Inquiry focuses on Gülenists in murder of another journalist
Haydar Meriç was a journalist running a local news portal in the northwestern city of Kırklareli when he disappeared and was later found dead. Initially thought to be a simple homicide, Meriç's murder is being investigated again five years after his killing over the possible role of the Gülenist terror cult, FETÖ, in the murder. Meriçwas working on an expose of Fethullah Gülen, the leader of the cult, who worked as a preacher in Kırklareli before he rose to prominence as the leader of the terror group accused of masterminding the July 15 coup attempt.
New findings show that Meriç, whose corpse was discovered at sea, may have been thrown out of a helicopter or a plane while still alive, and a suspicious coincidence shows a tycoon running an aviation company may have had a role in the plot to kill Meriç. The findings reported by the Sabah newspaper point to a new autopsy report showing Meriç actually died from a fall into the sea and discovery of the signal of a cell phone owned by businessman Faruk Bayındır in an area where Meriç made his last phone call before disappearing. Bayındır, who remains at large after police issued an arrest warrant on charges of FETÖ membership, was the owner of a website where sex tapes of several opposition politicians were published, in a case blamed on FETÖ.
Dozens of police officers have already been detained for the 2011 killing of Meriç, who was planning to write a book about Gülen's affairs during the latter's tenure as a preacher in the city in the 1960s. Anadolu Agency (AA) has reported that Meriç was wiretapped by police officers linked to the Gülenist terror cult after his criticism of FETÖ and his book plan was eventually found out, leading to the murder.
Speaking to the Sabah newspaper, Meriç's brother Hikmet said the victim was receiving phone calls threatening him not to write the book. Hikmet Meriç said police officers, possibly linked to Gülenists, told him to give up pursuing the process to capture his brother's killers.
Haydar Meriç being a possible victim of Gülenist officers was first mentioned by former Police Chief Hanefi Avcı, who faced imprisonment on trumped-up charges after he himself wrote an expose of Gülenist infiltration in law enforcement. Avcı implied in an interview that Gülenists involved in law enforcement were involved in the murders of Meriç and Professor Necip Hablemitoğlu, another author who was shot dead in 2002 before he completed a comprehensive book about Gülenists.
Meriç's murder is the latest murder of a journalist blamed on FETÖ. Hrant Dink, editor-in-chief of a Turkish-Armenian daily, was killed in broad daylight in Istanbul in 2007 in a murder plot allegedly devised by the terror cult to stoke racial tensions in Turkey. Former police chiefs accused of covering up intelligence reports on the murder plot remain in custody.
New findings show that Meriç, whose corpse was discovered at sea, may have been thrown out of a helicopter or a plane while still alive, and a suspicious coincidence shows a tycoon running an aviation company may have had a role in the plot to kill Meriç. The findings reported by the Sabah newspaper point to a new autopsy report showing Meriç actually died from a fall into the sea and discovery of the signal of a cell phone owned by businessman Faruk Bayındır in an area where Meriç made his last phone call before disappearing. Bayındır, who remains at large after police issued an arrest warrant on charges of FETÖ membership, was the owner of a website where sex tapes of several opposition politicians were published, in a case blamed on FETÖ.
Dozens of police officers have already been detained for the 2011 killing of Meriç, who was planning to write a book about Gülen's affairs during the latter's tenure as a preacher in the city in the 1960s. Anadolu Agency (AA) has reported that Meriç was wiretapped by police officers linked to the Gülenist terror cult after his criticism of FETÖ and his book plan was eventually found out, leading to the murder.
Speaking to the Sabah newspaper, Meriç's brother Hikmet said the victim was receiving phone calls threatening him not to write the book. Hikmet Meriç said police officers, possibly linked to Gülenists, told him to give up pursuing the process to capture his brother's killers.
Haydar Meriç being a possible victim of Gülenist officers was first mentioned by former Police Chief Hanefi Avcı, who faced imprisonment on trumped-up charges after he himself wrote an expose of Gülenist infiltration in law enforcement. Avcı implied in an interview that Gülenists involved in law enforcement were involved in the murders of Meriç and Professor Necip Hablemitoğlu, another author who was shot dead in 2002 before he completed a comprehensive book about Gülenists.
Meriç's murder is the latest murder of a journalist blamed on FETÖ. Hrant Dink, editor-in-chief of a Turkish-Armenian daily, was killed in broad daylight in Istanbul in 2007 in a murder plot allegedly devised by the terror cult to stoke racial tensions in Turkey. Former police chiefs accused of covering up intelligence reports on the murder plot remain in custody.