Musa Anter murder case | ‘Ministry of Justice hinders progress in the file’

* Photo: Kenan Kırkaya / Twitter

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Merged with the main trial over the Gendarmerie Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism (JİTEM) Organization, the trial over the murder of Kurdish journalist Musa Anter in 1992 continued at the Ankara 6th High Criminal Court in the capital city of Turkey today (March 23).

While the statutory limitations will expire in September 2022, the hearing was attended by Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) MPs Mahmut Toğrul and Muazzez Orhan; Fatin Kanat, Sevil Turgut and Nuray Çevirmen from the Human Rights Association (İHD), journalist Hüseyin Aykol and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Representative to Turkey Erol Önderoğlu.

The court has rejected the requests of the İHD and Van Bar Association for involvement in the trial on the grounds that "they were not directly aggrieved". The next hearing of the trial will be held on June 20.

As reported by Mezopotamya Agency (MA), the presiding judge of the court board, talking about the information and documents added to the case file, stated that the Ministry of Justice had not responded to the international writ pertaining to the obtaining of documents and information regarding the killing of informant Cemil Işık with the code name "Hogir".

The presiding judge said that the Justice Ministry had also not answered the international writ about Abdülkadir Aygan (Aziz Turan). According to the judge, the written correspondence to the Justice Ministry about the warrants against defendants Abdülkadir Aygan, Mahmut Yıldırım, Muhsin Gül and Mehmet Zahit Karadeniz had not been responded to.

'Ministry makes efforts for statutory limitations'

Taking the floor at the hearing, Musa Anter's son Dicle Anter recalled that the statute of limitations will expire soon in the trial over the killing of Musa Anter and requested that the detection of the defense statement of Abdülkadir Aygan be completed as soon as possible.

Anter family's lawyer Nuray Özdoğan also raised concerns about the statutory limitations and said that the Justice Ministry has been in a position to hinder progress in the file in prosecution and investigation.

Özdoğan briefly said:

"It is the Ministry which makes your decisions ineffective; it is also the Ministry which prevents the statement of Abdulkadir Aygan from being taken. The Ministry has been unfortunately making efforts to make the file end in the expiry of statutory limitations. We do not believe that our international writs will lead to any results. But the Ministry or some people within the state expect that this file will end in the expiry of statutory limitations.

We are putting a crime committed by the JİTEM on trial here. The crimes committed by the JİTEM are crimes defined in the Article 77 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK). They are crimes committed systematically and with political motives. Therefore, statutory limitations cannot be the case in this file. However, statutory limitations are especially applied to the crimes committed by the JİTEM. There is impunity in Turkey. There has been a special effort on the part of public authorities to ensure that evidence does not reach the court in this file.

"The Justice Ministry is also an institution preventing the statement of the defendant from coming to the file. So, you need to make this file progress, you need to take the statute of limitations off your agenda".

Requests for lifting judicial control measures

The lawyer of Hamit Yıldırım, the only arrested defendant of the case who was later released on probation in 2017, also took the floor at the hearing and demanded that the judicial control measures on Yıldırım be lifted. The prosecutor of the hearing expressed the same demand.

Making a statement as to these requests, Nuray Özdoğan said that they, as the plaintiffs, did not recognize these requests:

"The case has been prolonged because the statements of the defendants were not taken. If the judicial control measures on this defendant are lifted, we will also be unable to reach them any longer.

"The reasons for arrest for this defendant are still valid; therefore, we do not accept the lifting of the judicial control measures within the obligatory legal period. The defendant must be in Turkey".

Lawyer Özdoğan underlined that if the international travel ban on the defendant is lifted, he may flee from the trial.

Next hearing: On June 20

Handing down the interim ruling, the court board has ruled that a written correspondence shall be sent to the Ministry of Justice to take the defense statement of Abdülkadir Aygan; the response of the Justice Ministry shall be awaited regarding the request for an international contact as to the killing of Cemil Işık; and the requests regarding the judicial control measures on defendant Hamit Yıldırım shall be rejected.

The next hearing of the trial will be held on June 20, 2022.

Police prevented the press statement

The MPs who followed the hearing and the family and lawyers of Musa Anter wanted to make a press statement in front of the courthouse after the hearing. However, the police intervened against the group while lawyer Nuran Özdoğan was speaking.

Police officers that they would not allow a press statement in front of the courthouse, adding that the MPs could separately make a statement.

Attempting to move journalists away from the scene of the incident, the police also tried to prevent the press statement from taking place. Afterwards, the group, including the MPs, lawyers and Dicle Anter, who followed the hearing, left the courthouse. (HA/SD)