothschild-murdoch-cheney-and-israel-love-m...
Pay no attention to Biden's son being on the board of a ukrainian fas company!
http://time.com/2964493/ukraine-joe-biden-son-hunter-burisma/
'Killing civilians - okay when Kiev and Tel Aviv do it!'
http://www.herald.co.zw/killing-civilians-wests-irony-over-israel-ukraine/
Facts and logic. What are they and how do they work?
Reminding, the reason the US supports ISIL is Israel. Israel's sole agenda is anti-Iran. The Saudis and Al Qaeda/ISIL share the same agenda as Israel, hence their coalition. Israel-first traitors in the Obama/Clinton State Department, led by Victoria Nuland, have put our entire civilization at risk in furtherance of the Israeli agenda. Bear in mind Israel's narrow interests are not necessarily our own. Israel's plan is a two-stage game: eviscerate the secular dictators in the ME and replace them with Saudi-loyal terrorists, then, presumably, deal with the joihadists in the second stage. But please bear in mind, if one were to objectively compare Saudi Arabia with Iran, one would find Iran to be much more likely to civilize in a manner consistent with our western, more inclusive notions. Iran has elections and a Parliament- Saudi Arabia does not, and never will. Women have rifghts in Iran, including driving cars and working. Not so in Saudi Arabia. Women can travel free of their husbands in Iran, never so in Saudi Arabia. And there are synagogues in Iran and a Jew served in the Parliament there. Never so in Saudi Arabia, where a Jew can be beheaded for apostasy. So please know Israel has co-opted our foreign policy to our detriment. And please know the Jewish-controlled US media actively suppresses news flow here. There are stories so "hot" they never see the light of day. The media knew the IDF were embedded in the Maidan and that US tax dollars controlled by Nuland financed the coup. None of this was ever mentioned here. The media loves to report any story of an IDF soldier being held hostage, but not when he is held for commanding ISIL terrorists in Iraq. Think about this- active-duty IDF commanding ISIL. And not one word. Eventually, the citizens of France will realize Israel and Saudi Arabia financed the terrorists who attacked them. And they wiill realize the Jewish media enabled it all by covering up the truth. And even the citizens of Saudi Arabia will realize the same royal family that beheads them for minor crimes is comprised of cocaine-addicted homosexual princes with no intention of holding to any Wahabbist notions.
http://ftmdaily.com/what-jerry-thinks/whysyria/
http://leaksource.info/2015/01/17/the-yinon-plan-greater-israel-syria-ir...
read earlier stuff by you and want to thank you- having guys like you out who speaak to truth makes it easier to go to work in the morning.
Thanks Junerberno. Nicely put.
Turkey is a NATO member so that means at the current time they align with the West and not Assad. Turkey also plays it's own cards by letting ISIS fighters pass through. This sounds like sameO sameO in the Mid East to me. Turkey is and always has been a cross roads and plays that card in every hand.
Terrorist turkey apologist nappy headed douchebag RH.
The quote "To determine the true rulers..." is misattributed to Voltaire who never said that.
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Voltaire
Quote actually comes from whack job white supremacist
The statement "To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize" is often attributed to the writer Voltaire; this misquote is actually Strom's: he made the statement "To determine the true rulers of any society, all you must do is ask yourself this question: Who is it that I am not permitted to criticize?" in his program, "All America Must Know the Terror That is Upon Us" (1993). The misattributed quotation continues to spread across the Internet.[24]
"We've addressed that question previously" .... But NEVER ANSWERED IT
sorcha... http://www.whatdoesitmean.com/index1949.htm
There is a method to the elite's madness... http://incapp.org/blog/?p=2716
Yawn. Boring!
Of course you can criticize Israel. Anti-semitism is the oldest disinformation campaign our masters have going. It's Islam you can't criticize. Where are the boycott and divestment campaigns against Saudi Arabia?
Right on, man! You totally have to watch what you say about Arabs and Muslims but you can straight up hate on Jews and keep your job as head of a major Hollywood Studio.
And as Alex Jones (peace be upon him) said, the Ay-rabs straight up run Hollywood.
P.S. A little ot but Caitlyn Jenner is a brave and beautiful woman. A genuine American hero.
P.P.S. Why you gotta hate on the Saudis, though. By the way criticism of Saudi Arabia is racism against all Arabs, so, you know, let's maintain a safe space for dialogue without the hate, Mister!
You forgot the /sarc
Your ignorance prevents you from realizing that the israelis are the anti-semites as they are khazarian scum. The Palestinians are the semites.
Nail On The Nigger
thats a horrible racist name you have there
maybe you should create a new account under another name
first of all jews are not white
netanyahu is not a jew he is polish, looks more polish and his real name is mileikowsky
nor is anyone else jewish in israel
religion and believe wont make you a jew
if you call the banana apple it will not change the fact that the banana is a banana
the kazar theory is not true but it comes close to what todays jews in israel are - major east european whiterace mixed economic refugees and some criminals
there is not a single jew left who would count as a real jew
US-NATO Launch New Proxy War Front in Crimea, Neo-Nazis Bomb Electrical Grid Causing National Blackouts
http://21stcenturywire.com/2015/11/26/us-nato-launch-new-proxy-war-front...
http://www.rt.com/op-edge/316658-us-neocons-military-contractors/
https://consortiumnews.com/2015/01/24/nyt-is-lost-in-its-ukraine-propaga...
That quote by the Editor in Chief of Cumhuriyet, Can Dundar:
“what we have done here is an act of journalism,” is very true,
As George Orwell said: Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed, everything else is public relations,”
The press of most countries including the US is full of what is known as “Pressitudes,” or very well paid propagandists for the ruling elite
Fbi still working on that Hastings case... Right?
Everybody by now knows how fucked up Turkish government is. However I start questioning why I can never see a single critism about Russian government here on Zerohedge.
check out the 1999 Moscow apartment bombings!
Wouldnt it be great if there was a violent military coup
Give Erdogan and hs oil vrat the full Mussolini
erDOGan is a mafia ring leader