The Sinan Ateş file from A to Z: What has happened in 18 months?

Ersin Eroğlu/ 12punto EXCLUSIVE

18 months have passed since the murder of former Idealist Hearths President Sinan Ateş. While 22 people were arrested in connection with the murder, the files of 17 suspects were separated. Before the Sinan Ateş trial, which will be heard in Ankara on July 1, we have compiled what has happened from the first day to the present for 12punto readers.

THE PROCESS LEADING SINAN ATEŞ TO HIS DEATH

It has emerged that Sinan Ateş, his lawyer and friend Ali Yücel, and Çağrı Ünel, the Mersin Idealist Hearths President of his era, began to be followed simultaneously in March 2022.

According to an expert report revealed by Asuman Aranca of T24, former Idealist Hearths executive Tolgahan Demirbaş asked Ankara Police Department Murder Bureau Chief Mustafa Ensar Aykal on March 10, 2022, to find Sinan Ateş's address. In the correspondence, Demirbaş stated that the person requesting this address was Idealist Hearths President Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım.

Commissioner Aykal replied to Demirbaş, whom he addressed as "Chief," saying, "Chief, this number leads to the previous President." Demirbaş replied, "Exactly, chief, they have pulled the plug on him." 1.5 hours after this correspondence, Ateş's address was written in the notes section of Demirbaş's phone.

One day before the attempted attack on Çağrı Ünel in Mersin, on March 14, 2022, Tolgahan Demirbaş asked Aykal to check the license plate of the vehicle belonging to Ali Yücel, Sinan Ateş's close friend and lawyer. The person who requested this information from Demirbaş, who accessed it, was Emre Yüksel, the Deputy President of the Idealist Hearths and Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım's chief of staff.

THE FUSE WAS LIT IN MERSIN

According to the case file in which Çağrı Ünel is being tried, while the process of following Sinan Ateş in Ankara was beginning, a preparation was being made in Mersin at the same time against Çağrı Ünel, who was the Mersin Idealist Hearths President during the Sinan Ateş era.

According to Alican Uludağ of DW Turkish, 10 members of the Idealist Hearths met in Adana on March 14, 2022, and moved to Mersin. They conducted reconnaissance around Ünel's house. On March 15, an attempted attack occurred against Çağrı Ünel, who was going to a bank. Emrullah Kaplan, a member of the Kadirli Idealist Hearths, lost his life as a result of the fire opened by Ünel, who drew his weapon after being attacked with a knife. At the end of the trial, the court sentenced Ünel to 10 years in prison for "homicide under unjust provocation." 8 of the attackers were members of the Adana Idealist Hearths, and 2 were employees of the Etimesgut Municipality, which was managed by the MHP at the time.

One day before this attack, Adana Idealist Hearths President Cem Tutsoy posted, "Under the command of our Idealist Hearths President Mr. Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım and our headquarters, we will strike the heads of the FETÖ traitorous scum like a 'LIGHTNING' (YILDIRIM)."

Following Çağrı Ünel's killing of Emrullah Kaplan, Idealist Hearths members began targeting Sinan Ateş on social media. Similarly, attempts to follow Sinan Ateş increased even further. In a message sent to Idealist Hearths President Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım on March 18, 2022, Tolgahan Demirbaş wrote, "Happy Fridays, Mr. President. We are by your side and at your command under all circumstances, sir."

THE MURDER OF SINAN ATEŞ

Sinan Ateş was murdered with five bullets on December 30, 2022, as he was leaving Friday prayers in Çukurambar, one of the most central points of Ankara. The murder was carried out by a motorcycle assassination squad. Eray Özyağcı, who was on the motorcycle driven by suspect Vedat Balkaya, committed the murder. The location where the murder took place was a region close to the AKP Headquarters and the US Embassy in Ankara, where security measures are at a high level.

THE MURDER WAS OUTSOURCED TO THE GÜLSUYU GANG

Eray Özyağcı, nicknamed "Papi," who committed the murder, had previously received a prison sentence of 21 years, 10 months, and 15 days for snatch theft, robbery, and extortion. The person who found Özyağcı as the "hitman" and organized his transport to Ankara was Doğukan Çep, nicknamed "Dodo." Çep received a total of 62 years in prison for murder and drug-related crimes in the case regarding the killing of Hasan Ferit Gedik in Gülsuyu. 35 years of this sentence have been finalized. Although an arrest warrant was issued for Çep in 2018, he could not be caught until the Ateş murder. While Çep was a fugitive, he organized Özyağcı's transport to Ankara.

COURIERS: SPECIAL OPERATIONS POLICE

Eray Özyağcı was brought to Ankara from Istanbul on December 28 in a transporter vehicle escorted by special operations police officers Muratcan Çolak and Aşkın Mert Gelenbey. The person who sent 97 thousand TL to Çep for travel expenses before the murder was Ufuk Köktürk, who was a member of the MHP Istanbul Provincial Board of Directors at the time. Köktürk also has a criminal record. Köktürk's file for killing a high school student named Kahraman Kaya in 2013 was at the Supreme Court of Appeals. The lawyer for these three suspects was MHP lawyer Serdar Öktem, who was also arrested in the Ateş investigation. It is alleged that Öktem established the connection between the Istanbul leg of the murder and the suspects in Ankara.

DETERMINATION OF LOCATION INFORMATION

Striking information regarding the preparation process of the murder was reached from the correspondence recovered from the phone of Tolgahan Demirbaş, a former Idealist Hearths executive arrested within the scope of the investigation. According to the report by Asuman Aranca of T24, Sinan Ateş was followed step by step starting nine months before the murder. Demirbaş requested Ateş's address and location information from Commissioner Mustafa Ensar Aykal, who worked at the Ankara Police Murder Bureau and also looked at the Ateş file for a period. Demirbaş also made a similar request to former MİT officer Çağlar Zorlu. Upon the request of Tolgahan Demirbaş, a person named S.Y. also sent the home address of Ateş's wife, Ayşe Ateş, in Ankara's Yenimahalle district. In his conversation with Demirbaş, S.Y. stated, "Brother, keep it between us, but Muhabbet President talked to Şakir (his brother). He said we have set up the team, they are going to shoot him in the head." It was also determined that the suspects conducted reconnaissance at the scene before the murder.

On March 28, 2022, Tolgahan Demirbaş received Sinan Ateş's real-time location information from former MİT member Çağlar Zorlu. However, Demirbaş decided not to take action, saying the "place is not suitable." Demirbaş forwarded the information from Çağlar Zorlu to Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım, saying, "My research continues, sir, I just received this information, I submit it for your consideration."

On the same day, Yıldırım asked Demirbaş whether Sinan Ateş had entered Turkey. Demirbaş, who said he would check immediately, replied one day later, "He has returned to Turkey, he is currently in the country." The correspondence revealed that the person who had Sinan Ateş followed closely was Idealist Hearths President Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım. However, Yıldırım's name was not mentioned in the Sinan Ateş indictment, and his file was separated.

WHO HELPED THE HITMAN ESCAPE?

Sinan Ateş was murdered by Eray Özyağcı on December 30, 2022, at 13:40, on the street where his office is located in the Çukurambar district of Ankara, as he was returning from Friday prayers.

According to the statement of Suat Kurt, who is alleged to be among those who planned the murder, Suat Kurt was watching the moment of the incident on his phone by video calling Doğukan Çep at that time.

Vedat Balkaya dropped off Eray Özyağcı, whom he escaped with on a motorcycle, at the location in Gölbaşı where Tolgahan Demirbaş was waiting at 13:53. Demirbaş continued from Gölbaşı to the Haymana road and left Özyağcı in a rural area. Later, Demirbaş returned to the city center, met with Emre Yüksel, and they set off for Istanbul. The duo, who stayed in a hotel in Istanbul, later returned to Ankara.

MHP lawyer Serdar Öktem, who is alleged to have provided the connection between the Istanbul and Ankara teams in the murder, came to Ankara from Bursa on the day of the murder according to the indictment and returned to Bolu from there at 00:41. At these hours, Emre Yüksel and Tolgahan Demirbaş had stayed in Bolu and set off for Istanbul again. It could not be determined whether the duo left Eray Özyağcı there.

On the other hand, the vehicle used by Öktem, who was wandering in the center of Bolu, turned to the road leading to Karacaağaç Plateau on December 31 around 10:45. Öktem arrived at the Ankara Provincial Police Department on January 2 at 22:23 and left 11 minutes later. On January 1, 2023, at 15:17, the vehicle used by Serdar Öktem was caught by the license plate recognition system (PTS) while following the Audi brand vehicle containing Tolgahan Demirbaş and Emre Yüksel in the direction of Eskişehir Road Armada Front Çayyolu. The same vehicle used by Öktem was also caught by the PTS following the Audi brand vehicle on January 3 and 4.

THE PROSECUTOR WHO TOUCHED THE FILE WAS BURNED

The investigation into the Sinan Ateş murder was first initiated by Ankara Public Prosecutor Ayhan Ay, who was on duty at the time. After he gave the order to detain former Idealist Hearths executive Tolgahan Demirbaş and had some suspects arrested, Ayhan Ay was sent on leave, and Ankara Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor Durdu Özer and Public Prosecutor Durmuş Ali Özcan were assigned in his place. Ay also appeared in the file as the third prosecutor. In July 2023, due to the start of the Judicial Recess, the file was taken from Durdu Özer and other prosecutors who went on leave and transferred to Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor Ahmet Altun. After the end of the Judicial Recess, the investigation was completely taken from Durdu Özer in September 2023. While the investigation file was given back to prosecutor Ayhan Ay, Ahmet Altun continued his title as the coordinating deputy chief prosecutor. In the investigation where Ayhan Ay took office for the second time, Commissioner Mustafa Ensar Aykal, who worked at the Murder Bureau and was alleged to have given Sinan Ateş's location information and address to Tolgahan Demirbaş, was arrested.

According to the report by Alican Uludağ of DW Turkish, Prosecutor Ayhan Ay took leave by obtaining a medical report at the end of December 2023 due to health reasons. In the corridors of the courthouse, allegations came to the agenda that this situation was because the prosecutor was "forced" to take leave against the possibility that a possible operation against Yıldırım and Şanlı before the March 31 local elections would create a crisis between the AKP and MHP. The investigation file was transferred back to Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor Ahmet Altun. Altun's name came to the agenda with news of his meeting with MHP Deputy Chairman İzzet Ulvi Yönter after he was appointed to the investigation in September. It is alleged that in this meeting, Yönter offered Altun a Supreme Court of Appeals membership in exchange for the release of some suspects. While Yönter denied these reports, Altun preferred to remain silent.

The Sinan Ateş investigation was shelved before the March 31 local elections. It was learned that Ayhan Ay, who was stated to have received a two-month report, started working at the courthouse after his leave ended last week. However, according to information reached by DW Turkish, the Sinan Ateş file was not given back to Ayhan Ay. Ay's authority to view the file from UYAP was also removed. In this process, it is not yet clear whether the new Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor Gökhan Karaköse will assign a new prosecutor for the investigation. The only authorized person in the file is currently Ahmet Altun.

According to the 2024 Main Decree of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) for Judicial and Administrative Judiciary, the most remarkable appointment was Ankara Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor Durdu Özer, who was removed from office in July last year while conducting the Sinan Ateş murder investigation.

The Council of Judges and Prosecutors, with the decree it prepared regarding the judiciary, appointed Ankara Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor Durdu Özer, who was removed from office while conducting the investigation into the murder of former Idealist Hearths President Sinan Ateş, to the Ankara Regional Court of Justice Public Prosecutor's Office.

This appointment means a demotion for Özer. Durdu Özer, who was appointed to the Sinan Ateş murder investigation in January 2023, had ensured the arrest of critical suspects such as Idealist Hearths Deputy President Emre Yüksel, former Idealist Hearths executive Tolgahan Demirbaş, and MHP lawyer Serdar Öktem, who were among the perpetrators of the murder. Özer had also determined the connection of Idealist Hearths President Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım to the incident as a result of the expert examination he had conducted on Tolgahan Demirbaş's phone. Upon Özer's request, a travel ban was imposed on Yıldırım, who is a suspect in the file.

After Özer was removed from office, the investigation had stopped until the March 31, 2024 local elections. In the indictment prepared in May, while an indictment was prepared for 22 arrested suspects, the files of 17 non-arrested suspects, including Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım, were separated.

Durmuş Ali Kaya, another prosecutor who was removed from office along with Durdu Özer, was appointed to the Diyarbakır Çınar Prosecutor's Office.

WHAT IS IN THE INDICTMENT?

The Sinan Ateş murder indictment was completed on May 10. Within the scope of the investigation, 22 people were arrested, including Eray Özyağcı, who is alleged to be the 'hitman', Doğukan Çep, who is alleged to have organized the armed action, former Idealist Hearths executives Tolgahan Demirbaş and Emre Yüksel, lawyer Serdar Öktem, and three police officers.

Doğukan Çep is a name who received a prison sentence in the case regarding Hasan Ferit Gedik, who was killed in the Gülsuyu-Gülensu Neighborhood in Istanbul in 2014.

Serdar Öktem was Çep's lawyer in the Gedik murder case.

The 22 defendants will be tried for the crimes of "premeditated murder," "attempted murder," "incitement to crime," and "aiding and abetting a crime."

In the 145-page indictment, it is alleged that the perpetrators Eray Özyağcı, Vedat Balkaya, and Suat Kurt acted together to carry out the action, and that Doğukan Çep and Tolgahan Demirbaş were the instigators.

It is alleged that the other suspects Zekeriya Asarkaya, Hakan Saraç, Ufuk Köktürk, Mehmet Yüce, Mustafa Uzunlar, Aşkın Mert Gelenbey, Murat Can Çolak, Osman Bayraktar, Caner Güney, Umut Ersoy, Çağlar Zorlu, Aytaç Ataç, Emre Yüksel, Serdar Öktem, Erdem Karadeniz, Alper Atay, and Mustafa Ensar Aykal aided the crime committed in participation.

It is stated that the pistol used by suspect Eray Özyağcı in the incident could not be seized; however, empty bullet casings belonging to the pistol were found at the scene.

It is alleged that suspect Mustafa Ensar Aykal, who was working as a commissioner at the Ankara Police Department at the date of the incident, abused the authority given by his public office to unlawfully obtain personal information belonging to the victim and gave it to suspect Demirbaş, and therefore committed the crime of "unlawfully obtaining and disseminating personal data."

AYŞE ATEŞ'S REACTION TO THE INDICTMENT

Some legal experts, journalists, and specialists reacted to the indictment.

Criticisms of the indictment also came from different opposition parties in the Parliament, from the Republican People's Party to the IYI Party. The following elements stand out in the criticisms:

- The indictment does not sufficiently evaluate the expert report.

- The reasons for Demirbaş and Çep's incitement of the murder are not included.

- The reason for the murder is not sufficiently explained.

- Evidence is not sufficiently evaluated.

- The fact that Demirbaş was caught in the house of former MHP deputy Olcay Kılavuz is not mentioned in the indictment.

- Demirbaş's possible political connections are not pursued.

In addition, the fact that the prosecutor's statement of Sinan Ateş's wife, Ayşe Ateş, was not included in the indictment also caused a reaction.

Ayşe Ateş criticized the indictment in her statements with the words "a piece of empty paper."

Ateş used the words, "(...) today I saw once again that our state is neither on our right, nor on our left, nor in front of us, nor behind us."

"There is an indictment served as if it were a simple debt-credit dispute. I cannot even call it an indictment. They didn't even add the things that exist, they didn't put them in," said Ateş, asking, "Well, where are the instigators? Do you really expect us to believe that such an assassination was designed and planned by a few thugs?"

Ateş emphasizes in her prosecutor's statement that her late husband began telling her months before the murder that he was being threatened.

In Ayşe Ateş's prosecutor's statement, which is not included in the indictment, the words, "My late husband; had told me many times that the attacks made against him through the media, the events that took place in Mersin and the processes that continued, and the activities carried out against him were planned by the current Idealist Hearths Education and Culture Foundation President Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım and Olcay Kılavuz, who was the Idealist Hearths Education and Culture Foundation President before him and is still an MHP Mersin Deputy, acting together," were included.

In her statement, Ayşe Ateş also alleged that "On March 10, 2022, four people came in front of the office her husband used with a black vehicle used by the Ankara Idealist Hearths and waited in front of the office building."

"Regarding this matter, she shared the picture of the vehicle waiting in front of the office on Whatsapp with his friend Ömer Çağrı Özdemir on March 10, 2022, and sent a message saying, 'Ankara Hearths sent 4 armed people.' I am also submitting the screenshot regarding this conversation as an attachment to my statement. I request that Ömer Çağrı Özdemir's statement also be taken on this matter," she declared.

In the same statement, Ayşe Ateş requested from the prosecutor's office to "clarify the relationship between Tolgahan Demirbaş and the then MHP Mersin Deputy Olcay Kılavuz and to investigate their involvement in the assassination against Sinan Ateş, to examine the HTS records of Demirbaş and Kılavuz, and to investigate the vehicles allocated for protection."

Meanwhile, in the news published on the T24 news site with the signature of Asuman Aranca, images of the vehicle, which is mentioned as Audi brand in the indictment and is alleged to be the vehicle in which the hitman Eray Özyağcı was smuggled from Ankara to Istanbul, were published.

According to the news, Tolgahan Demirbaş and Emre Yüksel used the vehicle, and it is alleged that the vehicle is seen as a vehicle with a beacon.

Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım and Olcay Kılavuz did not make a new statement regarding the recent discussions.

On his X account, Yıldırım shared separately the words of Nationalist Movement Party Chairman Devlet Bahçeli, who criticized those who found the indictment incomplete in his speech at his party's parliamentary group.

Kılavuz also shared the link to Bahçeli's last group meeting.

THE FILES OF 17 PEOPLE WERE SEPARATED: WHO ARE THEY?

Following the lawsuit filed by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against 22 arrested suspects regarding the murder of former Idealist Hearths President Sinan Ateş, all eyes are on the investigation file regarding the 17 suspects whose files were separated. Although 1.5 years have passed since the murder, the fact that a lawsuit has not yet been filed against these people is a subject of criticism.

According to the report by Alican Uludağ of DW Turkish, Sinan Ateş's wife, Ayşe Ateş, also describes the separation of the files of 17 people as an abnormal situation and says, "I don't think there is a need for two files for one case. There is a suspicion here, there is pressure. This pressure on this political murder is holding the wrist, they are trying to intervene so that the judiciary does not function, but it will not go on like this."

The first trial opened regarding the murder will begin on July 1. So, who is accused of what in the file whose investigation is still ongoing?

AHMET YİĞİT YILDIRIM IS NUMBER ONE

The number one suspect in the investigation is former Idealist Hearths President Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım. The evidence in the file strengthens the thesis that Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım harbored hostility towards Ateş. It reveals that the instruction to follow Ateş in the process leading to the murder also came directly from Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım. In her statement to the prosecutor's office, Sinan Ateş's wife, Ayşe Ateş, reported that her husband began to be targeted with the news titled "A fire of betrayal" published on the website called Orhun Haber, which she said was under Yıldırım's control, on March 4, 2022. After this news, Idealist Hearths members began to target Ateş on social media.

The most important evidence against Yıldırım, who is accused of instigating the Sinan Ateş murder and against whom a travel ban has been imposed, was the correspondence records found on the phone of former Idealist Hearths executive Tolgahan Demirbaş. From the correspondence in the expert report that entered the file, it is understood that the instruction to follow Sinan Ateş step by step came directly from Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım.

The first follow-up instruction took place on March 10, 2022, 6 days after the news published in Orhun Haber. Tolgahan Demirbaş asked Ankara Police Department Murder Bureau Chief Mustafa Ensar Aykal on March 10, 2022, to find Sinan Ateş's address. Demirbaş stated in the correspondence that the person requesting this address was Idealist Hearths President Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım. Commissioner Aykal replied to Demirbaş, whom he addressed as "Chief," saying, "Chief, this number leads to the previous President." Demirbaş's response to this was, "Exactly, chief, they have pulled the plug on him." On the same day, Sinan Ateş sent a photo of a vehicle belonging to the Ankara Idealist Hearths in front of his office in Ankara to his friend and sent the message, "Ankara Hearths sent four armed people."

On March 15, 2022, an attack was carried out by 10 people in Adana against Çağrı Ünel, the Mersin Idealist Hearths President of the Sinan Ateş era. During the knife attack, Emrullah Kaplan, a member of the Kadirli Idealist Hearths, lost his life from a bullet fired from Ünel's weapon.

On March 28, 2022, Tolgahan Demirbaş forwarded the real-time location information of Sinan Ateş, which he received from former MİT member Çağlar Zorlu, to Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım, saying, "My research continues, sir, I just received this information, I submit it for your consideration." On the same day, Yıldırım asked Demirbaş whether Sinan Ateş had entered Turkey. Demirbaş, who said he would check immediately, replied one day later, "He has returned to Turkey, he is currently in the country."

THE HITMAN WAS SMUGGLED IN YILDIRIM'S OFFICIAL VEHICLE

Another piece of evidence revealing Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım's connection to the murder is that Emre Yüksel, who was arrested for the murder, is both Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım's chief of staff and the Deputy President of the Idealist Hearths.

The vehicle in which the hitman Eray Özyağcı was smuggled after the murder was used as an official vehicle by Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım at that time. Again, the Passat brand vehicle used by the arrested suspect Serdar Öktem, who came to Bolu where the hitman was temporarily left, was also a vehicle allocated to the Idealist Hearths.

On the other hand, in the correspondence between Tolgahan Demirbaş and Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım in 2021, preparations for actions against former Idealist Hearths Presidents Suat Başaran, Alişan Satılmış, and former MHP Deputy Ercüment Devlet Yahnici, who were attacked at that time, were also included. It is seen that Demirbaş constantly conveyed the information he collected about these names to Yıldırım in the correspondence. Yıldırım wants Suat Başaran to be followed and a strong team to be established. After Başaran was attacked at Esenboğa Airport, Demirbaş informs Yıldırım about what happened.

ANKARA PROVINCIAL PRESIDENT AT THE PLACE WHERE THE HITMAN WAS LEFT

The name of Idealist Hearths Ankara Provincial President Ömer Şanlı, who is a suspect in the Sinan Ateş murder and against whom a travel ban has been imposed, was never mentioned in the indictment against the 22 arrested. However, findings regarding Ömer Şanlı were obtained in the License Plate Recognition System records during the investigation process. After the hitman was temporarily left in Bolu by Emre Yüksel and Tolgahan Demirbaş, Ömer Şanlı, as well as Serdar Öktem, an arrested suspect in the file, came to Bolu on December 31, 2022, one day after the murder. The vehicles used by the duo, who stayed in Bolu, were caught on cameras one after another.

THE IDEALIST HEARTHS EXECUTIVE WHO TOOK A PHOTO OF THE HOUSE

Another suspect in the murder was Idealist Hearths Deputy President Burak Kılıç. Burak Kılıç, who had a record as a worker in the Etimesgut Municipality, which was managed by the MHP for a period, was closely interested in the attack on Çağrı Ünel in his correspondence with Tolgahan Demirbaş. Upon Demirbaş's question, Kılıç gave the information on the same day regarding the attack on Çağrı Ünel, "The kid died, from the Kadirli hearth, Çağrı Ünel shot and killed him." Demirbaş asked, "What will happen now?" Kılıç forwarded the message shared on social media by a person named E.G. to Demirbaş on the same evening, "If the swords are drawn, the enemy is not chosen, from this hour on, one less, one more. Even if you were a storm, you could only take dust from this rock. Even if you were fire, you couldn't burn a handful of grass. We will strike the heads of the traitors like LIGHTNING." 2 of the 10 people involved in the attack on Çağrı Ünel were Idealist Hearths members working as workers in the Etimesgut Municipality.

Kılıç replied "no" to the question "Is there any activity regarding S.A. (Sinan Ateş)" sent by Demirbaş the day after the day Ünel was attacked. Burak Kılıç went to conduct reconnaissance in front of Sinan Ateş's house in Ankara's Yenimahalle district on April 8, 2022, and sent photos and videos of the place to Tolgahan Demirbaş. On the day Sinan Ateş was murdered, Kılıç sent a message to Tolgahan Demirbaş at 15:16 saying, "Come to my room, brother." Demirbaş spoke with Demirbaş on the phone twice at 17:55 and 17:57.

'WE SET UP THE TEAM, THEY ARE GOING TO SHOOT HIM IN THE HEAD'

Idealist Hearths Ankara Provincial Deputy President Suat Yılmazzobu also played a role in the process of collecting information about Sinan Ateş. According to the expert report, Tolgahan Demirbaş sent a screenshot containing information including the ID number of Sinan Ateş's wife, Ayşe Ateş, to Yılmazzobu on April 7, 2022, and requested Ateş's address. Yılmazzobu sent Ateş's home address in Yenimahalle to Demirbaş one day later, saying, "Brother, the phone number was active." On April 12, Yılmazzobu, who asked Demirbaş "whether anything came out of the number and address," said, "Brother, keep it between us, but Muhabbet President talked to Şakir (his brother). He said we have set up the team, they are going to shoot him in the head." Demirbaş replied to this person, "We are also waiting with curiosity." The vehicle used in the attack on Future Party Deputy Chairman Selçuk Özdağ was rented in the name of Yılmazzobu. However, no lawsuit was filed against this name.

Tolgahan Demirbaş asked Gürsel Horat, the former Çubuk Idealist Hearths President working at Esenboğa Airport, to query Sinan Ateş's flight information dated March 16, 2022. Horat also sent Ateş's flight information to suspect Tolgahan Demirbaş on the day Çağrı Ünel was attacked. While sending this message, Horat said, "My President, you know better, Sinan was coming to the port with a weapon, he might also pass by Haluk's place." Demirbaş replied, "I think it will be like that too, we will make the plan accordingly."

Another suspect in the Sinan Ateş murder investigation was Talha Atalay, who worked as a commissioner at the Ankara Police Department. After the murder, Atalay sent an information note prepared at the Police Department to Demirbaş.

OLCAY KILAVUZ'S FILE IS IN PARLIAMENTARY CRIMES

The file of former MHP Mersin Deputy and former Idealist Hearths President Olcay Kılavuz, who is one of the names under investigation regarding the Sinan Ateş murder, is in the Parliamentary Crimes Investigation Bureau because he was a deputy at that time. Kılavuz is accused of hiding Tolgahan Demirbaş, who fled after the murder, in his house in Bağlıca and resisting the police who came to detain him at that time. Olcay Kılavuz called Tolgahan Demirbaş twice half an hour after the murder. In her statement to the prosecutor, Ayşe Ateş had blamed not only Yıldırım but also Kılavuz for the murder of her husband.

IS THERE AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE MHP DEPUTY?

The name of MHP Bolu Deputy İsmail Akgül is also mentioned regarding the hiding of Sinan Ateş murder hitman Eray Özyağcı in a plateau house in Bolu, where he was temporarily left immediately after the murder. Information in the file reflected that about a month after the murder, the father's house of MHP Bolu Deputy İsmail Akgül in Bolu was searched by the police, and the vehicle belonging to his father was brought to Ankara and a fingerprint investigation was conducted. Hitman Eray Özyağcı was temporarily left in Bolu by Tolgahan Demirbaş and Emre Yüksel after the murder. On the same night, the arrested lawyer Serdar Öktem also came to Karaağaç Plateau in Bolu. The MHP deputy's father's house is located on this plateau. However, it was not announced whether there is any investigation into İsmail Akgül within the scope of the investigation.

HAS AN ADDITIONAL INDICTMENT BEEN PREPARED?

So, when will the investigation into the 17 suspects, including Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım, be completed? According to information received by DW Turkish, an additional indictment has not yet been prepared for these suspects. It is stated that it is difficult for this investigation to be completed by July 1, when the trial will begin. It is not expected that a lawsuit will be filed in the near future, especially because the management of the Idealist Hearths is a suspect in this investigation and because it would not create a crisis in the People's Alliance. It is stated that MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli's support for Yıldırım and his team is evaluated as a message to the judiciary.

BAHÇELİ: WE WILL NOT LET OUR CAUSE BE JUDGED

MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli said that only lawyers will attend the Sinan Ateş trial to be heard on July 1.

Stating that they will not let their cause be judged, Bahçeli continued his words as follows:

“They tell 40 lies on one foot to associate our party with the murder case in question that will start on July 1. We know very well who is working with whom and what is being talked about here and there. We cannot let our cause be judged according to the pleasure of 3-5 thugs. We cannot let the MHP and the Idealist Hearths be questioned by the provocation of the heads of the puppets wandering around. Is it thought that we don't see that they are trying to intimidate us? You cannot compete with the MHP. Only our lawyers will attend the trial on July 1, no one else will be around. Let whoever knows what submit it to the court so we can see the back of everyone's neck.”

THE TRIAL BEGINS ON JULY 1

The Sinan Ateş murder investigation also drew attention with changes in prosecutors.

The investigation was divided into two at one stage, and the files of 17 people, including Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım, who had a "travel ban," were separated.

Therefore, the investigation into these people is proceeding through a separate file.

The trial of the defendants within the scope of the case will begin on July 1.

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel and IYI Party Chairman Musavat Dervişoğlu announced that they will be in Sincan to watch the Sinan Ateş trial. On the other hand, calls to the public to watch the first hearing of the Ateş family's trial continue.