1 Journalist Dead, 3 More Arrested After Exposing Turkey Arming Syrian ExtremistsBy Claire Bernish We have been arrested, tweeted Dndar on Thursday. Dont worry, these are medals of honor for us. He explained further: We are accused of spying. The president said treason. We are not traitors, spy [sic], or heroes; we are journalists. What we have done here is an act of journalism, said Dndar before testifying on Thursday.Of course, this prosecution will help enlighten how these incidents took place, rather than how we covered this story. Now a third Turkish journalist has been arrested, according to local reports. Erturul zkk, a reporter for Turkish daily Hriyet, has been arrested for a slanderous criticism of who is presumed to be Erdoan even though the president wasnt explicitly named anywhere in zkks article. As if more evidence of Turkeys quashing free press and free speech were needed , zkk potentially faces five years and four months in prison for expressing this opinion. Dndar and Ankara correspondent, Erdem Gl, if found guilty on charges of spying, as well as aiding a terrorist organization, could spend the rest of their lives in a Turkish prison for doing their job. There is a painfully ironic undercurrent in the charges considering the subject of the article is the Erdoan administrations complicity in arming Syrian extremists (read: terrorists). Erdoan himself sued Dndar and accused Cumhuriyet of releasing false information and spying when the story first exploded, stating at the time the journalist responsible would pay a heavy price, as the Wall Street Journalreported. Despite Cunhuriyets recent honor from Reporters Sans Frontires (RSF, or Reporters Without Borders), under the paranoid, watchful eye of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoan, journalists and dissenters have faced sweeping general censorship. Dndar and Gl might be the most prominent recent examples of Erdoans attempt to keep state secrets concealed from public scrutiny, but theyre not the first journalists to poke this particular sore spot. In fact, the last time a reporter tried to expose Turkeys complicity in arming Syrian extremists, she met an untimely and as-yet unexplained death under seriously suspicious circumstances that remain inscrutable to this day even to her own family. PressTV reporter Serena Shim, a U.S. citizen, had been investigating the flow of anti-Assad militants and weapons from Turkeys border region into northwestern Syria amidst heavy fighting near the town of Koban. During this time, she attracted the attention of Turkish Intelligence (MiT Mill stihbarat Tekilat). Though locals knew her and the integrity of her reporting, MiT proceeded to question them and requested her whereabouts under the unfounded guise Shim had been acting as a spy. In reality, Shim had uncovered evidence of secret Western assistance to the Islamic State a particularly touchy subject for Erdoan, as seen in the arrests of Dnbar and Gl. Her video evidence of this assistance reportedly proof of Islamic State terrorists using United Nations World Food Program vehicles for a convoy into Syria, likely akin to Dnbar and Gls discovery has never been recovered. Her passport and wedding ring, seized by Turkish authorities sometime after her death, have never been returned to her family. Serena Shim and her cousin, cameraperson Judy Irish, unlike the arguably more fortunate Dnbar and Gl, were ostensibly hit by a truck after turning into the opposite lane on a highway access road, as reported in wtfrly.com. Shim was killed, though discrepancies are plentiful in official reports, including whether she died at the scene or an hour later from heart failure in the hospital. Shim and Irish were inexplicably taken to hospitals over 25 miles apart from each other by Turkish military officials, not police, who investigated the wreck. After outrage from Shims family, Turkish authorities who first claimed they were unable to locate the vehicle responsible for hitting Shim and Irish eventually produced photos of the accident, which they then claimed had been caused by a cement truck driver. Shims family has yet to receive answers from either Turkish or U.S. authorities about her dubious demise. On October 20, 2014, Marie Harf of the State Department took questions from the press on a number of subjects, including rumors surrounding Shims death. According to the transcript: QUESTION: Does the U.S. have any comment on reports the death of U.S. citizen Serena Shim in Turkey may be more than just a car crash, following her reports that ISIS militants are being smuggled across the Syrian border? HARF: Yes. We can confirm that she died in Turkey on October 19th and extend our deepest condolences to her family and friends. Officials from the U.S. Consulate General in Adana are in contact with her family and providing all possible consular assistance. For any details or information about the investigation, I think local authorities in Turkey are handling that. QUESTION: But I mean, the question was whether you believe that her death had anything other than to do than [sic] a car crash. HARF: I just dont have anything further for you than that. QUESTION: Can you take the question? HARF: I can, but I dont think Im going to have anything further. On November 20th, the media again attempted to press for answers about Shims death during a daily briefing given by Jeff Rathke. Per the transcript: QUESTION: Its about the journalist Serena Shim, who died in Turkey under very suspicious circumstances. Did her death raise suspicions here at the State Department? RATHKE: Well, I think weve spoken to this in the briefing room several weeks ago, after it happened. I dont have anything to add to what the spokesperson said at the time, though. QUESTION: But then she died several days after she claimed she had been threatened by the Turkish intelligence. Have you inquired about this? Have you asked questions? Is there really nothing new about this? RATHKE: Well, I just dont have any update to share with you. Again, this was raised shortly after her death. The spokesperson addressed it. I dont have an update to share with you at this time. This icy response sharply contrasts that given by the State for other American journalists killed or captured in the area for whom President Obamas administration appeared to react with care and criticism, such as withJames Foley (who was beheaded by ISIS). U.S. State Dept. spokesperson Mark Toner released a statement on Thursday concerning the arrests of Dnbar and Gl: We are troubled by the pre-trial arrest yesterday of senior editors of the respected Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet. The investigation, criminal charges, and arrest raise serious concerns about the Turkish governments commitment to the fundamental principle of media freedom. These events are only the latest in a series of judicial and law enforcement actions taken under questionable circumstances against Turkish media outlets critical of the government. We call on Turkish authorities to ensure that all individuals and organizations including but not limited to the media are free to voice a full range of opinions and criticism, in accordance with Turkeys constitutional guarantees of media freedom and freedom of expression. Most troubling in the silencing of Shim, Dnbar, Gl, and now zkk are the very real consequences the verity of their reports of the Erdoan governments complicity in arming and aiding the Islamic State could have in NATO operations in the region. Should their separate, same discoveries have merit and considering Erdoans swift and heavy-handed reaction, they likely do Turkeys agenda stands at cross purposes with the supposed coalition goal of stunting ISIL. Even Vice President Joe Biden implicated Turkish involvement in the ISIS arms trade, though he apologized and essentially recanted that claim shortly afterwards. Shortly after Shims mysterious death, the Daily Mail revealed video of Turkish border police having friendly interactions with ISISfighters apparently further evidence supporting the journalists claims. The U.S. and other allies of Turkey quickly reacted in solidarity with the recent downing of a Russian jet that apparently breached Turkish air space but is it possible that alliance isnt as committed to ending ISIS growth as it purports to be? Though mostly unstated by the media and State, it has been widely and critically rumoredU.S. involvement in the Syrian imbroglio has far more to do with deposing President Bashar al-Assad than leveling the burgeoning Islamic State. In one of Shims final reports from her investigation, she revealed local Turkish populations near the Syrian border simply want an end to fighting. She disclosed many refugee camps in that border region were, in actuality, training camps for militants. In interviews with local residents, it became clear Erdoans stance on Assad whom they claim the president used to call our brother sharply reversed after consulting with U.S. officials. According to Shim, locals stated, We want Turkey and Syria to be friends again. We want the Syrian militants outside of Turkeys territory. She also explained locals blame their government for the entire chaos taking place across the border [in Syria], calling their Prime Minister a puppet of Israel and the United States. Shims family is still waiting for information from the U.S. about her death. Judy Irish survived the deadly accident, but so far has not come forward with any public statements about the incident. Press freedom in Turkey, meanwhile, has become a bit of an oxymoron. Perhaps Voltaire said it best: To determine the true rulers of any society, all you must do is ask yourself this question: Who is it that I am not permitted to criticize? This article (1 Journalist Dead, 3 More Arrested After Exposing Turkey Arming Syrian Extremists) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under aCreative Commons license with attribution to Claire Bernish and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, email edits@theantimedia.org. What do you expect from a bunch of MUSLIM LOVING TUYRKs who follow OBOOOMA the magnificent FARCE along with his MUSLIM BUDDIES of the BROTHERHOOD . ////////////// The mere charges against these journalists of espionage and revealing state secrets, or for defaming a state officer, allegedly Erdogan, that Turkey is arming Al Nusra (read Al Qaeda) and/or ISIS is proof that the reported facts are true.Turkey must be expelled from NATO and have its nukes removed and denied all access to EU and US money and scrap its petition for visas and for membership in the EU. The killing of Shim and Irish should be deemed a crime against humanity because freedom of press is a human right.Erdogan must be prosecuted. All presidential candidates with their silence on this matter are conspiring against the truth and our civil rights. A gangster state. 