'Ahmet Güneş was not an ordinary ISIS member'

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The Lawyers' Commission for the October 10 Ankara Massacre Case announced that digital materials belonging to Ahmet Güneş, an ISIS member and one of the fugitive defendants in the ongoing trial, were added to the case file seven years later, ahead of the trial scheduled for September 8.

These digital materials linked to Güneş, one of the fugitive suspects of the massacre, reportedly contain military training videos of ISIS militants from Turkey and footage related to the execution of an individual claimed to be a member of the PKK, allegedly carried out by Güneş, the "Antep emir" Yunus Durmaz, and others.

Despite these images of executions and training, Ahmet Güneş, prior to the Ankara Train Station Massacre in October 2015, had been released from custody in 2014. Subsequently, he played a role in preparing for several attacks orchestrated by ISIS in Turkey, including the October 10 Ankara Massacre.

"He was presented as an ordinary ISIS member"

Lawyer Eylem Sarıoğlu, one of the attorneys representing the October 10 Ankara Massacre Case, spoke to bianet about the digital materials belonging to Güneş, some of which were already included in the case files as photographs, but she emphasized the importance of video footage being added to the file.

Sarıoğlu stated, "We were able to add these digital materials to our case with great effort over the years," and continued, "And these images showed that Ahmet Güneş was not 'just an ordinary organization member.' We have been saying that Ahmet Güneş was not an 'ordinary organization member,' but from the beginning, he has been presented as such. He was also presented this way in the indictment. According to the documents we have received, Güneş had been involved in ISIS's Gaziantep organization from the beginning, occasionally taking on responsibilities, and we saw that he had taken responsibility for the preparation of these massacres, organizing and training of individuals, especially during periods when there were significant recruitments from Gaziantep."

"State authorities have the video footage since 2014"

Sarıoğlu also pointed out that Ahmet Güneş had been under state surveillance since 2012, was "coincidentally" detained in 2014, released the same year, and disappeared afterward. She stated, "The fact that these digital materials related to Güneş were seized when he was detained in 2014 is quite alarming for us. We have actually been discussing and bringing this up for seven years. With so many records about these individuals, with their organizational relationships being so clear, and even being in leadership positions within the organization, we have been asking from the beginning how they could continue their activities so freely."

Regarding the responsibility of public officials, Sarıoğlu added, "The state institutions wanted these individuals to be released. From 2012 to 2014, both the prosecutor who followed them and the police and the court all share a public responsibility here. We have been saying this from the very beginning. We will express these in great detail during the hearing on September 8. As you know, the panel has changed again, so we may have to repeat the same things again. We will continue to follow this case until all the facts come to light, and we expect the support of the entire public in this matter."(VC/PE)