Turkish magazine critical of Erdoğan confiscated, editors arrested

ISTANBUL - Doğan News Agency

CİHAN photo

An Istanbul court has ordered the confiscation of the latest issue of Nokta magazine on the grounds that it “incites crime” due its cover, less than two months after it was first confiscated for “insulting the president.” The magazine’s editor-in-chief and chief news editor have been arrested. 

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation into the 24th issue of Nokta, which showed a picture of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on its cover, alongside the headline “Nov. 2, Monday: The beginning of Turkey’s civil war,” on charges of “overtly inciting people to commit crime” and “sedition.”

The Istanbul 5th Criminal Court of Peace ordered the collection and confiscation of all copies of the issue upon a request from the prosecutor.

The magazine’s editor-in-chief, Cevheri Güven, and its chief news editor, Murat Çapan, were arrested after being detained by police. 

Güven reportedly said in his testimony that Nokta’s editorial team outlined the cover before the Nov. 1 general election, anticipating a coalition rather than a single-party government.

“President Erdoğan is the most prominent figure in terms of the political authority and he is a leader designating politics. So we published a picture of him on the cover,” he said, adding that the editorial team predicted a chaotic atmosphere in a possible coalition and therefore opted for the “civil war” headline.

This is not the first time that Nokta has experienced legal trouble due to its front cover. On Sept. 14, police officers raided its headquarters in Istanbul’s Okmeydanı neighborhood over the cover of its 18th issue, which showed Erdoğan taking a selfie near a killed soldier’s coffin, on charges of “insulting the Turkish president” and “making terrorist propaganda.” 

The issue was confiscated at delivery centers, and Çapan was detained by police but later released on probation.