Amberin Zaman wrote an article about Osman Kavala, a controversial figure who is currently under detention over suspected ties to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), published on the Al-Monitor website on 23 October 2017. Zaman’s article includes a factual mistake and conspiracy theories.

Firstly, Zaman asserted that “Many believe it [Kavala’s detention] was initiated by a mix of nationalists and pro-Russian ‘Eurasianists’ in the judiciary and the security services bent on unmooring Turkey from the West.”

As a matter of fact, this claim has been only uttered on the Artigercek and Haberdar news websites run by fugitive FETO member Said Sefa. Sefa was also discovered to be the owner of the notorious @fuatavni Twitter account which leaked confidential decisions by the government, accompanied with threats and insults targeting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other government officials. Without substantial evidence, the claim presented by Amberin Zaman borders on a conspiracy theory.

Secondly, Zaman claimed that Kavala refuted the allegations made by Hilal Kaplan, a columnist for Daily Sabah, regarding his “close and enduring commercial ties with the Turkish army and notorious mobster Sedat Peker” and that Kavala “is believed to have taken Kaplan to court.” However, contrary to Zaman’s claim, Osman Kavala accepted in an article that he once was one of the partners of MİKES, a defense company which he said was established for the purpose of “developing technology and software for [Turkish] defense industry.” As to his ties with Sedat Peker, Kavala did not deny Kaplan’s claim. Additionally, Kavala has never taken Kaplan to court.