Fugitive suspect in Turkish academic’s murder brought to country
ANKARA
After Türkiye’s extradition request was accepted by Bulgaria, Levent Göktaş, a fugitive suspect in the 2002 murder of Turkish academic Necip Hablemitoğlu, who was well-known for his research and books on FETÖ, has been brought to the country.
Göktaş, who was extradited from Bulgaria to Türkiye, was arrested and sent to prison after he was brought to Istanbul.
The Turkish Interior Ministry announced on Sept. 2 that Göktaş was caught in Svilengrad, Bulgaria.
Göktaş was caught by Bulgarian security forces after Interpol issued a “red notice” for him, and the Justice Ministry started proceedings for his extradition to Türkiye.
Stating that he personally talked with his Bulgarian counterpart, Ivan Demerdzhiev twice, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu underlined that the Turkish Embassy to Bulgaria, the Turkish Foreign Ministry and Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) were in talks.
A Bulgarian court ruled on Sept. 6 that he be kept in detention for 40 days.
Türkiye’s extradition request of Göktaş, was accepted by Bulgaria on Dec. 14.
Hablemitoğlu was assassinated in 2002 in front of his house.
In the footage, included in the case files, collected from a supermarket near Hablemitoğlu’s house in the capital Ankara, Hablemitoğlu was seen walking between the aisles while shopping.
The prosecutors of the case stated in the indictment that before Hablemitoğlu was killed, he had been working to expose FETÖ’s activities that served illegal purposes in the country, he had made public discourses about this, and the book he wrote named “Köstebek” (The Mole) caused great discomfort within the organization.
