, the youth wing of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), has sparked controversy in Turkey and accusations of a government coverup.){kind=link}
The emergence of an indictment accusing 22 people of the premeditated murder of Sinan Ateş, an academic and former leader of the Grey Wolves (Ülkü Ocakları), the youth wing of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), has sparked controversy in Turkey and accusations of a government coverup.
The 38-year-old Ateş was fatally shot in the capital city of Ankara on December 30, 2022. His murder in broad daylight sent shockwaves across the country, sparking a debate about the power struggles within the country’s nationalists.
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office completed the investigation into the murder of Ateş more than a year later and drafted an indictment. The indictment, which accuses 22 people of “premeditated murder,” was sent to the Ankara 31st High Criminal Court on Monday.
Turkish journalists saw the indictment on Saturday and reported that it notably omits any mention of the alleged orchestrators behind the assassination, prompting fierce criticism from Ateş’s widow, Ayşe Ateş, and people following the case.
According to the prosecution, the indictment lists 22 suspects, including individuals from the ranks of the Grey Wolves and associated political entities. Key figures named include Eray Özyağcı, who is accused of firing the fatal shots, and Emre Yüksel, a private secretary for the current Grey Wolves president, among others.
Despite these accusations, the charging document fails to address the alleged masterminds or the motive behind the assassination, focusing instead on those who were directly involved in the execution of the crime.
Ayşe Ateş has criticized the indictment, accusing the authorities of omitting crucial details and potential suspects, which she had outlined in her own testimony. “The indictment served to us is empty, missing significant names and details that could potentially lead to those actually responsible for my husband’s murder,” she said at a press briefing. She promised to disclose these names once the confidentiality order on the case is lifted.
The widow’s strong response highlights a broader accusation of governmental interference and a possible coverup, suggesting that the indictment was intentionally stripped of details to protect certain political figures.
Ateş’s mother, while mourning her son’s death, pointed to the higher echelons of the MHP and its leader, Devlet Bahçeli, an ally of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel met with Ayşe Ateş, pledging support in the pursuit of justice.
This case is being followed particularly closely due to the suspects’ political affiliations and the historical importance of the Grey Wolves as an unofficial paramilitary wing of the MHP. Their ideology is mainly based on Turkish nationalism. Therefore, Kurds, Armenians and other minorities in Turkey have occasionally been their targets.
In 2020 France officially banned the Grey Wolves after a center dedicated to the memory of those who died in the mass killings of Armenians during World War I was defaced with graffiti, including the name of the Grey Wolves.
The German government has faced an intensified public campaign in favor of banning the Turkish nationalist group since then.
In 2021 the European Parliament called on the European Union and its member states to examine the possibility of adding the Grey Wolves to the EU terrorist list.
In its 2019-2020 report prepared by Turkey rapporteur Nacho Sanchez Amor, the EP voiced concerns about the group, saying it was expanding to worrying levels not only in Turkey but also in EU countries.