FOX TV Turkey anchor Fatih Portakal, a critic of the government, was investigated in the past by a prosecutor over links to the faith-based Gülen movement, the pro-government media reported on Thursday.
Portakal was questioned by a counterterrorism unit since the movement is designated as a terrorist organization and is accused of masterminding a failed coup in July 2016.
The Fox anchorman was the subject of an investigation due to text messages he sent to the former editor-in-chief of the Zaman newspaper, Ekrem Dumanlı, in 2015 conveying his condolences for the death of Dumanlı’s father.
Zaman was affiliated with the Gülen movement, and in the wake of the failed coup any connection to the paper was considered terrorism.
The investigation into Portakal was subsequently dropped.
The FOX TV anchorman is a strong critic of the Gülen movement and refers to it as “FETÖ,” a derogatory acronym coined by the government, during daily news bulletins.