The widow of slain former Grey Wolves leader Sinan Ateş has accused Turkish authorities of falsely blaming the Gülen movement for her husband’s murder to protect the real masterminds behind the killing.
Sinan Ateş, the former president of the ultranationalist Grey Wolves, was assassinated in Ankara’s Çukurambar district in December 2022. The case has stirred nationwide controversy and accusations of a political coverup.
During the fifth hearing of the trial on Friday, the court decided to release 10 defendants and adjourned the proceeding until July 19. The individuals released were Mehmet Yüce, Erdem Karadeniz, Osman Bayraktar, Zekeriya Asarkaya, Hakan Saraç, Ufuk Köktürk, Aytaç Ataç, Caner Günay, Umut Ersoy and Alper Atay.
After the decision, Ayşe Ateş passionately criticized the trial process, alleging manipulation and deceit in the investigation and prosecution of her husband’s murder. She argued that the trial was incomplete, and the indictment was flawed.
In a dramatic statement outside the courthouse on Friday, Ayşe Ateş denounced the court’s decision to release the 10 defendants, calling it a “conspiracy play.”
“The conspiracy play ended today,” she said. “They want to close this case by saying ‘FETÖ did it.’”
FETÖ is a derogatory acronym devised by the Turkish government to refer to the Gülen movement, a faith-based group outlawed by Ankara, as a terrorist organization.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the Gülen movement, inspired by Turkish Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, since the corruption investigations of December 17-25, 2013, which implicated then-prime minister Erdoğan, his family members and his inner circle.
Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan designated the movement as a terrorist organization and began to target its members. He intensified the crackdown on the movement following an abortive putsch in 2016 that he accused Gülen of masterminding, a charge that Gülen strongly denies.
Although the Turkish government has classified the movement as a terrorist organization, none of its Western allies have fallen for Ankara’s portrayal and consider the group a civic initiative focused on educational activities. Gülen lives in exile in the United States, which has refused to extradite him to Turkey on the grounds that there is no substantial evidence that he committed a crime.
Ayşe Ateş highlighted the alteration of police records and accused former prosecutors of writing up an indictment based on unreliable testimony from drug dealers and hitmen.
She recounted threats made against her, including one from Burak Bekiroğlu, a pro-government lawyer who has more than 150,000 followers on X. Bekiroğlu warned her on social media that he would link her to “FETÖ.”
Defense attorneys in the trial have been accused of perpetuating false allegations shifting the blame to the Gülen movement without providing any substantial evidence. Ayşe Ateş asserted that defense lawyers’ baseless claims were part of a broader conspiracy to cover up her husband’s murder.
Lawyer Şeyda Şahin, representing Ayşe Ateş, echoed these concerns.
“Our right to ask questions was obstructed, and the release of 10 people means we cannot ask questions again,” she told Turkish media. She criticized the restriction orders that kept crucial information and documents from their side, hindering their ability to conduct a fair trial.
The trial, attended by Sinan Ateş’s family and several prominent political figures, has attracted significant public and political interest due to the high-profile nature of the victim and the accused. The Grey Wolves, an unofficial paramilitary wing of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), have a long and controversial history in Turkey.
Ateş on Thursday accused MHP lawmakers İzzet Ulvi Yönter and Semih Yalçın of orchestrating her husband’s murder, stating that her husband had mentioned their names as the ones who ordered his killing.
“My son told me, ‘They’ve sentenced me to death; they are planning to assassinate me,’” said Saniye Ateş, Sinan’s mother, during her testimony on Thursday.
Despite President Erdoğan’s promise of justice, Ateş expressed frustration over what she perceives as a criminal network operating beyond even the president’s control.
The trial has seen 22 defendants, including the alleged hitman Eray Özyağcı and instigator Doğukan Çep, who claimed he only intended to shoot Ateş in the feet as a warning. Lawyers for Sinan Ateş’s family have criticized the indictment for not addressing the alleged masterminds or the motive behind the assassination.
The court’s interim decision to release the 10 defendants and request additional information and documents from the prosecution has added to the controversy and suspicion surrounding the case. Observers are closely watching for further revelations as the trial continues.