Cemil Önal, a Turkish whistleblower who accused high-ranking politicians in Ankara of corruption and money laundering, repeatedly warned Dutch authorities that he feared for his life before he was fatally shot in a suburb of The Hague, according to Dutch investigative outlet Follow the Money.
Önal, 41, was gunned down Thursday evening on the terrace of a hotel in Rijswijk. He had previously told Dutch prosecutors and journalists that his knowledge of covert payments and financial structures tied to Turkish political figures had made him a target. Days before his killing, Önal met with Follow the Money reporters in The Hague and said, “This will be the death of me.”
Investigative journalist Cevheri Güven, who is based in Germany, said during a YouTube broadcast on Friday that he was in regular contact with Önal and that they had two phone calls in the hours leading up to his death.
Önal shared concerns that suggested his fears were quickly intensifying. He also asked Güven to confirm the name of a person who had previously been linked to a planned assassination attempt against Güven himself.
Önal confided that Dutch police had recently relocated him from his home to a hotel for security reasons, suggesting that a new and credible threat had emerged. Önal believed that the same network that had plotted against Güven might now be targeting him as well. He sounded distressed during the call, Güven later recounted, and he appeared acutely aware that his life was in immediate...
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