International Nachrichten Express 24 (Nex24), a German news website of Turkish-German origin, has announced that it was shutting down the website after receiving threats from PKK sympathizers.
Polat Karaburan, owner of the news website, announced that after two years' of work, an escalation of pressure and death threats to his family and himself by PKK sympathizers in Germany was forcing him to take Nex24 off-air. He also blamed German politicians for their incompetence regarding the issue and accused them of remaining indifferent to the problem. "Apart from politicians from the SPD, the Leftists and the Green Party, FDP politician Tobias Huch has also acted against the Nex24 as an agitator," he said in a news article on the website.
Meanwhile, Ankara has recently adopted a harsher tone toward the German government over its alleged support for the PKK. Even though German authorities deny that the government does not tolerate the PKK, Germany has allowed PKK propaganda to be spread by supporters of the terrorist group, allowing rallies to be held freely and even allowed one of its senior leaders to deliver a speech. Despite Germany's tolerance toward the PKK, a recent report by the German Federal Ministry of the Interior has stressed on the significance of the PKK threat.
