Baris Terkoglu in Cumhuriyet: "Those Who Turned Up the Heat on Fatih Altaylı"

"During the FETÖ-led frame-up era, Erdoğan was cast as the most targeted leader since Atatürk. Claims of 342 foiled plots turned manufactured paranoia into legal ammunition."

Journalist Baris Terkoglu

Those Who Turned Up the Heat on Fatih Altaylı

June 23, 2025

by Baris Terkoglu¹ | Cumhuriyet

Sometimes, people walk themselves to their fate—some by committing injustice, others by enduring it. Today’s column was supposed to be something entirely different. In fact, I was supposed to be writing it somewhere entirely different.

But here we are. Classic Turkey.

Journalist Fatih Altaylı was detained after a snippet of his comments from his YouTube program was cut and shared out of context. Soon after, he was formally arrested. I ended up writing these lines on a plastic chair in the courthouse on a Sunday.

That morning, someone had asked Altaylı on his program:

“What do you think about the fact that 70% of the public is against lifetime presidency?”

His full response was just 143 seconds long. In it, he explained—using historical examples—that the Turkish people don’t like giving away their power. But by the afternoon, only 29 seconds of that response had been clipped and shared by President Erdoğan’s Chief Advisor, Oktay Saral. Not only that—Saral publicly threatened him, saying, “Your water’s starting to boil.”

By that evening, the water had boiled over. Altaylı was detained at his home.

Arrested With a Law That Doesn’t Exist

According to the prosecutor, the charge is this:

"A criminal investigation has been launched ex officio for threatening the President."

Most people—aside from legal scholars—wouldn’t even recognize this law. And frankly, even lawyers are puzzled. Because here’s the thing: there’s no such crime as "threatening the president" under the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).

Let me break it down.

Article 310 of the TCK covers assaults on the president.

• The first clause clearly states: “Anyone who attempts to assassinate the President shall receive aggravated life imprisonment.”

• The second clause is murkier. It says that for “other physical attacks,” the penalty is increased by half, and cannot be less than five years.

So yes—both clauses are about physical assaults. The law is meant to protect the president from bodily harm—attempted murder, beatings, etc.

But Altaylı’s comments—about how Ottoman sultans were deposed—were twisted to make it seem like he was threatening to harm President Erdoğan. Authorities then shoehorned it into Article 310 as if it qualified as one of these “other physical attacks.”

According to legal experts, this is a total misreading. Words—especially ones taken out of historical context—are not physical attacks.

And even the law's own definition of “threat” is clear:

"Anyone who threatens another person with an attack on their life, physical integrity, or sexual safety..."

In other words, for something to legally count as a threat, it has to be direct. “I will attack you.”

Telling a story about past rulers being overthrown is not a threat. It's history. And treating it like one violates not just the letter of the law—but its very spirit.

The Architects of the Operation

Why was this done? You might think the answer is obvious.

Fatih Altaylı runs the most-watched independent journalism channel on YouTube in Turkey. His audience dwarfs traditional TV viewership. And for a journalist with centrist credibility to directly challenge the government—consistently, loudly, and with reach—was already making certain factions inside the state uneasy.

Especially within the Presidency, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, and Turkey’s media regulator RTÜK, there had long been whispers from those eager to “turn up the heat.”

But here's the twist:

Altaylı isn’t a fringe figure.

To give you an idea: the historian Erhan Afyoncu, with whom Altaylı has co-hosted history shows referencing the Ottoman Empire, is now the rector of Turkey’s National Defense University. Another frequent guest, Murat Bardakçı, serves as a presidential advisor.

So any move against Altaylı risks stirring objections, even from within the establishment. That’s why the invented charge of “threatening the president”—a crime that doesn’t even exist in Turkish law—became such a useful pretext. It allowed authorities to detain him on a charge that carries “a minimum of five years in prison”, while discouraging dissent from those who might otherwise speak up.

In Turkey’s recent past, charges like “attempted assassination,” “threatening the president,” or “attacking the presidency” have proven powerful enough to freeze even security institutions in place.

The Pretext That Paralyzes the System

Want a real-world example?

Back during the infamous “kumpas (frame-up) trials”, FETÖ² member police officers constantly pushed the narrative that Erdoğan was under threat. On a state-run TV program they produced, “Büyük Takip”, they claimed Erdoğan had been targeted by more assassination plots than any leader since Atatürk or Sultan Abdulhamid.

According to Sabah newspaper on January 25, 2014, a staggering “342 assassination attempts” on Erdoğan had allegedly been thwarted since 2002. The Gülenist police even compiled a list of supposed plots and submitted it as evidence in the “Ergenekon trials”.³

Between 2005 and 2008, they claimed to have foiled 36 plots on their own. Eventually, this “constant threat to Erdoğan” narrative helped them entrench themselves throughout the system—until they launched a real assassination attempt on Erdoğan during the July 15, 2016 coup attempt.

So today, when someone is accused of “threatening Erdoğan with assassination,” it doesn’t just target that individual—it can paralyze the entire system. And that’s exactly what those looking to take down Fatih Altaylı have done:

they took a 29-second clip, distorted it beyond recognition, and manufactured a “threat” out of thin air.

Ironically, even the ones making the accusation don’t seem to believe it.

Because if they truly thought Altaylı was a threat to the President, would they really have waited all day to act?

At the end of the day, this heavy door marked “Justice” may carry little more than a nameplate right now— but one day, it will open onto a different fate.

Source: Fatih Altayli`nin Suyunu Isitanlar

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1. Barış Terkoğlu is a prominent investigative journalist and columnist in Turkey, known for his critical reporting and opposition stance. He has faced multiple legal cases and served time in prison, most notably in the OdaTV and MİT cases. Despite ongoing legal pressure, he continues to write for Cumhuriyet and co-authors several best-selling political books.

2. FETÖ (Fethullahist Terrorist Organization, also known as the Gulenist Cult Movement) is a group designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and led by Fethullah Gülen, who resides in Pennsylvania, United States. Initially organized as a religious movement, the group expanded its influence by establishing a strong presence in education, media, business, and state institutions. Turkey holds FETÖ responsible for the attempted coup on July 15, 2016, after which it officially declared the group a terrorist organization and a "parallel state structure". While some countries do not adopt the term FETÖ, the group’s activities have been banned within Turkey.

3. The "Balyoz" (Sledgehammer) case was a high-profile trial in which hundreds of Turkish military officers were accused of plotting a 2003 coup. The case was later discredited after evidence emerged that key documents were forged and witnesses manipulated. It is now widely recognized as a politically motivated FETÖ-led conspiracy aimed at weakening the military. All defendants were acquitted in 2015.