Journalist Altan Sancar threatened at gunpoint

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Threatened at gunpoint, journalist Altan Sancar has spoken to bianet, underlining that "while our several fellow journalists are in prison, arrested, he does not want to come up with an incident like this".

Working for Diken news website and living in Ankara, Sancar has noted that he was threatened twice via the press and on social media before, but the criminal complaints about these incidents have remained inconclusive. According to Sancar, impunity shows that threats will continue.

In the recent incident, he was threatened by unidentified and armed people yesterday evening (March 22) in Turkey's Kurdish-majority southeastern province of Diyarbakır, where he went to visit his family.

Coming to the Eğil Chief Public Prosecutor's Office this morning, Altan Sancar has filed a criminal complaint about the incident.

In his criminal complaint, Sancar has requested that the cameras at the scene of the incident be examined and the suspects be identified.

He was threatened

In his criminal complaint to the prosecutor's office, journalist Altan Sancar has recounted the incident in the following words:

"While I was driving from Diyarbakır to the Eğil district, I was intercepted before I came to the junction leading to the Dicle (Tigris) Dam at around 12.15-12:30 am by a dark-colored vehicle which I saw that did not have a license plate and I assumed to be a Ford Focus.

"Two people, one from the back door and the other from the seat next to the driver, got off and came to me. As I thought they were from the district or villagers, I opened the window and asked, 'What happened?'.

"The person who came towards the open window, who was well-dressed and shaved, as far as I could see, and was speaking a good Turkish, told me in response to my question, 'You have stretched your leg way too much; behave'. In the meantime, he was making his revolver-type weapon visible under his coat, which was at his waistband and open.

"Seeing the weapon and affected by what he said, I asked, 'Who are you, what do you want?'. He repeated his words and walked to the vehicle.

"The vehicle that the two people got on waited for 30-40 seconds and went towards Eğil. Shocked by the incident, I stayed at the scene of the incident for a few minutes. Then, I turned around from the scene of the incident and went to the house of my parents in central Diyarbakır".

Journalist Altan Sancar has said that he has been a journalist reporting news for the public good with his open identity for nine years and added that he is "worried about his life". Sancar has demanded that the ones who threatened him be found and penalized. (AS/SD)

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