Inaction on illegal acts angers lawyer
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Hurriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 30, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - According to a lawyer, Tahir Elçi, it is more than 10 years now that no legal action has been initiated against military personnel believed to have been involved in alleged extra-judicial killings. The issue has come back on the country’s agenda since the Ergenekon case started
No legal action has been taken for 10 years against military officers claimed to be involved in extra-judicial killings by the General Staff, daily Milliyet reported yesterday, referring to assertions made by lawyer Tahir Elçi.
"The file, opened in 1999, will shortly become barred. Thus, we filed a criminal complaint with the Ergenekon prosecutor," Elçi said about the case of eight extra-judicial killings in Diyarbakır, whose suspects include former Gendarmerie Intelligence and Anti-Terrorism Command, or JITEM’s, group commander Col. Abdülkerim Kırca.
Kırca, paralyzed during an ambush with terrorists, committed suicide two weeks ago, the same day he was accused of being solely responsible for extra-judicial killings and illegal activities in the fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in southeastern Anatolia.
Alleged illegal activities
The extra-judicial killings and alleged illegal activities of the officers have been brought back on the country’s agenda as part of the Ergenekon investigation in which a group of prosecutors have been trying to uncover an alleged illicit organization within the state composed of retired generals, journalists and professors who are claimed to have sought to topple the government in 2003 and 2004. More than 100 people have been arrested and many are already before the court.
According to daily Milliyet, the prosecutor’s office in the İdil district of Şırnak submitted a criminal complaint to the Diyarbakır prosecutor’s office in January 1999. The complaint suggested Col. Arif Doğan, now an Ergenekon suspect, was the head of JITEM’s Diyarbakır organization. "They killed Hasan Caner, Hasan Utanç and Tahsin Sevim during interrogations," the İdil prosecutor’s office said in the complaint.
Seeking information
The Diyarbakır prosecutor’s office submitted the complaint to the General Staff and requested information about the relevant military officers. However, the General Staff said only the military prosecutor’s office could carry out an investigation as the suspects were from the military. The section of the complaint that related to the military officers was then separated. Lawyer Elçi, however, said there has been no development in the case for 10 years.
In addition to these cases, the Diyarbakır prosecutor’s office also filed a criminal complaint relating to 28 extra-judicial killings that occurred in 2005, based on statements made by Abdülkadir Aygan, a PKK confessor. In accordance with Aygan’s statements, the criminal complaint against 31 people, including former State of Emergency, or OHAL, governors Ünal Erkan, Hayri Kozakçıoğlu and retired Col. Hikmet Köksal was submitted to the military prosecutor’s office. The military prosecutor submitted the complaint to the Chief of General Staff 10 days ago.
"Murat Aslan’s buried body has been found. He had been missing for 10 years. The genetic code of Aslan’s father overlapped with the body’s genes. Thus, we conveyed Aygan’s claims about 28 killings to the prosecutor. The military prosecutor’s office did not even record the document, but said they had submitted it to the General Staff. If it is permitted, allegations against these military officers can be investigated," lawyer Sezgin Tanrıkulu said.
"The file, opened in 1999, will shortly become barred. Thus, we filed a criminal complaint with the Ergenekon prosecutor," Elçi said about the case of eight extra-judicial killings in Diyarbakır, whose suspects include former Gendarmerie Intelligence and Anti-Terrorism Command, or JITEM’s, group commander Col. Abdülkerim Kırca.
Kırca, paralyzed during an ambush with terrorists, committed suicide two weeks ago, the same day he was accused of being solely responsible for extra-judicial killings and illegal activities in the fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in southeastern Anatolia.
Alleged illegal activities
The extra-judicial killings and alleged illegal activities of the officers have been brought back on the country’s agenda as part of the Ergenekon investigation in which a group of prosecutors have been trying to uncover an alleged illicit organization within the state composed of retired generals, journalists and professors who are claimed to have sought to topple the government in 2003 and 2004. More than 100 people have been arrested and many are already before the court.
According to daily Milliyet, the prosecutor’s office in the İdil district of Şırnak submitted a criminal complaint to the Diyarbakır prosecutor’s office in January 1999. The complaint suggested Col. Arif Doğan, now an Ergenekon suspect, was the head of JITEM’s Diyarbakır organization. "They killed Hasan Caner, Hasan Utanç and Tahsin Sevim during interrogations," the İdil prosecutor’s office said in the complaint.
Seeking information
The Diyarbakır prosecutor’s office submitted the complaint to the General Staff and requested information about the relevant military officers. However, the General Staff said only the military prosecutor’s office could carry out an investigation as the suspects were from the military. The section of the complaint that related to the military officers was then separated. Lawyer Elçi, however, said there has been no development in the case for 10 years.
In addition to these cases, the Diyarbakır prosecutor’s office also filed a criminal complaint relating to 28 extra-judicial killings that occurred in 2005, based on statements made by Abdülkadir Aygan, a PKK confessor. In accordance with Aygan’s statements, the criminal complaint against 31 people, including former State of Emergency, or OHAL, governors Ünal Erkan, Hayri Kozakçıoğlu and retired Col. Hikmet Köksal was submitted to the military prosecutor’s office. The military prosecutor submitted the complaint to the Chief of General Staff 10 days ago.
"Murat Aslan’s buried body has been found. He had been missing for 10 years. The genetic code of Aslan’s father overlapped with the body’s genes. Thus, we conveyed Aygan’s claims about 28 killings to the prosecutor. The military prosecutor’s office did not even record the document, but said they had submitted it to the General Staff. If it is permitted, allegations against these military officers can be investigated," lawyer Sezgin Tanrıkulu said.