NEWS CENTER - While many political murders involving law enforcement officers, MIT, counter-guerrilla and nationalist figures were experienced in Turkey, either no one was sentenced in the trials after the murders, or the trial was limited to the gunmen.

 

KCK Executive Council Member Emine Kara (Evin Goyi), Mir Perwer (Mehmet Şirin Aydın) and Abdurrahman Kızıl lost their lives in the armed attack on the Kurdish Cultural Center in Strasbourg Saint Denis Neighborhood in Paris, the capital of France. After the massacre, it was emphasized that the incident had a connection with Turkey in all statements made one after another by Kurdish institutions. In the statements that stated that Turkey has organizing activities in many European countries besides France, it was emphasized that organizations such as the Gray Wolves were also used in these attacks.

 

While the massacre brought to mind the political murders and massacres in the past, many incidents took place in Turkey where the perpetrators were alleged to be law enforcement or the Gray Wolves Youth Association (ÜGD). The political murders that started with Mustafa Suphi and Trabzon MP Ali Şükrü Bey before the establishment of the Republic continued, especially with Kurdish intellectuals and business people. Especially in the 1990s, when counter-guerrilla activities intensified, 17 thousand unsolved murders took place according to official records, while Kurdish journalists Musa Anter, Ferhat Tepe, Hafız Akdemir, Hüseyin Deniz and Seyfettin Tepe were murdered in the same period.

 

MURDERS ARE LEFT UNPUNISHED 

 

Trials made behind the murdered academics, journalists and politicians did not reveal the real criminals. Despite the fact that in all investigations, besides the authorized names from the law enforcement officers, counter-guerrilla leaders and UGD members were found, no criminals were found in some cases. In some cases, the gunmen were kept in prison for a few years with show sentences.

 

We have compiled some political assassinations involving Turkish officials in the investigation files.

 

* The founders of the Communist Party of Turkey, Mehmed Mustafa Suphi, Ethem Nejat, and their 13 comrades were killed by Yahya Kahya, the Boatmen's Steward, on the night of January 28 to 29, 1921, on the boat they were put on to be sent back to the Soviet Union from Trabzon. Their bodies could not be reached as a result of the sinking of the boat.

 

* One of the first assassinations in the history of the Republic was the murder of Trabzon MP Ali Şükrü Bey on March 27, 1923 in Ankara. It turned out that Ali Şükrü Bey, who displayed the strongest opposition to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in the 1st Parliament, was killed by Atatürk's guard regiment, Topal Osman. Topal Osman was caught and killed while he was trying to escape from Ankara. Topal Osman, who was later honored by the state, was declared a national hero. And his statues were erected in his hometown Giresun; however, the background of the incident was never revealed, and both massacres were left unpunished.

 

SABAHATTIN ALI

 

* Writer Sabahattin Ali was found beaten to death in Kırklareli on June 16, 1948. Ali, who has a Marxist view, has been arrested and threatened many times. For this reason, Ali, who wanted to leave Turkey, was killed by Ali Ertekin, who was guiding him on the Bulgarian border. Ertekin, a former military officer, claimed in his statement that he provoked his national feelings as the reason for killing Sabahattin Ali. Ali Ertekin, who is also alleged to be a member of the National Intelligence Organization, was arrested. Ertekin, who was imprisoned for 4 years, was later released.

 

* Journalists Ahmet Muzaffer Gürkan and Ayhan Hikmet, who published the newspaper Cumhuriyet published in Cyprus, were killed in their home on the night of April 23, 1962 to April 24. Hikmet and Gürkan were opposed to Fazıl Küçük and Rauf Denktaş, who led the Turkish Cypriot community at that time. In the newspaper Cumhuriyet, they adopted a line that advocates partition, opposes the Turkish nationalist community leadership, and advocates protecting the newly established Republic of Cyprus and preserving its independence. In this context, they advocated the administration of Cyprus by Cypriots and the rapprochement of the two communities, without denying the existence of different nations on the island. There are allegations that the murders were carried out by the Turkish Resistance Organization and there are statements by the members of the organization. Academic Erol Kaymak stated in an academic publication that there is "a common belief that Hikmet and Gürkan fell victim to a political assassination committed by an irregular military force in line with Denktaş". However, the identity of the perpetrators of this incident was never revealed.

 

ABDİ İPEKÇİ

 

* Milliyet newspaper editor-in-chief Abdi İpekçi was killed by assassin Mehmet Ali Ağca on February 1, 1979. Mehmet Ali Ağca was captured on June 25, 1979, 5 months after the assassination, in the historical Küllük Kıraathanesi in Istanbul Beyazıt Square. The police officer who caught Ağca was retired even though he was only 37 years old. Ağça, on the other hand, escaped from Maltepe Military Prison, where she was detained, in a military uniform, shortly after she declared that she would explain everything if she appeared in court. Escaped Ağca, on May 13, 1981, II. He attempted to assassinate John Paulus.

 

* One of the leading names of the academy in Turkey, Prof. Dr. Cavit Orhan Tütengil died on December 7, 1979, as a result of an armed attack in front of his house on Sülün Street in Levent, Istanbul. Former Grey Wolves President Recep Öztürk, who was detained and brought to court in connection with the Tütengil murder, was released due to lack of evidence. When he had to testify again, it was understood that he had already fled abroad. Celal Adan, the two nationalists who were involved in the Tütengil assassination, later became the Istanbul Provincial Chairperson of the True Path Party (DYP), and Ali Doğan became a MP of the Motherland Party (ANAP) Maraş; however, the case was never addressed.

 

KEMAL TURKS

 

* President of the Revolutionary Trade Unions Confederation Kemal Türkler was shot dead as a result of an armed attack in front of his house in Istanbul on July 22, 1980. Unal Osmanağaoğlu, the murder suspect wanted in connection with the murder of Turks and the Bahçelievler Massacre, was caught in 1999, but as a result of the trial, he was acquitted 3 times. The last time the file came to the local court, it was dropped on the due to prescription. Again, in the MHP and Nationalist Organizations Indictment regarding the idealist Celal Adan, who is mentioned in the file, he was acquitted in the trial despite the prosecution's assessment that "it has become clear that he was one of the planners and implementers of the murder of Kemal Turks".

 

* Historian and political scientist Bahriye Üçok died on October 6, 1990 as a result of the explosion of a bomb package sent to her home in Ankara Çankaya. Üçok started receiving threats after his statements in a televised panel discussion in 1988 based on the claims that "head scarf and fasting are not compulsory in Islam". The Islamic Movement claimed responsibility for the murder.

 

MUSA ANTER

 

* Kurdish journalist Musa Anter was murdered by JİTEM members in the Seyrantepe district of Diyarbakır on September 20, 1992. JITEM confessor Abdulkadir Aygan later confessed the names of the perpetrators of the murder. The Susurluk Report prepared by Kutlu Savaş, Chairperson of the Prime Ministry Inspection Board, contained information that the murder of Anter was planned and implemented by Mahmut Yıldırım, code-named Yeşil. However, although the names of many JİTEM members were mentioned in the trial, none of them were punished, and the case was dropped due to the statute of limitations.

 

* Journalist Namık Tarancı was killed as a result of an armed attack on November 20, 1992 in Diyarbakır. Tarancı, who is a reporter for Haberde Yorumda Gerçek magazine, was the head of the Diyarbakir branch of the Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Associations (YDGD) for a while. It turned out that the Hezbollah organization was behind the attack. In this massacre, the perpetrators were left unpunished.

 

UĞUR MUMCU

 

* Journalist Uğur Mumcu died on January 24, 1993, when a bomb placed in his car exploded in front of his house on Karlı Sokak in Ankara. The experts, who investigated the crime scene right after the assassination, could not find any evidence as a result of sweeping the evidence that needed to be collected with tweezers. It was also claimed that Mossad and the counter-guerrilla were behind the assassination, which was undertaken by organizations such as the Islamic Movement Front, IBDA-C, and Hezbollah. Organized crime leader Sedat Peker claimed in his broadcast on May 23, 2021 that the assassination was orchestrated by Mehmet Ağar. Although the arrows about the incident pointed to Ağar, no investigation was even opened against him.

 

MEHMET SİNCAR

 

* Democracy Party (DEP) Mardin MP Mehmet Sincar was murdered on September 4, 1993 in Batman. The Turkish Revenge Brigade first claimed responsibility for the massacre. However, in the reports prepared after the Susurluk accident, it was stated that the assassination was committed by Mahmut Yıldırım, PKK confessors Alaattin Kanat, İsmail Yeşilmen and Mesut Mehmetoğlu. A verdict has not yet been rendered in the lawsuit filed against Hezbollah member Cihan Yıldız, who is stated to have acted as a gunman in the attack. While no action was taken against Mehmet Ağar, who is also mentioned in the file, Mahmut Yıldırım, Code Yeşil, and Alaattin Kanat, the JİTEM confessor, there was a risk that the file would drop due to prescription.

 

* Cypriot journalist Kutlu Adalı was also killed in an armed attack in front of his house on the night of July 6, 1996. The investigation initiated by the General Directorate of Police did not yield any results and it was not determined who committed the murder. In the lawsuit filed by her husband, İlkay Adalı, against Turkey at the European Court of Human Rights, the court sentenced Turkey on the grounds that sufficient and convincing research was not conducted on the murder. Sedat Peker pointed to the then General Police Chief Mehmet Ağar and his colleague Korkut Eken regarding the Adalı murder in a video he published on social media on May 23, 2021. He claimed that he was asked to be a hitman for the assassination, that he assigned his brother Atilla Peker, but that the assassination was carried out by another group.

 

HRANT DINK

 

* The Armenian journalist, Agos Newspaper Editor-in-Chief Hrant Dink was killed on January 19, 2007, when he was attacked in front of the Agos newspaper's building in Şişli, where he was the editor-in-chief. Dink was constantly being targeted and threatened because of the lawsuits brought against him for violating Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code. While the trial process, which started after the murder, continued through the long-term shooters Ogün Samast and Yasin Hayal, the investigation expanded after July 15, 2016. In the file, in which Istanbul and Trabzon police officials of the period were also included in the investigation, it was ruled that the assassination was "committed in line with FETO's purposes" at the hearing at the Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court.

 

PARIS MASSACRE

 

* PKK founder Sakine Cansız, Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) Paris representative Fidan Doğan and Leyla Şaylemez were murdered on January 9, 2013 at the Kurdistan Information Bureau in Paris. An investigation file was opened against the murderer Ömer Güney, who was caught after the massacre, on the charge of "murder" in 2013. The investigation into the 2013 assassination was completed in May 2015. But the litigation stage could not be reached. While the case was planned to be heard on January 23, 2017 on the charge of "assassination related to a terrorist organization", Güney was pronounced dead on December 17, 2016. The Paris Prosecutor's Office did not insist on the documents that Güney requested from Turkey regarding his travels to Turkey 20 days before the massacre. While the new complaint filed by the families in 2018 and many documents attached to the petition point to the possible role of MIT in the murders, it is seen that Güney often traveled to Turkey before the massacre.

 

In addition, the audio recording of Güney's conversations with his visitors while he was in Fresnes prison revealed that he had close relations with MIT spies in Germany and Belgium. In the raids by the German police; During one of Ömer Güney's treatment sessions at the Salpetriere hospital, he prevented his kidnapping plan at the last moment with the logistical support of the MIT. Again, despite the findings in Germany and Belgium, no steps were taken to illuminate the background of the event.

 

The second massacre in Paris on December 23, 2022, like the first massacre, is intended to be covered up and shown as a one-man murder of a "mentally ill" person.