Turkish journalist claims PKK sent hit squad years ago

Prominent Turkish journalist Fatih Altaylı has revealed a personal encounter with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), claiming the group once dispatched an assassination squad to eliminate him. Altaylı shared this previously undisclosed incident in a recent article where he argued in favor of supporting a new peace process to resolve Turkey's protracted conflict.

Altaylı, responding to criticism over his stance, asserted that the PKK had sent a team to monitor and kill him years ago. He detailed how the group allegedly tracked his movements for weeks, even approaching his wife and the home of his bodyguard. This information, he claims, came directly from the leader of the PKK squad.

According to Altaylı, the squad leader later sent him a letter, reportedly expressing remorse with the words, 'We couldn't bring ourselves to harm you, Fatih Bey.' This letter, which reportedly caused his secretary considerable distress, was also read by Özay Şendir, then editor-in-chief of Milliyet newspaper. Altaylı stated that the individuals involved subsequently wished to surrender to the state.

Altaylı reported that he informed the then Minister of Interior, İsmet Sezgin, about the situation. The individuals involved eventually surrendered, served time in prison, and, according to Altaylı's last known information, one of them was working in a factory in Istanbul. Despite this past attempt on his life, Altaylı reiterated his belief that the current situation presents an opportunity to end the conflict.