According to Zaman newspaper, Turkish security authorities have issued an arrest warrant of an opposition journalist from Birgün newspaper, named Erk Acarer, on charges of publishing information related to the killing of Turkish intelligence officers in Libya.
Acarer is the fifth journalist to be arrested. On March 9, a court in Istanbul had ruled to arrest Murat Ağırel, a columnist with Yeniçağ Daily newspaper, and Yeni Yaşam managing editor Ferhat Çelik and editor-in-chief Aydın Keser over news reports on the funeral of a high-ranking intelligence officer who was killed in Libya.
OdaTV news director Barış Terkoğlu and journalist Hülya Kılıç were also arrested after the outlet ran a news report and released images of the funeral in Manisa province. The court also ruled to block access to OdaTV’s website.
The sources revealed that Acarer has been living in Germany since April 2007.
According to Article 27 of the Intelligence Services Act and the National Intelligence Institution, Turkish journalists face numerous charges, including disclosing documents and information related to intelligence activities, after they revealed the identity of Turkish officers killed in military operations in Libya.
For example, Turkish journalist Murat published a report concerning the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) cover-up of the killing of high-ranking leaders of the Turkish army during clashes in Libya, specifically in the port of Tripoli, who were later buried secretly in their hometown in Turkey.
Turkish authorities detain journalists despite Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s recognition, last February, that several Turkish soldiers were killed during the fighting in Libya.
The government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has deployed troops to Libya to support the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in the capital, Tripoli, against the Libyan National Army, which backs a rival interim government based in the eastern port city of Tobruk.