Quick Hits 141 – Are we misusing the term ‘terrorism’?

A doctor in Turkey has been charged with ‘terrorism’ for embarrassing the government over true COVID figures.  How is that ‘terrorism’?

In this Quick hits episode, Borealis looks at how many are widening the scope of the term ‘terrorism’ to ridiculous ends.

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Covid-19 and repression in Turkey

Sebnem Korur Fincanci, a forensic physician, and many other doctors had long insisted there was something dodgy about Turkey’s Covid-19 figures. Excess deaths across the country far surpassed officially reported deaths from the virus. Case numbers seemed suspiciously low. Vindication came at the end of November, when the government revealed it had stopped reporting asymptomatic infections months earlier.

Once it resumed doing so, the case-count rocketed from about 7,000 to over 30,000 a day. (The numbers later dropped, after new lockdowns were imposed.) For her troubles Dr Fincanci, who turned 61 last year, was labelled a terrorist by none other than Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The head of the Nationalist Movement Party, the president’s coalition partner, called for the group she heads, the Turkish Medical Association, to be disbanded.

Read more on The Economist

Turkey Detains 39 for ‘Terrorist Propaganda’ Social Media Posts

As part of Turkey’s tight new controls on social media, the authorities detained at least 39 people in the first week of February over online posts alleged to contain propaganda for terrorist organisations.

The Turkish Interior Ministry announced on Tuesday that security forces detained 39 social media users in the first week of February for allegedly posting propaganda for terrorist organisations online.

Read more on Balkan Insight

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