New development in Sinan Ateş case: Two cases combined

A new decision was made in the trial regarding the murder of Sinan Ateş in Ankara.

The main case regarding the killing of Sinan Ateş, former chairman of the Ülkü Ocakları Education and Culture Foundation, as a result of an armed attack in Çankaya, Ankara, on December 30, 2022, was heard at the Ankara 32nd High Criminal Court.

Hitman Eray Özyağci, motorcyclist Vedat Balkaya and murder scene inspector Suat Kurt were sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for premeditated murder, while Doğukan Çep and Tolgahan Demirbaş were sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for incitement to premeditated murder.

Five defendants were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 2 to 18 years, 10 defendants were acquitted, and the cases of two defendants were separated.

SEPARATE CASE FILED AGAINST 8 DEFENDANTS

A separate case was filed at the Ankara 34th Criminal Court of First Instance against eight defendants, including the then Deputy Chairman of the Ülkü Ocakları Burak Kılıç, the Deputy Chairman of the Ülkü Ocakları Ankara Provincial Directorate Suat Yılmazzobu, the former Chairman of the Çubuk Ülkü Ocakları Gürsel Horat and the suspended police commissioner Talha Atalay from the Ankara Police Department Traffic Branch, who are accused of obtaining some information about Ateş before he was killed and helping to hide those involved in the incident after the murder.

In the indictment, it was requested that Burak Kılıç, Gürsel Horat, and Suat Yılmazzobu be punished for the crime of unlawfully obtaining or disseminating personal data, and that Commissioner Talha Atalay be punished for the crime of unlawfully obtaining or disseminating personal data by a public official.

It was requested that the defendants Fatih Küçükerturan, Gökhan Türkmen, Recep Küçükerturan, and Yunus Hasar be punished for the crime of favoritism towards the criminal.

While Talha Atalay, one of the defendants who was not detained, was present at the second hearing of the case held at the Ankara 34th Criminal Court of First Instance, the others did not attend.

Sinan Ateş's mother, Saniye Ateş, his sisters Selma Ateş and Sevda Ateş, and the lawyers of the parties were also present at the hearing.

The court announced that the reasoned decision of the Ankara 32nd High Criminal Court was sent to the court.

"THEY KILLED ME FOR THREE CENTS"

Speaking at the hearing, Sinan Ateş's sister Selma Ateş said, "They killed my brother for 3 cents. Those who killed him should experience what we experienced." Ateş's other sister Sevda Ateş said, "Justice should be served. We are just waiting; but we have no hope. We have no hope in this world, our hope is in God."

Sinan Ateş's mother, Saniye Ateş, said, "I am suing all of them, I am not forgiving them. They killed my son for the sake of a seat. I am suing those who kept them on a leash. My child was not harming anyone. Why did they follow my son for days? Why did they threaten him with their children."

ARREST REQUEST

Şeyda Şahin, one of the lawyers of the Ateş family, said the following:

"We want an arrest warrant to be issued for the defendants who do not comply with the court order and do not attend the hearing. The defendants are violating judicial control measures.

Therefore, despite the warning, we demand the arrest of all defendants who do not comply with the judicial control decisions.

If your court is of the opposite opinion, we want the most severe judicial control measures to be applied."

He denied the charges

Defendant Talha Atalay did not accept the accusations against him. "I have not had any conversations or exchanges of information regarding my abuse of power," said Atalay, claiming that he met with Tolgahan Demirbaş in the normal course of life and talked about traffic tickets.

Atalay said, "Since this issue is on the agenda, a conversation took place among us. There is no ulterior motive."