The first hearing in the case surrounding the murder of former Urucu Ocaklar Chairman Sinan Ateş, who was assassinated in Ankara, began today in Sincan Prison.
The defendants appeared before a judge for the first time in a year and a half.
The indictment seeks an aggravated life sentence for the collective “premeditated murder” of the hitman, Elay Ojaci, and Vedat Barkaya and Suat Kurt, who accompanied him to the scene and kidnapped him after the incident, against Sinan Ateş as co-perpetrators in joint control of the operation.
The defendants, Doğan Çep and former Uluk Oçaklar director Türgahan Demirbaş, who are accused of “organizing the armed action,” are being asked to face an aggravated life sentence for “intentional murder of the victim as a collective and participant, as well as instigator of the crime.”
The defendants – Zekeriya Asarlaja, Hakan Saraci, Ufuk Kokturk, Mehmet Yuce, Mustafa Uzunlar, Askin Mert Gerenbey, Murat Can Çolak, Osman Bayraktar, Caner Güney, Umut Ersoy, Çaglal Zorlu, Aytak Atac, Emre Yüksel, Serdar Oktem, Erdem Karadeniz and Alper Ataimustafa Ensar Aykal – are facing prison sentences for “intentionally and premeditated mass murder of the victims as perpetrators who aided and abetted the crime in a participating state.”
PROTECTION WITH STEEL VEST FROM AYŞE ATEŞ
Ayse Ateş was guarded by five police officers during the first hearing of her case at the Sincan Prison Campus in Ankara.
Ayse Ateş was forced to wear a steel vest, but it was learnt that she removed it in front of the court. Hundreds of police officers are on duty around the area.
As the hearings are scheduled to last for five days in the hearing room at the Sinkan prison campus, extensive security measures have been taken by law enforcement forces at the entrance and inside the hall.
Ezer and Kirishdarokl sat next to Ayse Atesh.
Political leaders are also monitoring the first public hearing in 19 months.
The Turkish government has also been in the process of negotiating with the Turkish parliament, which has been in the process of negotiating with the Turkish parliament since 2013.
CHP leader Ozgür Ozer and former CHP chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu sat next to Ayşe Ateş.
Photo sharing from Ozel
Sharing a photo of Kılıçdaroğlu and Ayşe Ateş in court, Özgür Özer said, “We are pursuing the assassination of former Uluş Oçaklal chairman Sinan Ateş in Sincan. We will pursue this case until justice is served and the smoke screen of the assassination disappears. “We said we are on your side. We will be on your side until Ayşe says justice has been served…” he said.
We are investigating the assassination of Sinan Ateş, former chairman of Uruq Oçakrali, in Sincan.
We will continue to pursue this case until justice is served and the smoke screen of assassination clears. pic.twitter.com/wvZh1ECRt2
— Ozgur Ozel (@eczozgurazel) July 1, 2024
A warning from the Chief Justice
At the start of the trial, the judge told the parties, “There should be no heckling or taunting, either the accused or the complainant. There is no need for that. Let’s do our jobs. Some people may heckle.” Don’t personalise the issue. Before coming to court, he said: “You must be patient and do not give in to provocations.”
Dokan Cep: “Where is Kemal?” Ale
One of the key figures in the case, Dougan Çep, was removed from the courtroom. In the hall, Çep asked: “Where is Kemal?” Ale.
Following the court president’s warning, Chep was taken to court.
Refusal of MHP participation request
Meanwhile, MHP’s lawyer spoke at the plaintiffs’ line-up and requested to be joined in the lawsuit. The prosecution asked for the request to be dismissed, stating that “they were not directly harmed by the crime.” The court unanimously decided to dismiss the request, stating that “MHP is not entitled to be harmed by a crime.”
After that, the presiding judge read out the summary of the indictment, and the defendants’ arguments began.
Triga Ojachi denies his statements in court
The hitman, Elai Ocaci, said that Doukan Cep, whom he called “Brother Doukan”, had sent him to Ankara to shoot Sinan Ateş due to differences.
According to Timur Soykan, Elai Ocaci has made statements defending the police who took him to Ankara. He told investigators that the vehicle was stopped at the control point at the entrance to Ankara. He explained that the police let him through after he showed his ID. He denied these words in court. “I made it,” he said.
Ayse Atesh speaks before the hearing
Ahead of the hearing, Ayşe Ateş said in a live broadcast:
“We want the missing evidence to be completed, a new and complete indictment to be prepared and statements of suspects to be taken expeditiously. This is not the court we want, it’s an incomplete court. What we want is for the missing documents to be added. “I think the real suspects are those who are running errands. The hitmen and the real instigators are kept in a separate secret file. What is important for us is to hear their statements. “Add to that file and add to this file.
During the meeting with President Erdogan, he promised that justice would be achieved as soon as possible. There was no progress after this meeting, but I expect there will be an improvement after this trial. Some circles have interpreted it differently, but I disagree and believe that the president will keep his promise. There is only one murder case, and it is unreasonable and illogical to have two separate files.
There is no doubt that there is a police and judicial dimension to this murder. The police and judicial authorities also have criminal gangs that have infiltrated the MHP and the Uruk Ochakrari. Anyway, the black hands in this file, these are part of the five virtues. I hope that after today, this file will be cleared of its darkness and a fair trial will take place. I have no other requests. I just want a fair trial for the killers of my husband.
“Today we will have them evaluated together with the Mersin case. They all have the same source, they received instructions from the same center and carried out this assassination. What position are the MHP lawyers here in? It is clear that they are not on our side. Let our beloved country fill this gap. I hope that the defendants will not be released.”
Who was Sinan Ateş and how was he killed?
Former Chairman of the Uruk Ocaklal Educational and Cultural Foundation and Associate Professor at Hacettepe University. Dr. Sinan Ateş was born in Balikesir in 1984.
Ateş, who grew up in Bursa and participated in Ürükü Oçakrari since his high school days, served as an advisor to MHP Secretary-General İsmet Büyükataman for 12 years.
In 2019, Ateş was appointed chairman of Uruk Oçaklal to replace Olukai Lebel, but was dismissed the following year by Devlet Bahçeli and continued his oppositional course within the MHP and Uruk Oçaklal.
On December 30, 2022, Ateş was attacked at gunpoint as he and his friend Selman Bozkurt were leaving a building in the Kızılırmak district of Çankaya district.
In the attack, Ateş was seriously wounded with bullets in his leg and head, while Selman Bozkurt was wounded in the shoulder. Ateş later died at the hospital. Neither the MHP nor Uluğku Öcaklar issued any messages of condolence following the killings.
Why was the indictment criticized?
The 145-page indictment prepared by the Ankara Chief Prosecutor’s Office drew reactions from Sinan Ateş’s wife, Ayşe Ateş, and many political parties.
“They could have written this indictment and presented it before us as soon as the incident occurred. It is clear that by waiting a year and a half to present the indictment, the real culprits have been protected from the public,” Ayşe Ateş said in a statement on May 5. “It is a very simple and common murder case. It is clear who killed my husband and who has identified the killer. It is clear that this will protect us,” he added.
“What can I say? It’s unfortunate. If not today, then tomorrow, but eventually they will be held accountable. I believe this and no one should doubt that I will do everything in my power to achieve this.”
Ayse Ateş’s 17-page statement only mentioned the charges against her, saying that she “is understood to be the husband of Sinan Ateş, who was murdered on the day of the incident, and that she has demanded that the incident be investigated from all angles. She declared herself to be the plaintiff and accuser against all the suspects in her husband’s murder.”
Ayşe Ateş pointed to many MHP and Ürükü Ocaklar members in her statement, but the MHP and Ürükü Ocaklar were not mentioned in the indictment.
Again, the indictment contained no information about why the murders were committed or who the instigators were.
CHP Chairman Ozgür Ozer met with Ayse Ates three times.
Ezer said he would follow up on the case, adding, “We will not stop pursuing the assassination of Sinan Atesh until it is fully explained,” and criticized the indictment, saying:
“Far from clearing the smokescreen, the indictment seeks to conceal many facts known to the public.”
President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdogan also welcomed Ayse Atesh and her daughters Bengis and Vanucicek in Beştepe on June 11.
After the meeting, Ateş said Erdogan had listened to him and his daughters at length, adding: “I explained the situation, we talked about the files. My only request is that the trial be carried out swiftly and that justice be served.” He also said that what is necessary will be done swiftly.
“They are trying to punish us and curtail our maneuvers,” MHP Chairman Devlet Bahceli said in a June 25 speech at a meeting of the party’s parliamentary caucus.
“They know very well who is dealing with whom and what smear mechanisms are being prepared,” Bahceli said. “We are not going to let our case be judged according to the whims of a few looters.”
“They will not let the MHP and Ulukh Oçaklal be interrogated,” Bahçeli stressed, adding: “Everyone should put down their stones so that we can witness it. Whoever knows what, whatever documents, information, findings they have, should submit them. Go to court so that the shaved necks are visible.”
