ISTANBUL (Medyascope) – Oral Çelik, a Turkish hitman involved in Mehmet Ali Ağca’s 1981 attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II, died over the weekend at a hospital in Ankara. He was 67.
By Leo Kendrick • Medyascope
Çelik, who was known for his membership in the far-right ultranationalist Grey Wolves organization, was also involved in the 1979 assassination of journalist Abdi İpekçi as well as the 1978 Bahçelievler massacre.
Çelik had been receiving care at Ankara’s Hacettepe Hospital due to cerebral hemorrhage, according to reports.
Born in 1959 in Turkey’s eastern province of Malatya, Çelik participated in the 1978 Bahçelievler massacre, in which members of the Grey Wolves organization killed seven university students affiliated with the leftist Turkish Workers Party in Ankara.
Pope John Paul II and Abdi İpekçi cases
Çelik, together with Mehmet Ali Ağca, murdered journalist Abdi İpekçi in February 1979. At the time of his murder, İpekçi was the Editor-in-Chief of Milliyet, a newspaper known for its leftist leanings. İpekçi’s murder took place at the height of 1970s political violence in Turkey between leftists and Grey Wolves elements, which included other events such as the 1977 Taksim Square massacre, the 1978 Bahçelievler massacre, and the 1978 Maraş massacre. This era, driven by Cold War tensions, culminated in the 1980 coup d’etat and imposition of martial law in Turkey.
Çelik was best known for having been the back-up hitman in Ağca’s 1981 attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II. Ağca opened fire on the Pope but was quickly subdued by Vatican security personnel. Çelik did not fire a shot and fled the scene.
Çelik was tried in Italy and acquitted, but later served time on drug and forgery charges in France.
Despite his well known involvement in the Abdi İpekçi murder and the assassination attempt against John Paul II, Çelik never served time for either case.
Çelik testified in the 1996 Susurluk car crash scandal, a case that exposed links between Turkish mafia groups such as the Grey Wolves and high levels of Turkish government.
Pope assassination attempt accomplice Oral Çelik dies at 67 | Written/translated by Leo Kendrick | Edited by Medyascope English Newsroom
