Controversial remarks from Hanefi Avcı ahead of the Sinan Ateş trial: 'The Office of the Supreme Court Chief Public Prosecutor must launch an investigation into the MHP'

12PUNTO EXCLUSIVE

Former Idealist Hearths President and Hacettepe University faculty member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sinan Ateş lost his life as a result of an armed attack in Ankara on December 30, 2022.

The 22 defendants facing charges in connection with the murder will stand trial on July 1, 2024, for "premeditated murder," "attempted murder," "incitement to commit a crime," and "aiding and abetting a crime."

Former Deputy Head of the Police Intelligence Department and former Head of the Department of Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Hanefi Avcı made significant statements to 12Punto ahead of the Sinan Ateş trial. 

Appearing as a guest on journalist Tuncay Mollaveisoğlu’s program "12’den," Hanefi Avcı stated that the Office of the Supreme Court Chief Public Prosecutor must take action regarding the murder of Sinan Ateş. 

"In my opinion, the Office of the Supreme Court Chief Public Prosecutor needs to intervene" said Hanefi Avcı, explaining the following: 

"They need to launch an investigation into the MHP; this is not an incident that can be simply brushed aside. This is an incident that must eventually lead there. The Supreme Court Prosecutor needs to look into this at this point. The incident has such a dimension; they must examine it." 

"THERE IS AN ORGANIZATION, EVERYONE SEES IT BUT..."

In response to Tuncay Mollaveisoğlu’s question, "What exactly should the Supreme Court Prosecutor investigate?" Hanefi Avcı made the following statement: 

"It is within their authority to file lawsuits against political parties and to investigate them. I believe such a notification should be sent there, and they should investigate such a matter. Whether it will proceed or be investigated in the future is a separate issue. If the state knows something exists, it is obligated to address its existence. We are currently in a situation where you know it exists, but you act as if you don't. This actually leads to the state denying itself. At one time, there was the Gülen organization; everyone knew about it, but they acted as if they didn't. We are in the same situation right now; there is such an organization. Everyone sees it, but they act as if they don't. The state should not act as if it hasn't seen it. The state must look into it, investigate it, and determine who is at fault; perhaps we are mistaken, perhaps we have perceived the event differently. Perhaps what we know is incomplete and there is more to it. Because there are other incidents as well... The state must see this and investigate it. In the end, it should announce, 'This is the truth.' If you don't say this, the state begins by denying itself and weakens itself. We have experienced examples of this in the past..."

"IF THE MHP DOES NOT RISE UP ON THE DAY AN IDEALIST HEARTHS PRESIDENT IS ATTACKED..."

Stating, "Everyone in the public knows it, everyone who is an Idealist knows it, and all journalists in the community know it, but they cannot voice it," Hanefi Avcı explained the MHP's silence as follows: 

"They know that if they voice it, a lawsuit will be filed. No one can carry out such an act against an Idealist Hearths president. Who could do it? Perhaps some terrorist leftist groups could. No one else could attack in such a planned and programmed manner. If they did, they would know they would face the entire Idealist Hearths community and the MHP. On the day an Idealist Hearths president is attacked, all of the Idealist Hearths and the entire MHP would rise up. If they are not rising up, there is an abnormality there."

"IF THE STATE ACTS AS IF IT DOES NOT KNOW, IT DENIES ITSELF"

Tuncay Mollaveisoğlu addressed the MHP's silence, stating, "The exact opposite happened in the Sinan Ateş murder." Following this, Hanefi Avcı made the following assessment: 

"This is abnormal. What is everyone saying? That this murder should be clarified. But when you look at the MHP side, they are standing against this. They are even taking a hostile stance against the Sinan Ateş family. His family says they are being threatened. Now, what is the meaning of this hostile stance? You know, but you act as if you don't. If you don't say what you know, you are being dishonest. If the state does not act according to what it knows and pretends not to know, it denies itself. The state is not a group, it is not a weak individual. Weak powers camouflage themselves. They speak of events implicitly, acting as if they don't know when they actually do. However, the state is the absolute power in this country; it cannot diminish or weaken itself. It goes, looks, and investigates. No one should prevent this, and this system must be set in motion. In fact, the judiciary should do this without politics interfering at all, but unfortunately, that is not possible in Turkey."

"THE DUTY BEGINS WITH THE OFFICE OF THE SUPREME COURT CHIEF PUBLIC PROSECUTOR"

Following Hanefi Avcı's emphasis on the "state," Tuncay Mollaveisoğlu added, "You are pointing to the Office of the Supreme Court Chief Public Prosecutor when you say the state" he added.  

Hanefi Avcı explained the importance of an investigation by the Office of the Supreme Court Chief Public Prosecutor as follows:

"I consider the state as a whole. But the duty falls to them here. Their instructions will set other institutions in motion. The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office will file a criminal complaint; in other words, it is a whole, but within that whole, the duty begins with the Office of the Supreme Court Chief Public Prosecutor. If such a process is not carried out, it will remain incomplete."

News Source : 12punto