Last week was a turning point and a wake-up call for International Turks in many ways. After 2.5 years and nine sessions of a drawn-out trial, the bizarre case of award-winning Turkish-German journalist Deniz Yücel resulted in a shocking prison sentence.

Shocking, mainly because the verdict contradicts the assessment of Turkey’s Constitutional Court that has already ruled his one-year imprisonment in Turkey without a single indictment as “unlawful”.

Shocking, as there are many reasons why it should be Yucel charging Turkey for holding him as a political hostage over baseless accusations, stealing his years, and stripping him off of his security for life.

Shocking, since Turkey’s defamation of him as an alleged ‘terror-driven traitor agent’ character, labeled under the absurd and unfitting “agentterrorist” title, simply doesn’t jive with the reality of his infamous Turkish identity that is big enough to trigger racist death threats from neo-nazi groups in Germany.

Furthermore, countless clues and facts on Deniz Yücel’s case suggest that he was threatened, abducted, slandered, and defamed by the real agentterrorists. His silence and patience do not give away much, but the mystery surrounding his case -profoundly outlined in his post-release book 'Agentterrorist'- tells us to take heed on everything related to Turkey. Cem Yilmaz's recent dark comedy 'Karakomik Filmler' also hints at that uncanny reality.

Resisting the WWIII potential of the Arab Spring mess at its doorstep, namely the Syrian war, for 9 years now, Turkey has increasingly become a country of arbitrary actions and decisions. The ongoing proxy war in Libya is a good way to gauge Turkey's power in the region. Turkish-Libyan vlogger Seyma Peksen's trip to Tripoli and Tajura presents the sad state of the region.

We may live far, but we need to be extremely careful with our dual-citizenship status, as our dual-identities are too inviting for the real agents and traitors to slander us. Also, our community is too inexperienced in fighting the “agentterrorist” libel.

Deniz Yücel's case is not the only one fighting threats and slander. Cabaret artist Idil Baydar is also receiving letters from the NSU extremists. It is almost as if the racists do not recognize the talent and success in our community. The elegant Titanic Comfort Mitte hotel in Berlin is a great example. So is the World Boxing Champion Unsal Arik's recent title.

Or maybe they have not read Imran Ayata's gripping Kanak novel 'Mein Name ist Revolution' yet. A great story that breaks stereotypes on Kanaks, shattering mental taboos on Turks and Turkishness.

With these thoughts in mind, we launch 'Justice for Turks', a campaign to advance our fight against misinformation and defamation as a community. Please sign our petition on Change.org. Your support is more urgent than ever.

Wishing you a safe week,
Eser Turan
Founding Editor