14 DAY TRIAL // Last week, the 14 people detained by authorities on suspicion of being involved with the RedHack hacktivist group were released. However, shortly after, one of them, a man suspected of being the leader of the hacker collective, was arrested once again.
The suspect is Taylan Kulaçoğlu. Turkish prosecutors say he is the hacker known as “Manyak.” He was arrested in Istanbul and taken back to Ankara, where the suspects were first questioned.
According to Hurriyet Daily News, during his initial detention, the man told investigators that he didn’t have anything to do with the hacktivist collective, and that he simply followed their work on Twitter from the restaurant he’s running. He has noted that he’s simply a “mid-level computer user.”
In response to the arrest of Taylan, RedHack has breached and defaced a website of Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (akpartiordu.org).
In a message posted on the hacked website, the group denies that the suspect has anything to do with them.
At the time of writing, the AKP website has been restored, but RedHack members say they will not stop targeting the Turkish government.
“Jailing innocent people will not deter us from struggling against the real fascism in Turkey or anywhere in the world. We have never left people alone who have been wrongly linked to us,” the hacktivists told HackRead.
“The State in Turkey have organised against its own people. Dissident struggle is under serious threat. Demanding freedom and justice for the humanity is the backbone of the struggle and this struggle will continue until we wipe the puppets and dictators on this land. Because we owe it to the people in the region.”
In the meantime, a large number of people are showing support for Taylan. RedHack has retweeted tens of pictures of men and women holding banners that read “Taylan Kulaçoğlu, you are not alone.”