Third trial in the Sinan Ateş murder case

Defendants Did Not Remember Much... Sister Selma Ateş Called the Ülkü Ocakları a “Criminal Organization”

The trial of 8 defendants, whose files were separated from the investigation into the murder of former Ülkü Ocakları President Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sinan Ateş, has begun. While the defendants answered many questions with “I don't remember,” mother Saniye Ateş stated that all the defendants were part of Olcay Kılavuz's crew and asked, "Did you receive separate payments to murder my son and separate payments to lie?" Sister Selma Ateş used the term “criminal organization” for the Ülkü Ocakları and accused MHP Deputy Chairmen Ulvi İzzet Yönter and Semih Yalçın, former MP Olcay Kılavuz, Ülkü Ocakları President Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım, as well as Ülkü Ocakları Ankara Provincial President Ömer Şanlı.

In the investigation conducted separately from the main Sinan Ateş murder trial, while a decision of non-prosecution was issued for 22 suspects, including former MHP MP Olcay Kılavuz and Ülkü Ocakları President Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım, it was decided to open a case against 8 suspects, including Ülkü Ocakları Vice President Burak Kılıç, Ülkü Ocakları Ankara Provincial Vice President Suat Yılmazzobu, former Çubuk Ülkü Ocakları President Gürsel Horat, and dismissed commissioner Talha Atalay, on charges of “illegally obtaining personal data and shielding a criminal.”

In today's first hearing of the case held at the Ankara 34th Criminal Court of First Instance, only defendants Burak Kılıç, Suat Yılmazzobu, and dismissed commissioner Talha Atalay were present. The mother of the late Sinan Ateş, Saniye Ateş, and his sisters Selma Ateş Kazancı and Sevda Ateş Yörükoğlu also attended the hearing as complainants.

When the judge read the documents received by the court, it was observed that defendants Burak Kılıç, Suat Yılmazzobu, Talha Atalay, and Yunus Hasar had violated their judicial control obligations.

What Did He Understand by “S.A.” in the Correspondence?

The hearing began with the defense of Ülkü Ocakları Vice President Burak Kılıç. Accused of sending a photo of the residential complex where Sinan Ateş lived to Tolgahan Demirbaş, Kılıç argued that it was a very crowded complex where everyone lived, that he did not remember why he sent that photo, and that he learned during his prosecution statement that Sinan Ateş also lived there, stating, “Tolgahan did not ask me for a photo of the complex, and I did not send it at his request. I cannot make a statement that I sent it at Tolgahan's request.”

When the judge reminded him that he had stated in his prosecution testimony, “I may have sent it at Tolgahan's request,” Burak Kılıç stated that he might have said that by reasoning and trying to remember under the conditions of that day.

The judge also pointed out that in his prosecution testimony, he had stated that the hanging of a protest banner in front of Sinan Ateş's house after the murder committed in Mersin had come to the agenda, and that he might have sent it for that reason.

The prosecutor asked whether it was a contradiction for Kılıç to mention the banner-hanging act while stating that he learned Sinan Ateş's home address from the prosecutor. Kılıç said, “There was more than one residence in the photo shown to me. I did not know in which building the victim lived. I answered that way by reasoning according to the conditions of that period.”

Upon the prosecutor's questions, Burak Kılıç said that they had been friends for about 8-9 years because they were in the same social circle as Tolgahan Demirbaş, and that he knew Sinan Ateş by name but had never met him and had never spoken to him.

Kılıç's lawyer, Mahmut Nedim Suiçmez, emphasized that there was no contradiction between his client's statements, explaining that nothing came out of the records of the phone he handed over voluntarily, and that he was only being tried in this case due to an expert report regarding Tolgahan Demirbaş's digital materials. Attorney Suiçmez requested an investigation into whether the expert examination in question was conducted by court order, noting that this report was prepared by an expert who served as law enforcement during the investigation phase and signed many documents.

The Ateş family's lawyer, Şeyda Şahin, requested that the case be merged with the file concerning Serdar Öktem and Mustafa Ensar Aykal, who were separated from the main case for not providing their phone passwords, and stated that Burak Kılıç was a name who should be tried in the main case, while asking Kılıç, “Is your social circle with Tolgahan Demirbaş a common political circle?” Kılıç replied, “We have a circle with social, cultural, and political intersections.”

Burak Kılıç answered Attorney Şahin's question, “What did you understand by ‘S.A.’ in the correspondence you had with Tolgahan Demirbaş on March 16, 2022, saying, ‘Is there any development regarding S.A.? No.’” as follows:

“Because I am being tried today, I may have perceived S.A. as another person in April 2022. In April 2022, the victim was not yet a victim; he was not dead, he was alive. I do not see a need to answer as it is irrelevant to this file.”

Why Did He Call Tolgahan for the Man He Would Shoot in the Head?

While defendant Ülkü Ocakları Ankara Provincial Vice President Suat Yılmazzobu did not accept the accusation of obtaining and sending information about Sinan Ateş's wife, Ayşe Ateş, he explained that he had sent a message to Tolgahan Demirbaş but did not remember the contents.

When the judge asked for the surname of the Muhammed he said “I will shoot him in the head” in his prosecution testimony, Yılmazzobu said, “I don't remember.” The following dialogues then took place:

Judge: He is going to be shot in the head, but you don't remember...

Yılmazzobu: I did the electrical work, and when I couldn't get my money, I contacted Tolgahan in a fit of anger and sent that message.

Judge: Does Tolgahan know Muhammed?

Yılmazzobu: I don't know.

Judge: If you don't know, why are you writing to Tolgahan?

Yılmazzobu: I got the job through Tolgahan.

Judge: Where does Muhammed reside?

Yılmazzobu: I don't know.

Judge: You said “Istanbul” in your testimony.

Yılmazzobu: I don't remember.

Judge: How did you obtain the information about Ayşe Ateş?

Yılmazzobu: I don't remember. I repeat my prosecution testimony.

Upon the prosecutor's questions, Yılmazzobu stated that he only knew Burak Kılıç and Gürsel Horat among the defendants, and that he had never met Sinan Ateş.

“DEFENDANTS ARE BEING DIRECTED” DEBATE

Defendant dismissed commissioner Talha Atalay stated that he felt ashamed to be in court due to such an accusation, and then said that the note he sent to Tolgahan Demirbaş regarding the Sinan Ateş murder was a correspondence in a WhatsApp group, and that he had no opportunity to access any information because he was working at the Regional Traffic Branch Directorate at that time. Upon the judge's questions, Atalay explained the following:

“Tolgahan Demirbaş asked where parking tickets were issued above Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu Street in Çukurambar and whether there was an opportunity to object to them. I said I would research and provide information. Meanwhile, the Sinan Ateş murder was committed. When I called and asked about this issue, I sent the news shared in the WhatsApp group where everyone except me was a civilian. At that time, there was no detention, investigation, or inquiry regarding Tolgahan Demirbaş. If there were, I wouldn't have sent it.”

The Ateş family's lawyer, Süleyman Kavak, pointed out that various correspondences were made in the WhatsApp group in question, such as “Why was Serdar Öktem taken?.. In this way, Tolgahan is in trouble, he will get a sentence... Dodo has been caught,” and that the nickname “Dodo” for Doğukan Çep was not known at that time, and asked why he was included in this group and where his closeness with Tolgahan Demirbaş came from. Talha Atalay replied, “Those correspondences do not bind me, they are their own comments. I am not being tried for those correspondences, and I am not the addressee.”

When Attorney Şeyda Şahin warned that their lawyers were making defenses on behalf of the defendants and directing them, the Judge said to Talha Atalay, “You are only looking at me.”

During the prosecutor's questions, the following dialogues took place:

Prosecutor: In that WhatsApp group, there are instant messages like, “Heart massage is being performed... Where is the information coming from... From the police.” How is information coming from the police to this civilian group?

Atalay: I am not the addressee, those civilians are.

Prosecutor: You are the one being tried here, I am asking you. You have WhatsApp messages, calls/received calls with Tolgahan Demirbaş one day before and one day after the murder, and there are deleted messages. What were these deleted ones?

Atalay: They are all about traffic tickets.

Judge: Why did you feel the need to delete them? It's something unimportant.

Atalay: I don't remember.

REACTION OF THE ATEŞ FAMILY

After the completion of the defendants' defenses, the Ateş family, who were asked about their requests to participate, said the following:

Mother Saniye Ateş: “I am a complainant against the defendants, I want to participate in the case. I want them to be punished, I want justice. I had a son. The defendants claim they don't know him, but they all know my son; they threatened my son and my daughter-in-law. The person with the surname Kılıç knows my son. I don't even want to mention this Kılıç's name. They are all Olcay Kılavuz's crew. Did you receive separate payments to murder my son and separate payments to lie?"

Sister Sevda Ateş Yörükoğlu: “I am a complainant, I want to participate in the case.”

Sister Selma Ateş Kazancı: “They say they don't know Sinan Ateş. There is no possibility that they don't know someone who has served as the President of the Ülkü Ocakları. He was appointed by Devlet Bahçeli. After resigning from the Ülkü Ocakları Presidency, Burak Kılıç launched a smear campaign against Sinan Ateş on the internet. It is called the Ülkü Ocakları Education and Culture Foundation, but in my opinion, it is a criminal organization. This is my conviction. We know that they all murdered my brother in an organized and systematic way. We know that İzzet Ulvi Yönter, Semih Yalçın, and Olcay Kılavuz are at the head of these, and that Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım took them out of the city with his vehicle. Aren't these Ülkü Ocakları executives? These individuals say they don't know each other, but when you look, they are all working together nicely, including the criminals' lawyers. While giving their statements, they looked at our faces shamelessly and grinning. They answered the questions with ‘I don't know,’ ‘I don't remember.’ Because of them, my brother has unfortunately been under the ground for 118 weeks. Of course, when justice is served, we will settle accounts with all of them. I also want to add Ömer Şanlı to these names. I am a complainant against all the individuals I have named and who are mentioned in the case file, and I want them to be tried with the heaviest punishment. If something happens to us, let them be held accountable. We are not murderers like you, we have hearts. No human will die without experiencing what they have caused. I hope you are not tested with your children.”

Mother Saniye Ateş said, “I hope you are tested,” upon this last sentence, while the defense lawyers also reacted to Selma Ateş's use of the term “criminal organization” for the Ülkü Ocakları.

Prosecutor: “Let Tolgahan Demirbaş Be Heard as a Witness”

The Prosecutor, whose opinion was asked, requested that the family's requests to participate be accepted and that the judicial control measures against the defendants continue, as well as that Tolgahan Demirbaş be heard as a witness via SEGBİS connection, and that the merger request be decided after the other case file arrives.

The defendants and their lawyers requested that the cases be merged, that the Ateş family's participation in the case be rejected, and that the judicial control measures be lifted and their acquittal be decided.

After the break, the Judge announced that the Ateş family's request to participate in the case was accepted and that the judicial control measures would continue, while stating that Tolgahan Demirbaş being heard as a witness would be evaluated after the decision regarding the merger procedures.

The hearing was adjourned to July 1.

Müyesser YILDIZ

March 26, 2025