A lawyer who is known for taking on the cases of Armenians has said he is being followed by suspicious people and fears that he could become the victim of an assassination attempt by “deep forces” in Turkey, the artıgerçek news website reported on Friday.
Lawyer Erdal Doğan posted some photos on Twitter on Thursday that showed two suspicious people in front of his law office in İstanbul on Dec. 24. Doğan said these two people were seeking information from reception as to when he comes to work and leaves and whether he would drop by his office that day as well as what his phone number was. These people, he said, come several times a day and try to gather information on him.
The lawyer said he notified the İstanbul police about the suspicious individuals and was given a security guard.
In remarks to artigerçek, Doğan said he was contacted by a suspicious person two-and-a-half years ago who told him to take on a specific divorce case, saying, “I have learned that you are accepting the cases of Armenians.”
The lawyer said he received death threats over social media when he joined as a co-plaintiff lawyer in the trial of the suspects in the Zirve Publishing House murder trial.
Three missionaries, German national Tillman Geske and two Turks, Necati Aydın and Uğur Yüksel, were tied up and tortured before their throats were slit at the Zirve Publishing House, a Christian publisher in Malatya, on April 18, 2007.
“We cannot cover up these things, seeing them as the work of some reckless people. These are the preparations for the coming period. … At this time when political and economic crises are deepening, deep, shadowy circles will make these crises worse. And it looks assassination attempts will not be limited to me,” Doğan said, calling on all Turkish authorities to take the necessary measures.