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Exclusive Turkish intelligence ‘threatened to disappear me,’ says Ankara politician

TURKISH intelligence services sent a chilling threat to an opposition politician warning that they could make her “disappear” at any time days after breaking into her house.

Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) executive member for Ankara Betul Koca told the Star that she was approached outside her house by the men who issued the warning because of her political activities.

Ms Koca explained that her family home in the capital had been raided four times this year alone. On the first occasion, the authorities abducted her mother and held her for five days as an “intimidation tactic.”

After police took her phone they added 180 of her contacts to a WhatsApp group, including her bosses, neighbours and teachers. They allegedly used the group to smear her character by telling lies.

She said that police also hacked her online CV and edited her past work experiences to include pornography.

On her birthday in May someone had cracked the password of their front door, entering the house to leave an empty box and some flowers. 

A car pulled up in front of her and a number of men got out of the vehicle and said they were Turkish intelligence agents. 

They warned that they could make her “disappear” and said they could get into her house at any time and she wouldn’t know.

Ms Koca told the Star that the Turkish state targeted her as they are “trying to prevent women from being subjects and to stop them from taking an active role in politics.

“I am visible in politics and that scares them.

“The HDP is a hope for Turkey, and they are trying to marginalise us,” she said, warning that the threats were also a political attack on the party.

“But it also highlights the weakness of the AKP [the ruling Justice and Development Party].”

“We are going through fascism in Turkey right now. There is no democracy here,” the HDP activist explained. “There are a lot of violations of rights and lives here and it is important for people to know.”

“Dictator Erdogan does not reflect the will of the people of Turkey. He should be exposed and what he says should not be taken seriously by the international community.”

In a press conference held earlier yesterday Ms Koca vowed not to be silenced by the threats.

“This attack is aimed at everyone who speaks out. Power has been corrupt for some time, because that is the ideology they feed off.

“Blackmail and threats are empty,” she said, adding: “We have learned from our history not to give up the struggle.”
 

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