Last week Nokta ran an article based on what it said were excerpts from the diary of former Navy Commander Adm. Özden Örnek. The diary detailed plans of senior military officers to stage a coup to remove the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Friday's raid comes just one day after Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Büyükanıt said there were no records of the alleged coup plans in military archives. During Friday's raid the police gathered all staff at the magazine in the meeting room and confiscated all desktop and laptop computers in the office, located in the İncirli area of İstanbul's Bakırköy district, Nokta correspondent Ahmet Şık said in a statement he made shortly after the police arrived at the building. "What we wrote scared some people, I suppose. We haven't written anything that is untrue," he said.
Nokta Editor in Chief Alper Görmüş, who spoke to the press about two hours after being questioned, said the warrant referred to all news stories that have ever been prepared by Nokta as well as stories that the magazine is currently working on.
"The warrant was about the cover story in our 23rd issue," Görmüş told the reporters, saying that the article in question analyzed possible military influence in certain public movements that appear to be civilian on the surface. He also told reporters that the police could possibly confiscate the controversial diaries.
Speaking to reporters from other press agencies in front of Nokta's office as the police were continuing interrogation and search activities inside, magazine correspondent Şık said a large number of policemen, including officers from the financial police, were talking to Nokta owner Ayhan Durgun and Görmüş. "They told us they had a search warrant from the Bakırköy Prosecutor's Office."
Şık said the police gathered all had warned the staff not to contact anyone on the telephone or inform others about what was going on inside the building. Şık said he supposed the police were looking to find the 2,000-page electronic chronicles written by the former admiral.
Reports arriving later confirmed that the search warrant was granted by the prosecutor’s office in Istanbul’s Bakırköy district acting on behalf of the military prosecutor’s office. The Bakırköy prosecutor’s office is currently leading the only investigation on the case, acting on a complaint filed by the lawyers of alleged diary keeper Adm. Örnek.
In other words, it is investigating Nokta magazine and not the plotters. The raid was carried out by officers from the Bakırköy District Police Department, officials said. The raid came just one day after Gen. Büyükanıt said the military archives had no trace of a record suggesting that generals planned to overthrow the government at some point.
Former Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Özkök, speaking to the press earlier this week, neither confirmed nor denied that senior officers of the armed forces had discussed staging a military coup, something that convinced many skeptics of the plausibility of the diary allegations.
Although he did not confirm having information about the coup plans, he did not deny it, either. In addition he said the people making the claims had to be respected.
Reactions to the police raid from fellow members of the press and associations kept coming Friday afternoon. Press Council Chairman Oktay Ekşi said, “The police raid into Nokta magazine on a warrant said to be issued by the military prosecutor’s office is thought provoking for anyone who knows the realities of this country.”
Ekşi said the way the raid was carried out raised doubts as to its legality and whether its real purpose was to scare Nokta off.
The Turkey Journalists Association (TGC) also released a statement condemning the raid, saying it was against the country’s press laws.
Contemporary Journalists’ Association (ÇGD) President Ahmet Abakay condemned the police raid, saying, “This attitude is a new form of trampling underfoot freedom of thought and expression, which are already under pressure.”
A statement issued by the deputy chairman of the Freedom and Solidarity Party (ÖDP) said the raid was “unacceptable” in view of freedom of thought and freedom of the press. The statement also said prosecutors had to look into allegations about generals supporting a military takeover against the AK Party government.
Journalist Oral Çalışlar described the raid as an “extreme blow” dealt to freedom of the press. Journalist Mehmet Altan said the police raid was a “scandal” and commented, “This is most certainly not a portrait of what one would describe as a democracy.”
Benzer Haberler 
National
