The trial of Sinan Ateş with 22 defendants started today! MHP's request to participate was rejected.

The trial regarding the murder of Sinan Ateş, the former Chairman of the Idealist Hearths, who was killed in Çukurambar, Ankara on December 30, 2022, has begun. The first hearing of the trial, in which 22 detained defendants will be tried, is taking place at Sincan Prison.

WHICH POLITICIANS ARE FOLLOWING?

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, former CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, CHP Spokesperson Deniz Yücel, CHP Deputy Group Chairman Murat Emir, CHP Deputy Chairman Aylin Nazlıaka, Homeland Party Chairman Muharrem İnce, Victory Party Chairman Ümit Özdağ, Future Party Deputy Chairman Selçuk Özdağ, National Way Party Chairman Remzi Çayır, İYİ Party Chairman Müsavat Dervişoğlu, DEVA Party Spokesperson İdris Şahin, DEVA Party Deputy Chairman Mehmet Emin Ekmen, and Sinan Oğan were among the politicians present at the trial. Sinan Ateş's mother and sister were also present in the courtroom.

LIFE IMPRISONMENT IS DEMANDED FOR 3 DEFENDANTS

In the indictment, life imprisonment is demanded for Sinan Ateş for the offense of "premeditated murder" committed collectively and in complicity with common dominion over the perpetrator Eray Özyağcı, who is the triggerman, Vedat Balkaya, who brought him to the scene and then helped him escape. It is also demanded that Doğukan Çep, who is alleged to have organized the armed action, and Tolgahan Demirbaş, a suspected former executive of the Idealist Hearths, be sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for the offense of "premeditated murder" committed collectively and in complicity with incitement to the victim.

It is demanded that Zekeriya Asarlaya, Hakan Saraç, Ufuk Köktürk, Mehmet Yüce, Mustafa Uzunlar, Askın Mert Gelenbey, Murat Can Çolak, Osman Bayraktar, Caner Güney, Umut Ersoy, Çaglar Zorlu, Aytaç Ataç, Emre Yüksel, Serdar Öktem, Erdem Karadeniz, Alper Atay, and Mustafa Ensar Aykal be sentenced to imprisonment for the offense of "aiding and abetting the crime committed collectively and in complicity with the victim" in the indictment. The role of the Idealist Hearths, the motive of the murder, and the instigator are not mentioned in the indictment. Ayşe Ateş's statement is also not included. Zafer Party leader Ümit Özdağ was the first to arrive at the trial in Sincan.

ÖZDAĞ: OUR HOPE IS THE DELIVERY OF THE CRIMINALS TO JUSTICE

Ümit Özdağ, the leader of the Zafer Party who is following the trial, said that everything that has happened in the country since the murder is clear evidence of how the rule of law has been eliminated. Özdağ said, "All the developments from the beginning to the end have shown that the principle of the rule of law has been suspended and, in the end, Ayşe Ateş, who I emphasize has no duties or authority regarding the case, had to seek help from the President, who has no duties or authority. This situation alone is sufficient to demonstrate the severity of the situation. Our hope is that the court process will proceed in accordance with certain basic principles, at least in accordance with the constitution and laws, and that the real criminals will be delivered to justice. If this does not happen, a deep wound will be opened in the public conscience, and none of us will be able to feel safe in terms of our personal safety, and the public will not face the assurance that the killers will be punished."

VEHICLES WERE SEARCHED

Intensive security measures were taken around and inside the Sincan Prison Campus before the trial of Sinan Ateş's murder. Some vehicles were searched by traffic and riot police on the road leading to the prison campus. There was traffic congestion on the road to the prison, and TOMA vehicles were kept on the side of the road. Security measures were taken within a radius of 10 kilometers at the prison campus. Dozens of riot police vehicles and riot police officers were waiting in front of the campus, and a separate area was prepared for the press. The trial, closely followed by the public, is also being watched by many journalists.

AYŞE ATEŞ: OUR EXPECTATION IS THE WRITING OF A NEW INDICTMENT

Ayşe Ateş, the wife of Sinan Ateş, stated her expectation before the trial as follows: "The necessary procedures should be carried out regarding the 17 people in the separate file, and this file should be added to our file, and a new and correct indictment should be written. There are missing evidence. The statements of some friends were not included. We want the gaps in the indictment to be filled and the trial to begin."

"PRISON LIFE WAS DEEMED FIT FOR US"

When asked by a journalist, "There are intense security measures today, and we see that you have bodyguards with you, have you had these bodyguards for a long time?" Ateş replied, "It has been about a month, I think, since I requested protection, and I have had bodyguards for a long time. I live under intense security measures. I don't live a normal life. I stay at home with my daughters until the evening, except for very necessary situations. Unfortunately, they deemed us worthy of a prison life that some people have not yet experienced but should experience."

BULLET-PROOF VEST ALLEGATION

On the other hand, it was claimed that Ayşe Ateş came to the trial wearing a bullet-proof vest. Ayşe Ateş is watching the trial sitting next to CHP Chairman Özel and former Chairman Kılıçdaroğlu.

DOĞUKAN ÇEP WAS REMOVED FROM THE COURTROOM

Before the trial, Doğukan Çep, one of the defendants, was removed from the courtroom by law enforcement personnel due to his remarks towards the people sitting in the plaintiff's seats. At the beginning of the trial, the presiding judge warned the parties, "There should be no provocation or insults, neither by the defendants nor by the plaintiffs. There is no need for these. Let us do our job."

REJECTION OF MHP'S REQUEST

Lawyers İbrahim Ethem Yiğit and Çağrı Can Pak on behalf of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) requested to participate in the trial. The defendants also accepted the participation request of the MHP lawyers. The prosecution requested the rejection of MHP's participation request on the grounds that MHP did not suffer any harm from the crime. The Judge also decided in this direction.

SHARING FROM ÖZEL

CHP leader Özgür Özel also shared a photo in the courtroom. Özel shared the photo of Ayşe Ateş and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu with the following statement on his social media account; "We are following the assassination case of former Ülkü Ocakları General President Sinan Ateş in Sincan. We will be the followers of this case until justice is served and the veil of secrecy over the assassination is lifted. We said we would be by your side, we are by your side until Ayşe Hanım says justice has been served. "