Indictment against former MIT officer Önder Sığırcıkoğlu: 'Life imprisonment and 35 years sought'

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has completed its investigation into former MIT personnel Önder Sığırcıkoğlu, who was captured on the Syria-Lebanon border and brought to Turkey in a cross-border operation by the MIT. The prepared indictment demands life imprisonment and up to 35 years in prison for the defendant on espionage charges.

The indictment, prepared by the Terror Crimes Investigation Bureau of the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and accepted by the Ankara 28th High Criminal Court, reveals in full detail the years-long story of Önder Sığırcıkoğlu's flight, the actions he carried out, and his relationships with foreign intelligence services.

HE HAD HANDED OVER FREE SYRIAN ARMY COMMANDERS TO THE ASSAD REGIME

The indictment recalled that Sığırcıkoğlu, who began his service within the MIT in 1993, was assigned to refugee camps in the Yayladağı district of Hatay following the outbreak of the Syrian civil war. It was determined that the defendant, taking advantage of the facilities provided by his position, transferred information about refugees opposed to the Assad regime, internal institutional work, and MIT reports to Syrian intelligence.

Sığırcıkoğlu's most notable past action was planning and executing the process of kidnapping Free Syrian Army (FSA) commanders Lieutenant Colonel Hussein Harmoush and Major Mustafa Kassum and handing them over to the Assad regime. The defendant had been sentenced to 20 years in prison by the Adana 10th High Criminal Court in 2012 for this crime.

HE FLED WHILE ON TRAVEL LEAVE AND WORKED FOR THE REGIME FOR 10 YEARS

The following findings regarding the fugitive life of Sığırcıkoğlu, who fled to Syria by taking advantage of a 10-hour travel permit granted to him while being transferred to the Osmaniye Open Penal Institution in 2014, were included in the indictment:

Partnership with Syrian and Russian Intelligence: Living under the protection of the Assad administration in Syria between 2014 and 2024, the defendant transferred information classified as state secrets regarding the activities and structure of the MIT to both Syrian and Russian intelligence services during this period.

Exposed MIT Personnel: Giving an interview to a journalist in Syria to prove his loyalty to the regime, Sığırcıkoğlu explicitly mentioned and exposed the names of some active MIT personnel in this interview.

HE FLED AFTER THE REGIME FELL, CAPTURED BY MIT AT THE BORDER

After losing his patron following the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria in December 2024, Sığırcıkoğlu fled first to Lebanon and then to Russia. After living in Russia for a while, the defendant returned to the region and was captured and brought to Turkey in a pinpoint operation organized by the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) on the Syria-Lebanon border.

REQUEST FOR "SECRET" HEARINGS

For Önder Sığırcıkoğlu, who will be tried at the Ankara 28th High Criminal Court, life imprisonment and up to 35 years in prison are being sought for the crimes of "obtaining information that must remain secret for the state for the purpose of political espionage" and "disclosing information that must remain secret regarding the security of the state for the purpose of espionage."

The prosecution also requested that the hearings be conducted entirely in closed sessions (secret to the public) due to the nature of the case, which contains high-level state secrets, and for reasons of national security.