Breaking news... Prosecutor announces opinion: Acquittal requested for 3 defendants in Sinan Ateş murder trial

The trial of 22 defendants, 13 of whom are in custody, for the assassination of former Ülkü Ocakları President Sinan Ateş in Ankara continues at the Ankara 32nd High Criminal Court.

In the case, which is closely followed by the public, the prosecutor has announced their opinion on the merits.

According to 12punto columnist Müyesser Yıldız, the requests for punishment in the indictment were reiterated. Only the punishment of Aytaç Ataç for harboring a criminal and the acquittal of three defendants were requested.

In the opinion, which the prosecutor read in 17 minutes, they requested that Eray Özyağcı, Vedat Balkaya, and Suat Kurt be punished for premeditated murder, and that Doğukan Çep and Tolgahan Demirbaş be punished for incitement to commit a crime.

Defendants for whom acquittal was requested:

• Mehmet Yüce
• Osman Bayraktar
• Erdem Karadeniz

The hearing was adjourned until September 30.

MOTHER SANİYE ATEŞ: EVEN A NEIGHBORHOOD BRAWL TAKES LONGER THAN THIS

After Sinan Ateş's mother, wife, and brother gave a press statement, mother Saniye Ateş, referring to the rapid progress of the trial, said, "It's as if it's a neighborhood brawl. Even a neighborhood brawl takes longer than this."

FIRST STATEMENT FROM AYŞE ATEŞ

Following the hearing, Sinan Ateş's wife, Ayşe Ateş, made a statement on her social media account.

The full text of Ateş's statement is as follows:

"My press statement regarding the judicial process that we have been waiting for 19 months but which they are trying to squeeze into 19 days:

Dear Members of the Press,

We are facing a file that is being rushed to be closed, and a judicial process that is struggling to sever the link with political extensions despite all the evidence.

As you are aware, in this process, we are fighting against a dark force that uses all its means, including the press and media, to portray this political assassination as an ordinary murder through a memorized, common statement that does not match any of the declarations made by the detainees in single-person cells for 19 months.

If the judicial process proceeds this quickly, the Sinan Ateş assassination trial will undoubtedly go down in history as the shortest political murder trial ever.

Under these conditions, we say:

May our nation stand with us.

May our state stand behind us.

Let the path to a fair trial be opened.

Let the files be merged, and let all the perpetrators be brought before the judge.

Because we know as well as our own names:

If this political assassination is not brought to light with all its dark aspects, Turkey will drift into a greater darkness.

The courage drawn from here will pave the way for new political assassinations.

The Turkish nation will meet new Bengisus, new Banuçiçeks.

There will be new Ayşe Ateşes of the Turkish nation.

Journalists who were silenced by being beaten yesterday will be killed tomorrow.

If you ask how I know, they have already announced their new action plans on social media.

They have started to put journalists and politicians who voice this political assassination on the target board and throw around threats of "We will not reconcile, we will settle scores!"

They have circulated posts saying, "We will take physical action when the conjuncture is favorable."

I ask you:

Isn't it clear as day what will happen if they get away with this trial?

Dear Members of the Press,

Darkness says, "I am here!" by raising its hand from various channels every day.

In this political assassination file, there is every kind of evidence you are looking for regarding this dark force that has infiltrated the Ülkü Ocakları and the MHP.

With your permission, I would like to summarize again these findings that are in the file and have been reflected in the written and visual press in recent days:

In this political assassination file, there is a lot of evidence regarding many acts of violence in which the darkness is involved.

Our personal data has also been trampled under the feet of this dark force. Whenever they set their sights on someone, they can access all the personal data we have entrusted to the state within minutes through their extensions within the police force.

When they are involved in a crime, they are protected by their extensions in the gendarmerie.

They do not hesitate to collect information about an 8-year-old girl just because her father was Sinan's friend, and they can easily obtain any woman's personal data from the police's closed system.

While we are suffering so much from femicides, the police officer, who is the trustee of our citizen's life and property, transmits all the data in their hand without even asking the reason. They don't even wonder if they are going to kill or beat them.

One cannot help but ask, "What kind of security vulnerability is this?"

It seems we are living by chance.

Dear Members of the Press,

As I have stated before:

This political assassination file is sitting on the table, inside an envelope that everyone who needs to see it is looking at.

However, it says "Lost Letter" on the envelope.

That is why the eyes that look cannot see, and the hands that touch cannot pick it up.

On this occasion, through you, I reiterate my call to all our deputies who believe that justice must now be established and who want to say "Stop!" to political assassinations:

Dear Deputies,

The necessity of establishing a Parliamentary Research Commission is as clear as day. The expectation of every individual of our noble nation, whose trust in justice has been shaken and whose conscience bleeds more every day, is for you to show a will in this regard.

Because for Turkey's just and bright future, this envelope must be opened immediately, the political pressure on the judiciary must be removed, and thus, whoever is involved in this crime must be tried fairly and receive the punishment prescribed by law.

Sincerely,"

My press statement regarding the judicial process that we have been waiting for 19 months but which they are trying to squeeze into 19 days:

Dear Members of the Press

We are facing a file that is being rushed to be closed, and a judicial process that is struggling to sever the link with political extensions despite all the evidence…

— Ayşe Ateş (@ayseatesaa) July 19, 2024

AYŞE ATEŞ ARRIVED WITH PROTECTION POLICE: THERE IS PRESSURE ON THE COURT

Sinan Ateş's wife, Ayşe Ateş, arrived at the sixth hearing of the case with 8 protection police officers.

Speaking before the hearing, Ayşe Ateş said, "There is a court established with a half-indictment. My hope is that there will be no new releases. It is illogical to have an opinion this quickly. There is a file of 17 people that has been separated. A healthy trial is not being conducted. There is pressure on the court. There is a trial that is being quickly turned into an ordinary murder case. If it closes quickly in this way, it will be seen in history as the fastest-closing political murder trial. They built a wall so that the political leg would not be touched. With statements prepared together... Their previous statements changed here. They don't want that political leg to be touched. When conditions change, a new trial is held. A trial is held regardless of the seat one sits in. Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım is at the center of this business. If you look at all the crimes in the file, they gather in his instructions. There are 20 separate crimes to be prosecuted in this file. At its center is Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım and his deputy Tolgahan Demirbaş, who is being tried for incitement."