Pro-gov’t troll says sympathizers of Gülen movement should be ‘wiped out’

A pro-government Twitter troll, who frequently insults using offensive language prominent political and social figures who do not embrace the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) ideals and practices, has this time called on supporters of the ruling party to kill members of the Gülen movement.

“A piece of advice: If chaos breaks out, find Fethullahçıs first and wipe them out. It would be a bit difficult to find them, but you could start with the one who is the most sluggish and unreliable,” troll account @akkulis tweeted on Thursday. “Fethullahçı” is a derogatory term used for sympathizers of the Gülen movement, which is inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.

The @AKKULIS account is among dozens of notorious troll accounts that attack President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's critics and opponents -- including some of the ruling AK Party's deputies and members of the Cabinet who do not toe the line with Erdoğan.

Many criminal complaints filled against those accounts are currently waiting to be investigated. Due to the recent legislation adopted in Turkey against hate crimes, the prosecutor may seek sentences of two to five years for the above-mentioned Twitter trolls.

Trolls also carried out a smear campaign against former President Abdullah Gül on Twitter. The trolls intensified their attacks when Gül announced that he would return to the AK Party and signaled that he may take over the leadership of the party and that of the government.

In a voice recording previously leaked on Haramzadeler's Twitter account last year, then-Prime Minister Erdoğan's daughter Sümeyye is allegedly heard telling Erdoğan's adviser Mustafa Varank to use holders of fake Twitter accounts who serve the ruling AK Party to support an unspecified campaign with their posts.

Varank is reportedly in charge of fake Twitter accounts that are manned by thousands of users hired by the ruling AK Party to advance any campaign that benefits Erdoğan in social media.

Published on Today's Zaman, 02 April 2015, Thursday