Rapid verdict in Sinan Ateş assassination trial: The true instigators remain untouched

Halk TV columnist İsmail Saymaz emphasized in his column today that the Sinan Ateş assassination trial was concluded with unexpected speed. 

He noted that while the investigation lasted 17 months, the verdict was reached just five months after the indictment was written and two months after the first hearing. He argued that the court identified Doğukan Çep and Tolgahan Demirbaş as the instigators of the assassination, but that these individuals were not the true masterminds.

Saymaz expressed Tolgahan Demirbaş's loyalty to the Ülkü Ocakları (Grey Wolves) Chairman Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım and alleged that he acted in accordance with his instructions. 

He argued that Demirbaş did not possess the will to instigate the assassination on his own and was merely following orders. Furthermore, he stated that other individuals and actions linked to the assassination should have been investigated comprehensively.

İsmail Saymaz stated that the court conducted an intentionally incomplete investigation and a limited trial, and that the true instigators could not be touched. 

He alleged that there was political pressure on the prosecutors after the assassination and that attempts were made to close the file. However, emphasizing that these attempts were blocked through the efforts of opposition journalists, he noted the following: 

"The Sinan Ateş case ended with surprising speed.

This case, which took 17 months to investigate, was decided five months after the indictment was written and two months after the first hearing was held.

According to the verdict of the Ankara 32nd High Criminal Court, there are two instigators of the Sinan Ateş assassination: gang leader Doğukan Çep and Ülkü Ocakları executive Tolgahan Demirbaş.

The gunman Eray Özyağci, the courier Vedat Balkaya, and the lookout Suat Kurt were convicted of premeditated murder.

Five defendants were sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment.

Emre Yüksel, the Chief of Staff to Ülkü Ocakları Chairman Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım; special operations police officers Aşkın Mert Gelenbey and Murat Can Çolak, who escorted the gunman; and Mustafa Uzunlar, the owner of the vehicle used in the Ankara-Istanbul journey, received sentences ranging from 15 to 18 years for aiding and abetting the murder.

GIVE A HEAVY SENTENCE, CLOSE THE CASE

I must state that the sentences were given at the upper limit based on an intentionally incomplete investigation and a trial limited to the act of assassination itself.

Both the severity of the sentences and the fact that the verdict was reached in five months suggest that there is political will behind this decision.

Erdoğan, who received Ayşe Ateş at the Presidential Complex, may have wanted the Sinan Ateş case to be removed from the agenda by handing down a sentence that satisfies the public conscience.

In this respect, the court points to the true instigators, yet it cannot touch any of them.

It recognizes them, identifies them, but cannot name them.

While convicting Demirbaş of instigation, it cannot go after those who instigated him."