Al-Rajhi reveals an attempt by Turkish intelligence to compel him to act as an informant against journalists opposed to the Brotherhood
English - Tuesday 01 June 2021 الساعة 09:38 am
Aden, NewsYemen:
Yemeni journalist Adnan Al-Rajhi, who was subjected to brutal torture by Turkish security, revealed the reasons and details of the Turkish authorities' interrogations of him, which began in June 2018 and until his arrest.
This came in a lengthy post by Al-Rajhi, who was working as a news producer for Bilqis channel in Istanbul, which he published on Sunday on his Facebook account.
In his post, Al-Rajhi accused the Turkish intelligence of trying to force him to recruit him to work for its benefit as an informant against Yemeni journalists, activists and government officials inside and outside Turkey, confirming his refusal to do so despite the temptation with money and the threat of death.
Regarding the tasks that the intelligence wanted him to carry out, Al-Rajhi confirmed that it asked him to attract people and colleagues and invite them to spend the vacation in Istanbul, and to give information about journalists in Turkey, Egypt and the Gulf, Yemeni journalists who oppose the Muslim Brotherhood and Qatar, and support the Arab coalition.
It also asked him to identify pictures of people, including colleagues at work (Belqis Channel) and other people he did not know, stressing his refusal to disclose the nature of their work and their political orientations.
He explained that he was summoned to meet with Turkish investigators in several restaurants and hotels in Istanbul, including one of the closed and isolated rooms in the ground floor of the Point Hotel in the (Besiktas) area overlooking the Bosphorus.
Al-Rajhi reviewed the methods of intimidation that were used to force him to refuse to accept the offer that I made to work in her favor, including aiming weapons at his head, using police dogs, threatening to transfer him to Sanaa, and fabricating several charges, including (intelligence and terrorism) "which are the same charges that former Yemenis as well as Arab residents were subjected to. In Turkey, this is what I found in prison. "
He pointed out that during one of the interrogations that lasted until October 2019, he was forbidden to speak on social media, especially criticizing people and leaders affiliated with the Islah party, especially those residing in Turkey, as well as not criticizing (Al-Houthi).
He described the last interrogation carefully prepared by saying, "The horrific thing was revealed to me by the state, which turns into a gang to terrorize people and assassinate them physically and morally on false and unjust charges," indicating that he wished death due to the difficulty of the situation.
He added, "This interrogation asked me by force and under the threat of weapons and police dogs to talk through written words that I was spying on the Muslim Brotherhood (Yemen Branch), so they wrote on the paper, and to spy on the workplace and institutions affiliated with the Brotherhood for the benefit of Saudi Arabia and the Emirates."
Regarding the reason for not informing the Belqis channel, in which he works, he said, "I could not inform anyone because I am censored and all means of communication are monitored. This will expose me to danger and may lose my life due to repeated threats to me to physically liquidate."
Al-Rajhi promised to list the details of the arrest, imprisonment and appointment of the lawyer by the employer, how he left Turkey and where the case ended.
