Turkish daily exposes transfer of weapons to IS
The feud between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his rivals in the Gulen movement is turning up news: Is there a link between exposure and the police raid of newspaper offices?
It was a day of intrigue in Turkey: police raids, weapons smuggling, political rivalries, terrorists — and Twitter.
On Sept. 1, police raided numerous news outlets, including one that happened to publish on that same day a report documenting weapons being transported from Turkey to the Islamic State (IS) in Syria with the knowledge of the local customs director.
The police searched more than 20 media organizations and commercial companies of Koza Ipek Holding, accusing owner Akin Ipek of being a terrorist leader. Some of Akin Ipek's media holdings are supportive of an ex-friend of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In requesting permission to search Koza Ipek premises, a public prosecutor said Akin Ipek “is a leader of Fetullahist Terror Organization [FETO]; his group of companies finance terrorism and conduct propaganda for the terror organization.” Ipek owns daily newspapers Bugun and Millet, and channels Bugun TV and Kanalturk TV. The outlets are known to speak favorably of the Gulen movement, which is led by Islamic scholar, Sunni religious figure and Erdogan enemy Fethullah Gulen. (The difference in spelling between Fetullahist and Fethullah Gulen is considered an intentional jab.)
