Report confirms rare MP5 used in murder

Mesut Hasan Benli – ANKARA

A murder weapon that made the headlines on June 8 due to the suspect’s allegations that he obtained it from outside the police headquarters in Ankara during July 2016 coup attempt, has been determined to be a MP-5 type machine gun, whose sale is banned in Turkey and is permitted to be used only by security forces, according to an export report prepared by to the General Command of Gendarmerie.

Murder suspect Mustafa Maraş claimed during his court testimony the weapons were “distributed in front of the Ankara police HQ on the night of the coup attempt.”

The experts who analyzed the spent shells seized from the scene of murder noted that 9x19mm ammunition was used, with one security officer indicating that the indicated type of bullet belonged to MP-5 type guns. 
Security officials previously said civilians cannot buy MP-5.

The unveiling of the incident initiated a lawmaker from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) to submit a parliamentary question to the Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, demanding that he answer “how many weapons belonging to security forces have gone missing since the coup bid.”

MP Eren Erdem addressed the questions of “Is the claim that security units distributed weapons to civilians on the night of the coup attempt true?” and “Is there a depletion of weapon stock registered at the security forces at the night of the coup attempt?”, and demanded to know the models and brands of such missing weapons.

Erdem also wanted to know if an investigation was launched into those who had their photos taken together with long-barreled weapons on the night of the coup attempt in various place in Ankara; if the security forces have launched operations to find the missing weapons after July 15 coup attempt; and if the allegations are correct, if the interior ministry will conduct a work to prevent new murders and judicial cases from happening with the distributed weapons.