Pro-gov’t journalist calls for killing of Turkish businessman after UK rules out extradition
Pro-government Turkish journalist Emre Erciş has called on Turkey’s intelligence agency to abduct or exterminate critical businessman Akın İpek following a court verdict in the UK that rejected Ankara’s request for his extradition.
Posting a series of tweets shortly after the ruling, the Turkish journalist said that if the rule of law closes off all other avenues, there is only one way left to bring Ipek, who is a target of the government for his ties to Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, back to Turkey.
“First, find his location just like MOSSAD or the CIA, then abduct him if you can, or exterminate him if you cannot render him back to Turkey,” Erciş said.
On Wednesday a London court denied Turkey’s extradition request on the grounds that the case was politically motivated and that suspects face ill treatment in Turkey’s prisons.
Turkey has accused Ipek of a range of crimes, from financial fraud to financing terrorism, due to his links to Gülen. The regime in Turkey considers Gülen to be the mastermind of a coup attempt on July 15, 2016 in which 249 civilians were killed.
In reaction to the UK judgment, Erciş wrote: “The UK denied the extradition request of a Gülen network executive Akın İpek. This is not the first time the UK has protected a terrorist.”
According to the pro-government reporter, who is believed to have insider information from Turkey’s intelligence organization, that rejection creates legitimacy for abduction or extermination.
Following criticism on Twitter, Erciş deleted his series of tweets.