Acquittal and statute of limitations ruling in unsolved murders case

The appellate court has upheld the acquittal of 18 defendants in a case concerning 19 unsolved murders committed in Ankara during the 90s, including, former Interior Minister and then-General Director of Security Mehmet Ağar, former Special Operations Department Head İbrahim Şahin, and former National Intelligence Organization (MİT) executive and retired Colonel Korkut Eken.

CASE TO BE SENT TO THE COURT OF CASSATION

According to a report by T24, the court ruled that the case regarding the murders of Abdulmecit Baskın and Behçet Cantürk should be dismissed due to the statute of limitations, while upholding the acquittal decisions for the other murders.

One of the members filed a 160-page dissenting opinion against the decision. The case will now go to the Court of Cassation.

In the case, a previous acquittal decision had been overturned by the appellate court in 2021, leading to a retrial of the defendants. In the retrial, the defendants, including Ağar, were acquitted once again on May 26, 2023. Despite the appellate court's reversal of the acquittal, the local court had insisted on its initial ruling.

WHAT HAD HAPPENED?

According to the indictment, the defendants were accused of murdering Abdülmecit Baskın, Namık Erdoğan, Metin Vural, Recep Kuzucu, Behçet Cantürk, Savaş Buldan, Haci Karay, Adnan Yıldırım, İsmail Karaalioğlu, Yusuf Ekinci, Ömer Lutfi Topal, Hikmet Babataş, Medet Serhat, Feyzi Aslan, Lazem Esmaeılı, Asker Smıtko, Tarık Ümit, Salih Aslan, and Faik Candan between 1993 and 1996.

The indictment requested the conviction of Mehmet Ağar, İbrahim Şahin, Korkut Eken, Ayhan Çarkın, Ayhan Akça, Ziya Bandırmalıoğlu, Ercan Ersoy, Ahmet Demirel, Ayhan Özkan, Seyfettin Lap, Enver Ulu, Uğur Şahin, Alper Tekdemir, Yusuf Yüksel, Abbas Semih Sueri, Lokman Külünk, Mahmut Yıldırım, Nurettin Güven, and Muhsin Korman for the crimes of 'membership in an armed organization established to commit crimes' and 'complicity in murder'.

On December 13, 2019, the Ankara 1st High Criminal Court acquitted the defendants, including then-General Director of Security Mehmet Ağar, then-Head of the Special Operations Department İbrahim Şahin, former MIT executive and retired Colonel Korkut Eken, Mahmut Yıldırım (codenamed Yeşil), and special operations police officers. The 1st Criminal Chamber of the Ankara Regional Court of Justice (appellate court) had previously ruled to overturn the acquittals.

"41 JUDGES AND 13 PROSECUTORS CHANGED"

The ruling noted that the court had failed to discuss whether the statements made by defendant Ayhan Çarkın at various stages were corroborated by other notifications and evidence in the case file, and whether these statements were consistent with the material facts of the events. The decision stated that the origin of the bullets used in the murders should have been investigated. It also pointed out that the court acted in violation of the Criminal Procedure Code by failing to cite the applicable articles when issuing the acquittals.

Following the reversal, the case was once again heard at the Ankara 1st High Criminal Court.

In the final hearing of the case, the prosecutor presented their opinion and requested the acquittal of all defendants. Subsequently, the defense attorneys presented their arguments against the prosecutor's opinion. Levent Kanat, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs, stated, "I checked before coming here; throughout the entire trial, 41 judges and 13 prosecutors have changed. Despite this abundance of judges, we have experienced a total absence of perpetrators. Among these judges are those who are now members of the Constitutional Court, the Court of Cassation, and the Regional Court of Justice."