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- Ocak 16, 2025
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Today is the 32nd anniversary of the death of investigative journalist Uğur Mumcu, who was assassinated with a bomb in front of his home in Ankara on January 24, 1993. Mumcu, one of the pioneers of investigative journalism, spent years fighting to expose mafia relations, corruption and corrupt deals. Although 32 years have passed since Mumcu's assassination, the assassination has still not been clarified. Oğuz Demir, who planted the bomb in Mumcu's car, is still a fugitive. It also remains unclear who instigated the murder.
The most critical milestones in paving the way for the political Islamists to lead Turkey into the current period of darkness were the assassinations of intellectuals in the early 90s. The murders of Mumcu, Kışlalı, Aksoy and Üçok would cause an important historical shift. On January 24, 1993, Uğur Mumcu left his house on Karlı Street in Gaziosmanpaşa neighborhood of Ankara's Çankaya district and got into his Renault car with the license plate “06YR245” across the road. At around 13:30, Mumcu lost his life when a bomb that had been placed under the vehicle exploded.
After the murder, Süleyman Demirel, the Prime Minister of the time, declared, “Solving the murder is our duty of honour.” Mehmet Ağar, who was the Director General of Security at the time, said to him, “We are constantly facing obstacles. It is as if a wall is being built. Then pull a brick and the wall will fall down,” Mumcu's wife Güldal Mumcu said, to which he replied, ‘I can't, I can't pull a brick, I can't do it.’ Ülkü Coşkun, the prosecutor of the Ankara State Security Court (DGM) at the time, who was assigned for the investigation, said to Güldal Mumcu, who criticized the lack of progress in the file, “Mrs. Güldal, don't be hard on me. They said it was a duty of honor, but until today no member of the government has asked me what the file was. The state committed this crime. The government can solve it if it chooses to do so.”
The perpetrators of Mumcu's murder remained untraceable for a long time up until the 2000s. On January 17, 2000, a raid on Hezbollah's cell house in Beykoz, Istanbul revealed the first evidence of Uğur Mumcu's murder. The police discovered various electronic records in the mansion where the Hezbollah leader Hüseyin Velioğlu was captured dead. In these records, a person who submitted a resume to Hezbollah cited the murder of Uğur Mumcu as a reference, and an organization called Tevhit - Selam Jerusalem Army (Al-Quds Army) was revealed.
Hamza Keleş, the Ankara DGM Prosecutor at the time, carried out UMUT operations as part of the investigation. It was determined that the organization was responsible for the murders of Bahriye Üçok, Muammer Aksoy and Ahmet Taner Kışlalı in addition to Mumcu. Ferhan Özmen, code-named Tekin, and Necdet Yüksel, who organized the murders, were arrested. The two suspects confessed to Mumcu and the other murders. The suspects stated that they travelled to Iran in 1991 and underwent military and religious training there. According to the confessions, Ferhan Özmen waited in a car in the far distance, while Necdet Yüksel acted as a lookout at the site. Oğuz Demir planted the bomb in Mumcu's car. The police were about to arrest Oğuz Demir, who at the time was a graduate of Ankara University's Faculty of Science, Department of Chemical Engineering, in Sincan when he “barely” escaped from their grasp. For 32 years, Demir's name has been on the Ministry of Interior's “wanted terrorists” list in blue category. Demir's assets in Turkey have also been suspended.
In the murder of Uğur Mumcu, besides the fact that Oğuz Demir has not been caught, another aspect of the murder that is still unsolved is the question of who instigated the murder. Investigators have not been able to unravel which organizations or individuals were responsible for the shooters and have not been able to prosecute them in court. The suspects' connections in Iran, where they received training, have also not been addressed.
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The Umut Case, which focuses on the murders of Uğur Mumcu, Ahmet Taner Kışlalı, Muammer Aksoy and Bahriye Üçok, was held at Ankara 5th High Criminal Court. The court decided to have Mehmet Ağar testify as a 'witness' in the next hearing. The court also decided to write a warrant to the General Directorate of Security for a detailed examination of the relatives of the defendant Oğuz Demir. The next hearing will be held on May 12. The families are demanding Mehmet Ağar to remove that brick from the wall…
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Rahmi Yıldırım, the Education Director of the Uğur Mumcu Investigative Journalism Foundation (um:ag), stated that a new period of chaos had started in the country since the day Uğur Mumcu was assassinated. It is as if a wall is being built. Then pull a brick and the wall will fall down,” to Mumcu's wife Güldal Mumcu, who responded, ‘I cannot pull a brick, I cannot do it’ and noted that the wall remained in the same place. He continued “Those who murdered Uğur Mumcu disappeared into the dark abyss of the state”. Although Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel and Deputy Prime Minister Erdal İnönü at the time of the murder said it was a ' duty of honor and dignity' to clarify the murder, the duty remains as it is,” he said.
Note: This text has been translated from the article titled Karanlık duvarı artık yıkın published in BirGün newspaper on January 24, 2025.
The most critical milestones in paving the way for the political Islamists to lead Turkey into the current period of darkness were the assassinations of intellectuals in the early 90s. The murders of Mumcu, Kışlalı, Aksoy and Üçok would cause an important historical shift. On January 24, 1993, Uğur Mumcu left his house on Karlı Street in Gaziosmanpaşa neighborhood of Ankara's Çankaya district and got into his Renault car with the license plate “06YR245” across the road. At around 13:30, Mumcu lost his life when a bomb that had been placed under the vehicle exploded.
After the murder, Süleyman Demirel, the Prime Minister of the time, declared, “Solving the murder is our duty of honour.” Mehmet Ağar, who was the Director General of Security at the time, said to him, “We are constantly facing obstacles. It is as if a wall is being built. Then pull a brick and the wall will fall down,” Mumcu's wife Güldal Mumcu said, to which he replied, ‘I can't, I can't pull a brick, I can't do it.’ Ülkü Coşkun, the prosecutor of the Ankara State Security Court (DGM) at the time, who was assigned for the investigation, said to Güldal Mumcu, who criticized the lack of progress in the file, “Mrs. Güldal, don't be hard on me. They said it was a duty of honor, but until today no member of the government has asked me what the file was. The state committed this crime. The government can solve it if it chooses to do so.”
The perpetrators of Mumcu's murder remained untraceable for a long time up until the 2000s. On January 17, 2000, a raid on Hezbollah's cell house in Beykoz, Istanbul revealed the first evidence of Uğur Mumcu's murder. The police discovered various electronic records in the mansion where the Hezbollah leader Hüseyin Velioğlu was captured dead. In these records, a person who submitted a resume to Hezbollah cited the murder of Uğur Mumcu as a reference, and an organization called Tevhit - Selam Jerusalem Army (Al-Quds Army) was revealed.
ÜÇOK, AKSOY, KIŞLALI...
Hamza Keleş, the Ankara DGM Prosecutor at the time, carried out UMUT operations as part of the investigation. It was determined that the organization was responsible for the murders of Bahriye Üçok, Muammer Aksoy and Ahmet Taner Kışlalı in addition to Mumcu. Ferhan Özmen, code-named Tekin, and Necdet Yüksel, who organized the murders, were arrested. The two suspects confessed to Mumcu and the other murders. The suspects stated that they travelled to Iran in 1991 and underwent military and religious training there. According to the confessions, Ferhan Özmen waited in a car in the far distance, while Necdet Yüksel acted as a lookout at the site. Oğuz Demir planted the bomb in Mumcu's car. The police were about to arrest Oğuz Demir, who at the time was a graduate of Ankara University's Faculty of Science, Department of Chemical Engineering, in Sincan when he “barely” escaped from their grasp. For 32 years, Demir's name has been on the Ministry of Interior's “wanted terrorists” list in blue category. Demir's assets in Turkey have also been suspended.
In the murder of Uğur Mumcu, besides the fact that Oğuz Demir has not been caught, another aspect of the murder that is still unsolved is the question of who instigated the murder. Investigators have not been able to unravel which organizations or individuals were responsible for the shooters and have not been able to prosecute them in court. The suspects' connections in Iran, where they received training, have also not been addressed.
∗∗∗
MEHMET AGAR TO BE TESTIFIED
The Umut Case, which focuses on the murders of Uğur Mumcu, Ahmet Taner Kışlalı, Muammer Aksoy and Bahriye Üçok, was held at Ankara 5th High Criminal Court. The court decided to have Mehmet Ağar testify as a 'witness' in the next hearing. The court also decided to write a warrant to the General Directorate of Security for a detailed examination of the relatives of the defendant Oğuz Demir. The next hearing will be held on May 12. The families are demanding Mehmet Ağar to remove that brick from the wall…
∗∗∗
DUTY REMAINS AS IT IS
Rahmi Yıldırım, the Education Director of the Uğur Mumcu Investigative Journalism Foundation (um:ag), stated that a new period of chaos had started in the country since the day Uğur Mumcu was assassinated. It is as if a wall is being built. Then pull a brick and the wall will fall down,” to Mumcu's wife Güldal Mumcu, who responded, ‘I cannot pull a brick, I cannot do it’ and noted that the wall remained in the same place. He continued “Those who murdered Uğur Mumcu disappeared into the dark abyss of the state”. Although Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel and Deputy Prime Minister Erdal İnönü at the time of the murder said it was a ' duty of honor and dignity' to clarify the murder, the duty remains as it is,” he said.
Note: This text has been translated from the article titled Karanlık duvarı artık yıkın published in BirGün newspaper on January 24, 2025.