Musa Anter case: Next hearing scheduled for 15 days before statute of limitations expires

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The latest hearing of the case concerning the 1992 assassination of the Kurdish journalist and author Musa Anter took place yesterday (June 21).

The case was previously merged with the main case regarding the Gendarmerie Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism (JİTEM), an organization held responsible for thousands of extrajudicial killings in the country's predominantly Kurdish regions during the conflict in the 1990s.

The Ankara 6th Heavy Penal Court adjourned the hearing until September 15. The case will drop in October due to the statute of limitations.

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It was revealed at the hearing that the Security Directorate had not responded to a written request by the Ministry of Justice for information about the killing of the defendant Cemil Işık in Germany.

The Human Rights Association (İHD) and the Lawyers for Freedom Association (ÖHD) requested to participate in the case.

"The İHD was founded in 1986. So, it existed in Turkey as of the date of the crime. Because of that, we think it was harmed by the crime. The İHD has struggled for democracy since the day it was founded.

"Anter's passing is an event that the Kurdish people are very sad about. Not only Anter but also many people were killed in unsolved murders and many villages were burned down in that period. So, that period of Turkey needs to be shed light on."

Alişan Şahin, a lawyer with the ÖHD, said they want to "shoulder responsibility" against impunity by taking part in the case.

Nuray Özdoğan, a plaintiff attorney, underscored the risk that the case might be dropped.

"We repeat our statements for you to give a verdict regarding the criminal statute of limitations. [The case] was tried to be dropped due to the statute of limitations with deliberate actions," he said. "We say that the statute of limitations cannot be disputed. We expect your court to reach a conclusion by evaluatin gthe social circumstances of this murder."

"At this point, we have been waiting for the defendants to stand trial for 30 years," he said, repeating the request for the separation of Anter's case from the JİTEM case.

"If you reject our request, the statement of Aygan [Abdülkadir, a defendant] should not be waited for. His crimes are already proven. Our demand is the immediate punishment of the defendants," he added.

Announcing its interim decision, the court rejected the two associations' demands for participating in the case because they were "not directly affected by the crime," in line with the prosecutor's opinion.

The court also rejected to separate the Anter case and ruled that the next hearing should talek place on September 15.

(HA/VK)