Opposition leaders demand clarity in ex-nationalist leader's murder probe

ANKARA

Leaders from Türkiye's two largest opposition parties have expressed their dissatisfaction with the lack of clarity surrounding the murder of Sinan Ateş, the former head of the ultra-nationalist group Grey Wolves.

The incident occurred on Dec. 30, 2022, when Ateş, a faculty member at Hacettepe University, was fatally shot with five bullets by gunman Eray Özyağcı as he left his office in the capital Ankara's Çukurambar quarter.

Despite the passage of a year, the chief public prosecutor's office in Ankara has yet to bring the case to trial, even with 22 suspects in custody, including three police officers.

This has prompted reactions from opposition figures, with main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel expressing his frustration on Dec. 30.

"For 365 days, this horrible murder has not been illuminated, the politicians responsible have not been touched," he wrote on X. "We will not let this assassination be forgotten until those responsible are tried."

For her part, İYİ (Good) Party leader Meral Akşener also took to social media on Dec. 30, commenting, "It has been exactly one year since we lost Sinan Ateş. The administrative vacuum has opened space for all kinds of lawlessness... But let no one forget that the freedom of the jackal is until the lion stands up."

The suspects in custody include Doğukan Çep, who organized the murder, former Grey Wolves executives Tolgahan Demirbaş and Emre Yüksel, lawyer Serdar Öktem and three suspended police officers.

Furthermore, a separate investigation is underway concerning the alleged involvement of then-Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) deputy Olcay Kılavuz, who was not re-nominated in the last election in May.

The Grey Wolves, officially known as the Idealist Hearths, is a far-right youth organization and political movement affiliated with the MHP. Established in the late 1960s by Colonel Alparslan Türkeş, the group gained prominence during the political violence of the late 1970s in Türkiye.