A trial has begun in Ankara in the December 2022 murder of Sinan Ateş, the leader of the ultranationalist Grey Wolves organization. The high-profile murder case has attracted considerable attention in Turkey’s political arena in recent weeks after Ateş’s widow Ayşe Ateş met with Turkey’s main opposition leader as well as with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The murder trial commenced Monday morning (July 1) under heavy police presence at a courthouse in Ankara’s Sincan district. Ayşe Ateş arrived at the hearing wearing a bulletproof vest. A security zone measuring 10 kilometers in diameter had been set up prior to the start of the trial.Ayşe Ateş speaks to reporters ahead of the trial
Speaking to reporters outside the Ankara courthouse, Ayşe Ateş spoke to the press, saying:
“We want nothing more than for the culprits to stand trial. Evidence is still emerging. I have been living under extreme security measures and only leave the house when absolutely necessary. Thank you to the party chairmen who have stood by us and not left us alone throughout this process.”
Politicians in attendance
Monday’s first hearing in the murder case was attended by numerous big names from Turkey’s political sphere including main opposition leader and Republican People’s Party (CHP) chairman Özgür Özel, former CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, İYİ Party chairman Müsavat Dervişoğlu, as well as Victory Party chairman Ümit Özdağ.
Özel and Dervişoğlu spoke to reporters Monday during breaks in the hearing.
Defendants
The defendants in the case are 22 little-known names alleged to have been involved in the planning and execution of the murder.
Aggravated life sentences have been requested for Eray Özyağcı, Vedat Balkaya, and Suat Kurt, who are alleged to have carried out the murder. According to the indictment, Eray Özyağcı is alleged to have been the gunman in the murder, while Kurt and Balkaya are alleged to have been accomplices who helped Özyağcı flee the scene after the shots were fired. All three have been accused of premeditated murder.
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In Monday’s hearing, Özyağcı described receiving instructions from another defendant, Doğukan Cep, saying the gunman should shoot Ateş in the feet instead of killing him, and telling Özyağcı to stay put and go into hiding after another conspirator was captured by police.
Suat Kurt has been accused of serving as a scout prior to the murder to determine Ateş’s whereabouts and schedule in the leadup to the murder.
Former Grey Wolves officials Tolgahan Demirbaş, Emre Yüşsel, and Serdar Öktem are also defendants in the case.
What happened?
Grey Wolves leader Sinan Ateş was killed in a targeted assassination in Ankara in December 2022 by two assailants who fled the scene on a motorcycle. The Grey Wolves is an ultranationalist organization affiliated with the National Action Party (MHP) that is often referred to as the party’s youth or paramilitary wing.
Since Ateş’s murder, speculation has abounded regarding links between his killers and the MHP and Grey Wolves organization. MHP chairman Devlet Bahçeli has described the recent indictments as a “character assassination directed at the nationalist movement.”
Written/translated for Medyascope by Leo Kendrick
