Former minister to be put in Aydın jail

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

Former Interior Minister Mehmet Ağar will spend more than two years in jail. DHA photo

Turkey’s Justice Ministry concluded its search yesterday to find a suitable prison for Mehmet Ağar, a former minister and police chief who was convicted last week in the “Susurluk scandal” case of 1996.

Ağar is now set to serve his sentence of over two years in the Yenipazar K1-Type Closed Prison in the western province of Aydın, a high-security penal institution.

The ministry had begun searching for a high-security prison near Bodrum in response to an appeal by Ağar’s lawyers following the approval of his five-year sentence by the Supreme Court of Appeals.

The Justice Ministry selected the Yenipazar prison in the western province of Aydın for Ağar because it is a high-security facility and is close to the Aegean resort town of Bodrum where Ağar’s family lives. The 60-person capacity prison is equipped with a conference room, as well as a library.

“Today is an official holiday. The official note would probably arrive tomorrow, and the summons would be [sent.] What difference does it make if it were a day earlier or a day later? We are going to do whatever is necessary after that within the next couple of days,” Ağar told reporters yesterday. Ministry officials told him they would shoulder the entire responsibility regarding his safety, according to Ağar. “It is not like we are going to a hotel. We are in no position to pick and choose. May everything turn out for the best,” he added.

An Ankara court had sentenced Ağar in September 2011 in the final case over the Susurluk scandal of 1996, when Ağar was head of the national police.