Investigative journalist Metin Cihan says he won’t delete his tweets about a former Turkish Prime Minister’s son’s continued dealings with Israel, despite a court order.
Turkish investigative journalist Metin Cihan has said he will not delete his tweets on X (Twitter) about a former PM’s son’s dealings with Israel, despite a court ruling.
In his tweets, Cihan revealed that Erkam Yildirim, son of former Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, a close associate of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has continued to trade with Israel despite Erdogan’s party calling for a boycott of Israeli produce.
“I do not delete [Tweets]. Not claims, official sources available to everyone. That’s why you [the Yildirim family] could not even deny it. I responded to the reported [court] decision exactly like this,” Cihan said on X.
Cihan added that the judges had made a political decision. “It is not binding to me that you arrange judges [to make this decision]. I do not delete [Tweets] for Palestinian children,” Cihan added.
FreeWeb Turkey reported on Thursday that a court in Ankara had ordered Cihan to delete all his Tweets about Yildirim and his son, Erkam.
Cihan has been looking at Turkish trade with Israel since the war started between Hamas and Israel and has published his findings on his social media accounts.
Using open-source data, such the maritime trade archive, Cihan revealed that Turkish trade continues undisrupted, despite the government’s harsh stance against Israel, accusing it of genocide against Palestinians.
Members of Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party, AKP, have called for a boycott of Israeli products and several large rallies condenming Israel have been organised by the party and its allies.
But Cihan revealed that senior AKP members continue to trade with Israel, including Burak Erdogan, President Erdogan’s son, Erkam Yildirim and an AKP lawmaker, Vehbi Koc.
The Erdogan family sued Cihan for slander and insult on November 29 but did not directly deny claims about doing trade with Israel.
“While the attack on Gaza was continuing, we sent 400 ships to Israel. We shipped 4,000,000 tons. We provided fuel for the Israeli planes, clothing for its soldiers, and parts for its weapons. Thank God, we sent our prayers to the Palestinians. Do not forget Palestine,” Cihan wrote on X on December 7.
Cihan has been forced to live in exile in Germany due to several ongoing cases and investigations against him in Turkey.
He previously reported on the murder of a girl called Rabia Naz in Giresun province in 2018. It is claimed that senior AKP former defence minister Nurettin Canikli covered up the murder.
During the pandemic, Cihan also revealed that the Health Ministry was manipulating the data on COVID-19 cases. In 2022, Cihan revealed an Islamist youth NGO’s secretive ties to the government and to Erdogan’s family.