Kars co-mayor Ayhan Bilgen receives death threat on social media

Ayhan Bilgen, the co-mayor of the eastern province of Kars, has received a death threat on social media, with a user sending a picture of bullets, while mentioning JİTEM, a clandestine gendarmerie intelligence unit responsible for dozens of unsolved murders, predominantly in the 1990s.

Duvar English

Ayhan Bilgen, the co-mayor of the eastern province of Kars, has received a death threat on social media.

The screenshot of the message was shared by Bişar Abdi Alınak, who is a lawyer and the son of prominent Kurdish politician Mahmut Alınak, saying that they will file a complaint over the threat.

"This is the result of a mentality that creates artificial agendas with its trolls and seeks to appoint trustees," Alınak said on May 16, referring to the government's crackdown on municipalities run by the Kurdish issue-focused Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).

Bilgen then quoted Alınak's tweet, saying that he remains defiant and not afraid.

In the death threat, the social media user put a picture of bullets with a message mentioning JİTEM, a clandestine gendarmerie intelligence unit responsible for dozens of unsolved murders, predominantly in the 1990s.

The user's profile also featured pictures of "Yeşil" code-named Mahmut Yıldırım, who is a well known figure in JİTEM for unsolved murders and torture.

HDP has structural problems it needs to solve, Ayhan Bilgen says after Şık's resignation
Man discovers massive Roman mosaic floor while gardening Turkish man dies by suicide after murdering two women on same day Turkey lifts visa requirement for six countries Record number of resident foreigners leave Turkey in 2023 Turkey's stray dogs rehomed abroad following new street clearance law Latest photos show extent of damage in out-of-use Atatürk Airport