The theme we focused on this week as the Unconditional Justice Movement was unsolved murders, which have become an unavoidable reality in Turkey for years.
- The term “unsolved murder” refers to a circumstance in which the perpetrator of a homicide is unknown. Because these assassinations are carried out for political reasons, they should be referred to as political assassinations.
- The assassination of TKP member Mustafa Suphi and 14 of his colleagues in the Black Sea, as well as the murder of Sabahattin Ali, which remains unresolved until today, are the first political “unsolved” killings. Sabahattin Ali, one of Turkey’s most outspoken poets and authors, was assassinated by someone later revealed to be a member of the MIT
- The May 1, 1977 massacre is regarded as the largest “unsolved” murder in history. The assassination of Kemal Turks should also be regarded as one of the most significant political assassinations aimed at the labor movement.
- The Parliamentary Investigation Commission on Unsolved Political Murders was founded in 1993, and its report on this subject was released on October 12, 1995. In the report’s conclusion, 33 recommendations were given under the subject of effective actions against unsolved killings, but none of them were followed through on, and not a single unsolved political murder was solved.
- Before a tour abroad as Prime Minister in 2006, President Recep Tayyip Erdoan declared, “…the deep state has become a tradition; this word has been used since the Ottoman Empire.” It’s in gangs within institutions, we may say. There is a structure like this.” He detailed the state’s gangs in detail. Despite this dedication, no progress has been made in exposing the state’s gangs.
- On July 2, 1993, persons under the direction and supervision of the state forces burned alive 33 of our intellectuals in the Sivas Madmak Hotel. The true offenders were not brought to justice despite a long legal battle to punish those who were prosecuted as defendants in this case and those who were responsible for the slaughter. With the President’s pardon, an accused who was sentenced to death in the massacre was just released. The majority of the accused (18 police officers) were acquitted and just two police officers were given symbolic sanctions as a result of the Gazi Case trial, which lasted many years and was only for show.
- Proposals were made in the General Assembly of Turkey’s Grand National Assembly to establish a Parliamentary Research Group to look into unsolved political murders between 2003 and 2011, however all of the resolutions were defeated by AKP deputies. The CHP presented a fresh research proposal to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on April 6, 2006, titled “Why, how, and by whom were the murders committed in the process from Sabahattin Ali to Hrant Dink carried out and the culprits were left unresolved.” This motion was presented five times on different days, and each time it was defeated by AKP deputies.
- Sedat Bucak, Hüseyin Kocada, and Abdullah Atl, who were in the vehicle involved in the Susurluk traffic accident on November 3, 1996, played a crucial role in the killings committed in Turkey. In recent utterances, Sedat Peker has criticized former Interior Minister Mehmet Aar and former MIT member Korkut Eken in relation to the deaths of journalist Kutlu Adal. Peker said that Eken had called him at the time about Adal’s murder and that he had proposed his brother Atilla Peker for the job. In a petition he presented to the application prosecutor’s office and in which an unsigned copy was mirrored to the public, Atilla Peker, the brother of Sedat Peker, who was under investigation, claimed that they went to Cyprus with former MIT member Korkut Eken to kill journalist Kutlu Adal.
- The specifics of the ECtHR dossier on the Kutlu Adal murder, which came to light following Peker’s allegations, provide solid evidence that Abdullah atl committed the murder that Atilla Peker “could not commit.” The ECtHR also obtained statements from the policemen involved in the case. Following its investigation, the ECtHR’s 1st Chamber concluded on March 31, 2005 that the national authorities had failed to undertake an effective and adequate investigation into the circumstances behind Kutlu Adal’s death. As a result, the authorities ordered the victim to pay 20,000 Euros in compensation.
As the Unconditional Justice Movement, we would want to remind everyone that the primary reason for the existence of the state is to secure the safety of life, and when that is not possible, a state of law should disclose and punish the criminal.