Reasoned decision in the Sinan Ateş case: They planned the murder 8 months in advance.

The reasoned decision regarding the murder of the former president of the Ülkü Ocakları Education and Culture Foundation and Hacettepe University faculty member Assoc. Dr. Sinan Ateş has been announced. The decision states that the instigators Doğukan Çep and Tolgahan Demirbaş planned and designed the murder 8 months before the incident.

In the case heard at the Ankara 32nd High Criminal Court, the shooter Eray Özyağcı, motorcycle driver Vedat Balkaya, and Suat Kurt, who conducted reconnaissance at the crime scene, were sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for 'premeditated murder'. Doğukan Çep and Tolgahan Demirbaş were also sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for 'instigating premeditated murder'. Five defendants received prison sentences ranging from 2 to 18 years, while 10 defendants were acquitted, and the files of 2 defendants were separated.

THEY PLANNED 8 MONTHS IN ADVANCE

The court's reasoned decision has been announced. The reasoned decision states that instigators Doğukan Çep and Tolgahan Demirbaş began planning to kill Sinan Ateş 8 months prior, detailing when, where, how, with whom, and with what vehicles the incident would take place, as well as what actions would be taken before, during, and after the event, and that they executed this plan accordingly.

In this context, it was stated that they conducted detailed research on where the victim lived, where he worked, the location of his office, how he spent his days, and where and how he lived. It was noted that they gathered detailed information about the victim's personal, family, and professional life. It was reported that Tolgahan Demirbaş received the location of Sinan Ateş's house from Burak Kılıç, and that the suspect Mustafa Ensar Aykal, who serves as a commissioner at the Ankara Police Department, sent Sinan Ateş's phone and address information. It was also stated that after the incident, Tolgahan Demirbaş waited for shooter Eray Özyağcı and Vedat Balkaya, who escaped from the crime scene on a motorcycle, in a white vehicle with the license plate 06 BSG 411, and then abducted them in the same vehicle.

“THEY HAVE JOINT CONTROL OVER THE ACTION”

It was noted that suspect Doğukan Çep is the other instigator of the incident, and that he instigated suspects Eray Özyağcı, Vedat Balkaya, and Suat Kurt to kill the victim. It was stated that suspect Eray Özyağcı is skilled in using firearms, and suspect Vedat Balkaya is a motorcycle courier who rides well. It was planned that they would arrive at the crime scene and leave the scene on a motorcycle to move faster, more flexibly, and comfortably before and after the incident. It was recorded that the other suspect Suat Kurt conducted intense reconnaissance and surveillance before and during the incident, sharing information and data among the parties and instigators of the incident, thus indicating that suspects Eray Özyağcı, Vedat Balkaya, and Suat Kurt had joint control over the act of killing the victim and attempting to kill the complainant Selman Bozkurt.

THEY FLED AFTER THE ASSASSINATION

Before the incident, it was stated that suspects Eray Özyağcı, Vedat Balkaya, and Suat Kurt were outside Ankara, and that suspect Doğukan Çep sent these three suspects to Ankara. In this context, it was reported that police officers Aşkın Mert Gelenbey and Murat Can Çolak, who were on duty in Istanbul, brought suspect Eray Özyağcı, who was wanted for murder, from Istanbul to Ankara on December 27, 2022, and left him at the house of suspect Zekeriya Asarkaya, where he would stay in Ankara, and then returned to Istanbul in the same vehicle. It was noted that the suspects fled after the incident occurred.