A column titled “Makus Kaderden Kaçış Yok” [There is No Escape from the Ill Fate] dated 5 May 2020, by writer and publisher Ragıp Zarakolu was published in Evrensel Newspaper and Artı Gerçek website. Ahmet Özel, an attorney of the president, alleged that Zarakolu stated his desire for a coup by comparing Erdoğan with Adnan Menderes, a former prime minister who was executed after the 1960 military coup.
Both President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Fahrettin Altun, the presidency’s communications director, had filed a criminal complaint against Zarakolu after the article was published on May 5. Zarakolu is under investigation for “targeting the constitutional order by giving a coup message” over his column (7 May).
