Turkey’s leading television news anchor stepped down from his position with Fox News on Wednesday, according to the host’s Twitter feed.
In a Wednesday morning tweet, Fatih Portakal told his more than 6 million Twitter followers that “the time has come” to leave. “It’s as important to know when to go as it is when to come,” he added .
In December, Istanbul prosecutors launched an investigation into Portakal for inciting criminal activity after he questioned, on air, the ability of Turkish people to protest freely.
“How many people will be able to take to the streets without fear?” Portakal said on Turkey’s Fox TV, a sister station to the U.S. outlet. “For the sake of God, can you tell me how many people would demonstrate? They are trying to discourage social opposition and keep it under pressure. It is a most natural right, but it cannot be exercised.”
Days later, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued a warning to Portakal. “Some person is out calling people onto the streets. Know your place and if you don’t know your place, then the people of this country will,” he said.
Osmanlı Ocakları, a nationalist-religious group that supports Erdoğan, held demonstrations against Portakal in front of Fox TV’s headquarters in Istanbul. Portakal said he received threats against his life.
Source: Ahval News
