Adem Yavuz Arslan
Adem Yavuz Arslan is a Turkish investigative journalist, writer and television programmer. He is known for his work on the Hrant Dink murder case, deep state operations in Turkey, and his critical reporting on the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Following the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, Arslan faced prosecution and sought exile in the United States, where he continues his journalistic work.
Life and education
Adem Yavuz Arslan was born in 1974 in the Silifke district of Mersin. He completed his primary, secondary, and high school education in Silifke. He received his undergraduate degree from the Faculty of Communication at Ege University and his master's degree in international relations.Career
Arslan started his journalism career in 1995 as a police-court reporter in İzmir. He moved to Istanbul in 1998 and worked in Aksiyon which is a unit of the Zaman Media Group. During this period, he worked as a investigative reporter on different news projects.International Reporting
Arslan covered the Second Gulf War from Northern Iraq and Baghdad in 2003. He reported from Pakistan, documenting the activities of Turkish schools and medical missions in Afghan refugee camps. He reported from conflict zones such as Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq.Investigative Reporting and Notable Works
Hrant Dink Assassination Investigation
In 2011, Arslan published "An Armenian: The Hrant Dink Operation Codes", a book investigating the 2007 assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink. The book revealed new information about the murder, including the proximity of a non-commissioned officer to the triggerman on the day of the killing. Following the book's publication, Arslan received repeated death threats, including a parcel sent to his office containing Kalashnikov bullets and a white beret.Reporting on the Reza Zarrab case
Adem Yavuz Arslan conducted significant reporting on the international Reza Zarrab scandal, a major scheme to evade U.S. sanctions on Iran that involved high-level Turkish government officials and the state-owned Halkbank.In his 2024 investigation for Politurco, Arslan revealed that Reza Zarrab was living under the new identity of "Aaron Goldsmith" in Florida and building a luxury yacht, despite being a key figure in a sanctions evasion case involving billions of dollars. This reporting came years after Zarrab's cooperation with U.S. authorities in the trial of Halkbank executive Mehmet Hakan Atilla.
Arslan's work on the Zarrab case was part of his broader investigative focus on corruption involving the Turkish government.