Government pressure on Turkish journalists is nothing new. But now the country’s beleaguered press corps is faced with an altogether new threat: the Turkish mafia. Six journalists and the owner of Karar, a mildly oppositionist newspaper, were placed under police protection after a notorious organized crime boss, Alaattin Cakici, called on his men to “punish them,” which in mafia speak is code for murder.

Cakici, who is in prison serving a 19-year sentence for ordering the 1995 execution of his ex-wife, made the call on Twitter. Cakici wrote, “Wherever they are spotted they will be definitely punished. … This is my appeal to those who love me.” Prosecutors have opened an investigation, but an undeterred Cakici took his campaign to another level today, claiming that “certain” Karar writers were acting in cahoots with the “liberal” and “pro-NATO” Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu.

Cakici charged that Soylu and Karar were seeking to undermine the Turkish energy minister, Erdogan’s son-in-law Berat Albayrak. Cakici did not elaborate, noting merely that “problems” between Soylu and Albayrak were well-known. “Should the insults continue, I will take action,” Cakici warned. The power struggle Cakici was alluding to pits Albayrak against those thought to be loyal to ousted prime minister and former Erdogan ally Ahmet Davutoglu. They include several Karar columnists who featured on Cakici’s hit list.

Karar reporters said the mood at the newspaper remained “grim” and “nervous.” Some staff members demanded their desks be moved away from the windows because they felt exposed. “Above all, there is anger and dismay over the fact that the authorities are allowing the threats to continue,” a Karar source told Al-Monitor on condition that he not be identified by name. The source said they were heartened, however, that the chief prosecutor of Kirikkale province, where Cakici is being held, was reassigned to Ankara today, presumably over his handling of the Cakici affair. Readers and others continued to flock to the newspaper in a show of solidarity. Soylu is the only government official known to have contacted the newspaper to offer support.