Breaking News... Date set: Akın Gürlek to meet with Uğur Mumcu's family

The family of Uğur Mumcu, one of the iconic figures of the Turkish press and an unforgettable writer for our newspaper, will meet with Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek as part of the ongoing process regarding his assassination.

GÜRLEK APPROVES APPOINTMENT

Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek has accepted the appointment request from Uğur Mumcu's family. It was reported that the meeting will take place on Thursday, August 6.

FAMILY HAD REQUESTED AN APPOINTMENT

In a previously released written statement, the Mumcu family had requested a meeting with Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek, drawing attention to the judicial process in the assassination file and their demands for justice.

CALL MADE TO TWO MINISTRIES

The statement included the following: "We expect an explanation as to why a file currently under judicial review is being examined outside of the court, for the appointment requested from the Minister of Justice to be granted without delay, and for our clients' concerns to be heard and addressed directly. We call on the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Interior to take all necessary steps to capture Oğuz Demir."

The statement included the following assessments:

"The bomb assassination of journalist-writer Uğur Mumcu in Ankara on January 24, 1993, remains one of Turkey's most serious political murders still awaiting full clarification. The unchanging demand of our clients, Şükran Güldal Mumcu, Şinasi Özgür Mumcu, and Özge Mumcu Aybars, is that the murder be uncovered in all its aspects—not only the perpetrators, but also those who ordered, instigated, directed, protected, and any international connections involved.

As is known, the Uğur Mumcu murder, along with the murders of Muammer Aksoy, Bahriye Üçok, and Ahmet Taner Kışlalı, was tried at the Ankara 11th High Criminal Court; it was accepted that the acts subject to the charges were planned and committed within the Iran-linked organizational structure of the Tevhid-Selam/Jerusalem Army. In this context, specifically regarding the Uğur Mumcu murder, conviction sentences were handed down for Ferhan Özmen, who prepared the bomb, and Necdet Yüksel, who acted as a lookout; these decisions were finalized after review by the Court of Cassation, and the execution process is ongoing."

"OĞUZ DEMİR MUST BE CAPTURED"

"The file of Oğuz Demir, who is accused of placing the bomb in Uğur Mumcu's vehicle, was separated because he could not be captured, and the trial is still pending in the Ankara 5th High Criminal Court under file number 2020/265. Therefore, the Uğur Mumcu case is an ongoing trial regarding Oğuz Demir.

During this process, initiatives were also taken before the Ministry of Justice to ensure the capture and extradition of Oğuz Demir to Turkey; in line with information reflected in the file, it was requested that the necessary judicial assistance and extradition processes be carried out with the relevant country's authorities. However, no concrete progress has been made to date that would ensure the fugitive suspect is captured and brought to justice."

REACTION TO NEWS IN PRO-GOVERNMENT MEDIA

"At this stage, it has been reflected in the public domain that the Minister of Justice stated that approximately 680 unsolved files that have not yet reached the statute of limitations are being examined, and that the Uğur Mumcu file is also being handled within this scope. The purpose, scope, and method by which a file currently under trial before a court is being separately examined at the Ministry's desk have created serious uncertainty and anxiety for our clients.

Immediately following this statement, the news published in the Türkiye newspaper titled 'Mossad killed him, blamed it on the religious! Deep plot in the Uğur Mumcu assassination' has further increased this anxiety. In the news, the Mossad allegation, which had been voiced previously during the trial process and in television programs, was brought back to the agenda; based on the statements of retired Air Pilot Lieutenant General Erdoğan Karakuş, a public opinion was created that is conducive to making the responsibilities established by finalized judicial decisions controversial."

"WE ARE NOT AGAINST A BROADER INVESTIGATION INTO THE UĞUR MUMCU MURDER"

"On behalf of our clients, we would like to state clearly: We are not against a broader investigation into the Uğur Mumcu murder. Our expectation is that the file should not be limited to the hitmen; the instigators, decision-makers, directors, and any external connections should be revealed with concrete evidence. However, this investigation cannot be conducted in a way that eliminates the responsibilities determined by finalized court decisions, clears convicted perpetrators, or obscures the duty to capture the fugitive suspect.

Indeed, the same Mossad allegation was also used as a justification for a retrial by Ferhan Özmen, who was accepted as the person who prepared the bomb by a finalized court decision. Ferhan Özmen's defense attorney requested a retrial and a stay of execution by considering Erdoğan Karakuş's statements as 'new evidence'; the Ankara 11th High Criminal Court rejected this request with its additional decision dated 12.03.2025. The Ankara 12th High Criminal Court, which examined the file upon objection, specifically emphasized in its final decision dated 06.05.2025 that Erdoğan Karakuş was not involved in the investigation regarding the Uğur Mumcu assassination, and therefore his statements did not constitute direct information based on the investigation file. The court also clearly stated that these statements were not supported by the material facts in the file, remained in the nature of personal opinion and assessment, and therefore could not be accepted as new and serious evidence requiring a retrial.

In this case, re-presenting to the public the statements of a person who was not involved in the investigation, which do not constitute direct information based on the file and which were determined not to be new evidence in the finalized authority decision, may serve not to reveal the truth, but to obscure the responsibility of the perpetrators whose convictions have been finalized and to cast a shadow over the ongoing Oğuz Demir trial.

On the other hand, in crimes committed in participation, procedural actions that interrupt the statute of limitations also produce results for persons who have participated in the crime in any way and against whom no investigation or prosecution has yet been conducted. There is an arrest warrant for Oğuz Demir, and the file is pending at the Ankara 5th High Criminal Court. In this respect, the Uğur Mumcu file has not reached the statute of limitations regarding Oğuz Demir. Conversely, it is clear that any new and abstract research based on other structures, leaving aside the organizational structure and perpetrators determined by finalized court decisions, could face the obstacle of the statute of limitations."

"AN APPOINTMENT HAS BEEN REQUESTED FROM THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE"

"The state's primary duty is to ensure that the location of the fugitive suspect Oğuz Demir is determined, that he is captured, brought to justice, and that the connections revealed by existing evidence are completed, as required by the ongoing trial, without allowing the file to change direction in a way that would create a risk of statute of limitations. Following these developments, an appointment was requested from the Minister of Justice on 27.07.2026 on behalf of Uğur Mumcu's wife, Mrs. Güldal Mumcu, and their attorneys, Av. Turgut Kazan and Av. Yalçın Akbal, in order to obtain information about the purpose, scope, and method of the re-examination process and to convey our clients' concerns directly. However, no response has been given to this request to date. The lack of a response further increases the uncertainty regarding the boundaries and direction of the process.

Furthermore, information reflected in the public domain regarding some files related to organizational structures of a similar nature, especially the main Hezbollah case, where finalized heavy conviction decisions given against organization leaders were neutralized through retrial processes conducted without proper notification to the victim families; and that some suspects who were found to be in the country despite being sought for years were released, further increases our clients' concerns. For this reason, every step to be taken in the Uğur Mumcu file must be carried out in a way that does not weaken finalized judicial decisions; that completes the material truth, reveals missing connections, and serves the capture of the fugitive suspect.

In this framework, our demand is clear: The process must be operated effectively, transparently, and quickly to clarify the Uğur Mumcu assassination in all its aspects, to investigate the missing connections, to reveal the instigators and decision-makers, to ensure that finalized judicial decisions are not neutralized, and to capture Oğuz Demir without delay and bring him to justice. As a requirement of this expectation, we expect an explanation as to why a file currently under trial is being examined outside of the court, for the appointment requested from the Minister of Justice to be granted without delay, and for our clients' concerns to be heard and addressed directly. We call on the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Interior to take all necessary steps to capture Oğuz Demir."