Media rights groups on Sunday urged&nbsp;Turkish&nbsp;authorities to investigate explosive allegations by a mafia boss about the high-profile&nbsp;killings&nbsp;of two&nbsp;journalists&nbsp;in the 1990s. &nbsp;

Sedat Peker, an underworld mobster exiled abroad, has accused members of the government and the ruling AKP party of corruption and various crimes in a series of YouTube posts over the past three weeks.

In the latest, released on Sunday, he alleges former interior minister Mehmet Agar was the head of the "deep state" in Turkey, and alleges Agar was involved in the 1993 murder of prominent investigative journalist Ugur Mumcu.&nbsp;

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/record-number-of-journalists-jailed-in-2020-china-leads-list-of-offenders-report-349920">Record number of journalists jailed in 2020, China leads list of offenders: Report</a>

Mumcu, who wrote for the Cumhuriyet daily, was killed in the capital Ankara after somebody rigged his car to explode when he switched on the ignition.&nbsp;The perpetrators were never identified.

In his video recording, Peker described Mumcu as a "martyr" and an "honourable man".

The mafia boss also claimed the murder of&nbsp;Turkish&nbsp;Cypriot journalist Kutlu Adali had been ordered by a former lieutenant colonel and a senior official of the National Intelligence Organisation (MIT), Korkut Eken.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/forgive-those-who-killed-our-father-sons-of-killed-saudi-journalist-jamal-khashoggi-300279">'Forgive those who killed our father': Sons of killed Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi</a>

Adali, who worked for the left-wing Yeni Duzen newspaper in Nicosia, was shot dead in front of his home in 1996. His killers have never been identified.

Calls to investigate

Erol Onderoglu, Turkey representative for Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said Peker's allegations needed to be investigated.&nbsp;

The truth about the&nbsp;killings&nbsp;of&nbsp;journalists&nbsp;in the 1990s had been "swept under the rug", he tweeted.

"Peker's legitimacy or position does not justify silence. #Impunity," he added.

The&nbsp;Turkish&nbsp;Journalists' Union called for answers Sunday.

"We want an investigation&nbsp;into&nbsp;the #UgurMumcu and #KutluAdali murders," the union tweeted.

"We demand that the suspects be put on trial. We&nbsp;call&nbsp;on prosecutors to do their duty."

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🧱 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/U%C4%9FurMumcu?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UğurMumcu</a> ve <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KutluAdal%C4%B1?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KutluAdalı</a> cinayetlerine dair iddiaların soruşturulmasını istiyoruz. Şüphelilerin yargılanmasını talep ediyoruz. Savcıları göreve çağırıyoruz. Tuğla çekilsin, duvar yıkılsın! <a href="https://t.co/viPBLSpqyv">pic.twitter.com/viPBLSpqyv</a>
— Gazeteciler Sendikası (@TGS_org_tr) <a href="https://twitter.com/TGS_org_tr/status/1396401949289877508?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Peker, 50, who has been jailed several times for a range of offences, from fraud to running a criminal group, fled Turkey in 2020 to avoid prosecution and is thought to be currently living in the United Arab Emirates.

Since then, he has released a spate of videos in which he claims to expose state-media-mafia links after police operations against him and his associates across the country in April.

In one, he accuses Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu of having offered him protection and of having tipped him off about an impending investigation against him last year, which allowed him to flee before being arrested.

Soylu is one of the most powerful figures in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government. Despite pressure from the opposition to resign, he has dismissed Peker's allegations.

A journalist for Turkey's state news agency Anadolu was fired Friday after raising Peker's claims against the interior minister at a government press conference with other ministers.

Fahrettin Altun, the&nbsp;Turkish&nbsp;presidency's director of communications, wrote on Twitter: "Those who seek to harm the respectability of our state will pay the price."

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Yalan, iftira ve yapay krizlerle gündemi kuşatma altına almaya çalışanlar şimdi de 6 ay sonrası için boş vaatler vermeye başladı. 
 
Seçimlerin tarihi bellidir. 
 
6 ay sonra ne olacak ki böylesine cüretkâr sözler söyleyebiliyorsunuz? 
 
Hayırdır! 
 
Yine kimlerin dolduruşuna geldiniz?
— Fahrettin Altun (@fahrettinaltun) <a href="https://twitter.com/fahrettinaltun/status/1396196179264823305?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2021</a></blockquote>
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There was no immediate reaction to the latest claims.&nbsp;

Some commentators refer to what they&nbsp;call&nbsp;the workings of the "deep state" — derin devlet in&nbsp;Turkish&nbsp;— to talk about a shadowy structure alleged to exist with links between politicians, secret services, mafia and extremist groups.

Media rights groups on Sunday urged Turkish authorities to investigate explosive allegations by a mafia boss about the high-profile killings of two journalists in the 1990s.

Media rights groups on Sunday urged Turkish authorities to investigate explosive allegations by a mafia boss about the high-profile killings of two journalists in the 1990s. Sedat Peker, an underworld mobster exiled abroad, has accused members of the government and the ruling AKP party of corruption and various crimes in a series of YouTube posts over the past three weeks. In the latest, released on Sunday, he alleges former interior minister Mehmet Agar was the head of the "deep state" in Turkey, and alleges Agar was involved in the 1993 murder of prominent investigative journalist Ugur Mumcu. Also Read | Record number of journalists jailed in 2020, China leads list of offenders: Report Mumcu, who wrote for the Cumhuriyet daily, was killed in the capital Ankara after somebody rigged his car to explode when he switched on the ignition. The perpetrators were never identified. In his video recording, Peker described Mumcu as a "martyr" and an "honourable man". The mafia boss also claimed the murder of Turkish Cypriot journalist Kutlu Adali had been ordered by a former lieutenant colonel and a senior official of the National Intelligence Organisation (MIT), Korkut Eken. Also Read | 'Forgive those who killed our father': Sons of killed Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi Adali, who worked for the left-wing Yeni Duzen newspaper in Nicosia, was shot dead in front of his home in 1996. His killers have never been identified. Calls to investigate Erol Onderoglu, Turkey representative for Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said Peker's allegations needed to be investigated. The truth about the killings of journalists in the 1990s had been "swept under the rug", he tweeted. "Peker's legitimacy or position does not justify silence. #Impunity," he added. The Turkish Journalists' Union called for answers Sunday. "We want an investigation into the #UgurMumcu and #KutluAdali murders," the union tweeted. "We demand that the suspects be put on trial. We call on prosecutors to do their duty." 🧱 #UğurMumcu ve #KutluAdalı cinayetlerine dair iddiaların soruşturulmasını istiyoruz. Şüphelilerin yargılanmasını talep ediyoruz. Savcıları göreve çağırıyoruz. Tuğla çekilsin, duvar yıkılsın! pic.twitter.com/viPBLSpqyv — Gazeteciler Sendikası (@TGS_org_tr) May 23, 2021 × Peker, 50, who has been jailed several times for a range of offences, from fraud to running a criminal group, fled Turkey in 2020 to avoid prosecution and is thought to be currently living in the United Arab Emirates. Since then, he has released a spate of videos in which he claims to expose state-media-mafia links after police operations against him and his associates across the country in April. In one, he accuses Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu of having offered him protection and of having tipped him off about an impending investigation against him last year, which allowed him to flee before being arrested. Soylu is one of the most powerful figures in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government. Despite pressure from the opposition to resign, he has dismissed Peker's allegations. A journalist for Turkey's state news agency Anadolu was fired Friday after raising Peker's claims against the interior minister at a government press conference with other ministers. Fahrettin Altun, the Turkish presidency's director of communications, wrote on Twitter: "Those who seek to harm the respectability of our state will pay the price." Yalan, iftira ve yapay krizlerle gündemi kuşatma altına almaya çalışanlar şimdi de 6 ay sonrası için boş vaatler vermeye başladı. Seçimlerin tarihi bellidir. 6 ay sonra ne olacak ki böylesine cüretkâr sözler söyleyebiliyorsunuz? Hayırdır! Yine kimlerin dolduruşuna geldiniz? — Fahrettin Altun (@fahrettinaltun) May 22, 2021 × There was no immediate reaction to the latest claims. Some commentators refer to what they call the workings of the "deep state" — derin devlet in Turkish — to talk about a shadowy structure alleged to exist with links between politicians, secret services, mafia and extremist groups.

Activists call for fresh probe into killings of Turkish journalists

A prominent journalist in Turkey has been arrested for tweeting and writing articles that have been deemed as disrespectful to the Turkish republic, the state media said, as there is a growing crack down on press freedom.

Ahmet Sik, a prize-winning journalist, has been accused of &quot;making terror propaganda&quot; and denigrating the institutions of the country, including the judiciary.

Sik confirmed his arrest on Twitter.

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G&ouml;zaltina aliniyorum. Bir twittle ilgili olarak savciliga g&ouml;t&uuml;r&uuml;lecekmisim.
&mdash; ahmet sik (@sahmetsahmet) <a href="https://twitter.com/sahmetsahmet/status/814334190376419328">December 29, 2016</a></blockquote>
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The tweet roughly translates into: &quot;I am being taken into custody.&quot;

His arrest comes after he tweeted&nbsp;about the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), as well as articles for the Cumhuriyet opposition daily that criticised the Turkish secret services.

This is not the first time Sik has run into trouble with the law. He was jailed as part of the Oda TV case in 2011. Sik spent 375 days in prison for allegedly being close to an ultra-nationalist party called Ergenekon.

He was also under the scanner for penning a book, titled &quot;The Imam&#39;s Army&quot;, which focused on how US-based preacher&nbsp;Fethullah G&uuml;len&nbsp;breached the police and the judiciary over three decades to form an alternate state structure. Gulen has been accused by the Turkish government of plotting to oust them in July 2016.

The book did not see the light of day as the government banned the book. But in an act of anti-censorship defiance, the book was released under the name&nbsp;000Kitap&nbsp;(000Book).

Sik also exposed the close ties enjoyed between Turkey President Recep Erdogan and Gulen before the failed coup plot -- an issue that has got the government hot under its collar. The government has failed to explain the sudden fallout with the preacher, who is now viewed by the establishment as an Islamist.

According to DW.com, Sik had tweeted to his 550,000 followers: &quot;The Gulen movement and AKP are both complicit in crime. Fethullah Gulen and Recep Tayyip Erdogan should be tried together.&quot;

He has won numerous awards, including the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize in 2014.

Activists worry of a drastically worsening climate for journalists in Turkey, in particular amid the state of emergency imposed in the wake of the coup.

According to the P24 Platform for Independent Journalism, 118 journalists have been arrested in the state of emergency, 80 of them within the coup probe.

(WION with inputs from AFP)

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Ahmet Sik, one of the best-known journalists in the country, was detained on accusations of denigrating the Turkish Republic

A prominent journalist in Turkey has been arrested for tweeting and writing articles that have been deemed as disrespectful to the Turkish republic, the state media said, as there is a growing crack down on press freedom. Ahmet Sik, a prize-winning journalist, has been accused of "making terror propaganda" and denigrating the institutions of the country, including the judiciary. Sik confirmed his arrest on Twitter. Gözaltina aliniyorum. Bir twittle ilgili olarak savciliga götürülecekmisim. — ahmet sik (@sahmetsahmet) December 29, 2016 × The tweet roughly translates into: "I am being taken into custody." His arrest comes after he tweeted about the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), as well as articles for the Cumhuriyet opposition daily that criticised the Turkish secret services. This is not the first time Sik has run into trouble with the law. He was jailed as part of the Oda TV case in 2011. Sik spent 375 days in prison for allegedly being close to an ultra-nationalist party called Ergenekon. He was also under the scanner for penning a book, titled "The Imam's Army", which focused on how US-based preacher Fethullah Gülen breached the police and the judiciary over three decades to form an alternate state structure. Gulen has been accused by the Turkish government of plotting to oust them in July 2016. The book did not see the light of day as the government banned the book. But in an act of anti-censorship defiance, the book was released under the name 000Kitap (000Book). Sik also exposed the close ties enjoyed between Turkey President Recep Erdogan and Gulen before the failed coup plot -- an issue that has got the government hot under its collar. The government has failed to explain the sudden fallout with the preacher, who is now viewed by the establishment as an Islamist. According to DW.com, Sik had tweeted to his 550,000 followers: "The Gulen movement and AKP are both complicit in crime. Fethullah Gulen and Recep Tayyip Erdogan should be tried together." He has won numerous awards, including the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize in 2014. Activists worry of a drastically worsening climate for journalists in Turkey, in particular amid the state of emergency imposed in the wake of the coup. According to the P24 Platform for Independent Journalism, 118 journalists have been arrested in the state of emergency, 80 of them within the coup probe. (WION with inputs from AFP)

Turkey: Prominent journalist arrested for 'terror propaganda' tweets

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Activists call for fresh probe into killings of Turkish journalists

Turkey: Prominent journalist arrested for 'terror propaganda' tweets