Turkish intelligence, PKK involved in professor’s death: Claim

ISTANBUL

Hürriyet photo

A high Turkish intelligence agency official's driver and a convicted member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were involved in the killing of Professor Bahriye Üçok in 1990, according to daily Türkiye.
 
Üçok was killed by a bomb at her house by PKK member Gülay Calap in September 1990; the bomb, according to daily Türkiye, was handed to Calap by the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) Istanbul district head's driver – who was also a MİT official.
 
Calap was convicted of connections with the PKK following the assassination of Üçok and was sentenced to 22 years in prison. She reportedly then became a member of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). 
 
The driver was shot dead four days after the assassination; an illegal far-left group claimed responsibility for his murder.
 
It was thought at the time that Üçok had been killed by an Islamist organization.
 
Üçok, a professor of religious studies, was an outspoken critic of religious conservatism, often speaking against women covering up. She was focused on women’s rights and advocated secularism.