“Dissident Turkish journalists in Germany are followed, threatened”

Germany’s Federal Office for Criminal Police (BKA) and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) which is responsible for the domestic intelligence are on alert over the possible unrest that may be brought to the country due to the election environment in Turkey.

Pointing out that the developments regarding the extremists in Turkey had reflections on Germany through their extensions in the European county, BfV told Deutsche Welle Turkish that the dissident journalists in Germany are being followed and tried to be intimidated with threats.

“Our duty is to monitor and enlighten these activities and to determine the measures to be taken,” BfV said.

According to BKA and BfV, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) most effective work on elections in Germany is carried out by the International Democrats Union (UID), which is described as the party's foreign lobbying organization.

BfV said that events such as elections that affect and mobilize people emotionally have the potential to affect the supporters of Turkey-related extremist organizations in Germany.

Last month, Mustafa Acikgoz, a lawmaker from Erdogan’s AKP has urged an ultranationalist audience to “find and destroy the terrorists in the holes they’re hiding” in Germany, during an election speech in Neuss.

Addressing the supporters of Erdogan’s far right governing ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in Germany, Acikgoz urged them "to be vigilant" and "not to tolerate" members and sympathizers of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Gulen Movement, both designated as terrorist organizations by Ankara.

"We did not let them survive in Turkey. By God's will we'll find them in their holes wherever they are hiding in the world, and we'll destroy them. Don't you have any doubt about that. The only thing we need is our unity," he said.

Following the incident, German Foreign Ministry has summoned Turkey’s ambassador to Berlin, strongly denouncing AKP lawmaker’s speech, warning that those who do not “play by the rules” will suffer the consequences.

German prosecutors in Dusseldorf also has launched a probe into Acikgoz, investigating whether his remarks constitutes a criminal offense. Neuss city police also filed four criminal charges against the AKP politician.

In a January report, BfV said Turkish nationalist movement in Germany posed one of the greatest threats to the democratic order in the European country.

In an analysis published under the title "Turkish extreme right in Germany" on the website of the BfV, it was stated that the tendency towards violence in the Nationalist Movement (Grey Wolves) poses a threat to internal security in Germany.