First hearing held in case of ex-nationalist leader murder

ANKARA

Sinan Ateş's wife Ayşe Ateş (center) made statements before the hearing on July 1, 2024.

An Ankara court on Monday commenced the trial of 22 defendants related to the murder of Sinan Ateş, the former head of the ultra-nationalist group Gray Wolves.

The incident occurred on Dec. 30, 2022, when Ateş was fatally shot by gunman Eray Özyağcı as he left his office in the capital Çukurambar quarter.

The murder and subsequent interrogation have garnered extensive media coverage, with the inaugural hearing attended by prominent political figures such as main opposition Republican People's Party chairman Özgür Özel, former CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and İYİ Party chairman Müsavat Dervişoğlu.

At the onset of the proceedings, the court denied the request of the Nationalist Movement Party's (MHP) attorneys to participate in the case, citing the party's lack of "direct harm from the incident."

The trial began with the testimony of Özyağcı, who stands accused as the hitman.

Özyağcı asserted that a financial dispute between Doğukan Çep and Ateş had prompted Çep to send him to Ankara with instructions to shoot Ateş in the legs.

Denying allegations of political motivation behind the murder, Özyağcı claimed he only shot Ateş in the legs and that additional gunfire from unknown sources resulted in Ateş's death.

Özyağcı recounted his month-long stay at a villa in the western province of İzmir, subsequent escape to Greece via boat from Edirne, and capture by Greek police after falling into the water under Turkish fire.

He also accused prosecutors of coercing him to frame the incident as politically motivated.

Constantly interrupting other defendants and asserting his role as the "mastermind," Çep told the court that he was the instigator of the incident but denied any intention to kill Ateş.

Çep claimed that the incident was not a political case but that he and Ateş agreed to intervene in a case in the judiciary and that he had paid money, but Ateş did not fulfill his promise.

"I don't accept that it was an assassination. I didn't go to kill him. If I had sent him to kill him, I would confirm that. I don't know how he died. I didn't want him to die,” he said.

He demanded an investigation into the bullet that caused Ateş's death, which he claimed originated from the firearm of Ateş's companion, Selman Bozkurt.

Amid widespread assertions that the murder was politically driven, critics have decried the one-year delay in preparing the indictment.

Addressing the press before the hearing, Ateş's widow, Ayşe Ateş, emphasized their sole aim of achieving justice for the perpetrators. She met with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on June 11.