MURDER IN ANATOLIA - European Stability Initiative - ESI

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“In all the cases security forces had some intelligence and prior knowledge about the
perpetrators and their plans, but somehow they did not follow up on the signals and
warnings.” 111
On 22 November 2007, the day of the first court hearing, Cengiz repeated his accusation:
“If state officials keep saying every day that Turkey is in imminent danger, that there are
internal enemies of this country, that missionaries are the agents of foreign states who try
to break up Turkey and so on, such horrible crimes are inevitable.” 112
Some of the other lawyers suspected that state institutions had a more direct role in the
killings. Erdal Dogan, an Istanbul-based lawyer who had also defended Hrant Dink,
suspected a link to the “deep state” from the very outset. “I read the first documents about the
trial, the indictment, the statements of the suspects,” he said. “If you are of normal
intelligence, you see that there is something bigger behind that.” 113 In November 2009, after
two years of court hearings, Cengiz was to come to a similar conclusion:
“It is crystal clear. There is a much bigger agenda and much more complex connections.
Everything had been planned, but not by them, by other people. They are just
puppets.” 114
c. “I did not stab anybody”
The interrogation of the suspects in court started on 14 January 2008. The accused all denied
that they had intended to kill anyone – despite having brought guns and knives – when they
entered the Zirve office. On 9 June 2008 even Emre denied direct involvement in the killings.
“I did not tie up anybody,” he said. “The three persons who died were tied up by Cuma and
Hamit. I did not stab anybody.” Emre also claimed that he did not know why the others
wanted information from the Zirve office.
“Abuzer and Salih said that they needed the information from the publishing house for
themselves, Cuma and Hamit said that they would pass it on to the press. I didn‟t ask
them why they needed it.” 115
The accused told the court that before the murder the victims had admitted to working with
Kurdish terrorists and intending to “kill Muslims”. Emre gave prosecutors an account of the
discussion that took place in the Zirve office moments before the triple murder:
111
Orhan Kemal Cengiz, ”Culture of Fear, Hate and Denial – Santoro, Dink, Malatya”, Human Rights Agenda
Association, 11 May 2007,
http://www.rightsagenda.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=280:aliasculture-of-fear-hateand-denial-santoro-dink-malatya&catid=79:aliasdiscrimination&Itemid=118.
112
Orhan Kemal Cengiz, “What is going on in the Malatya Massacre Case?”, Human Rights Agenda
Association, 22 November 2007;
http://www.rightsagenda.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=283:aliaswhat-is-going-on-inthe-malatya-massacre-case&catid=79:aliasdiscrimination&Itemid=118.
113
ESI Interview with Erdal Dogan on 6 August 2010.
114
Compass Direct, ”Court Seeks Help to Link Murders in Turkey to „Deep State‟”, 17 November 2009,
http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/turkey/11771/.
115 th
Protocol of the 7 Court Hearing, 12 May 2008, p. 9.
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