14 DAY TRIAL // The official Twitter account of Mustafa Varank, one of the top advisers of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has been hijacked by hacktivists.
The attack, launched by a group called DLMK Hack, has coincided with the funeral of Berkin Elvan, a 15-year-old boy who died on March 11. Elvan was in a coma for 269 days after suffering a head injury during the Gezi protests that took place last year in Istanbul.
Varank has regained control of his Twitter account, which has over 52,000 followers.
However, Hurriyet Daily News reports that the hackers posted a message that read “We know who Elvan’s killer is.” The message was posted next to a photo of Prime Minister Erdoğan with the text “I gave the instructions to the police.”
In addition to this and other messages accusing Erdoğan of being responsible for the teen’s death, the hacktivists also changed the profile’s picture to one of Elvan.
After he recovered his account, Varank apologized to his followers, suggesting that he has been the target of “voyeurism, montage and blackmail.”
Hacktivists, particularly ones affiliated with the RedHack group, have launched numerous attacks against the Turkish government. This year, they’ve targeted the country’s parliament, the Turkish Contractors Association, the State Railways, and a number of telecoms companies.