The editor in-chief of the north’s Ozgur Gazete newspaper, Pinar Barut, on Monday said that she has received death threats targeting both herself and her family, allegedly as part of an extortion attempt.

Barut was reportedly threatened that her home and workplace would be burned down and that her family members would be harmed. The perpetrators allegedly demanded one million USD “per person”, warning that otherwise “bullets will speak.”

Turkish Cypriot media reported suspicions that organised crime might be behind the threats, which were allegedly sent from one-use SIM cards, making it difficult for “police” in the north to identify the perpetrators.

Following the media reports, the Turkish Cypriot Journalists’ Union (KTGB) warned of a transformation of the north into a “a haven for criminals”, calling the threats a serious blow to press freedom.

The Turkish Cypriot Press Workers’ Union (Basin-Sen) referred to increased crime levels in the north, adding that after businessmen, it was now media which were being targeted by organised crime groups.

The threats against Barut come after two other Turkish Cypriot journalists reported receiving similar threats in recent months.

Earlier this year, in May, Turkish Cypriot journalist Aysemden Akin, who had received death threats after publishing a series of articles containing allegations of a deep money-laundering and smuggling network operating in Cyprus found herself at odds with the Turkish Cypriot “police” over the protection they had reportedly promised to provide.

Her articles involved several powerful men in Turkey.

Akin later found herself at odds with the Turkish Cypriot “police” over the protection she had reportedly been promised, particularly after her interviewee Cemil Onal was shot dead in the Netherlands

In September, Turkish Cypriot journalist Canan Onurer said she received death threats after refusing to retract a report on alleged criminal activity involving individuals who had recently arrived on the island from Turkey.

In addition, in 2022, well-known Turkish Cypriot businessman Halil Falyali, who was widely reported to have links to the underworld, was gunned down in his car in the north and died from his injuries along with his driver.