MEDIA MONITORING DATABASE
Uğur Mumcu murder case
RELATED PERSON OR INSTITUTION
Uğur Mumcu
CITY
Ankara
YEAR OF INTERFERENCE
1993
LAST UPDATED
01/07/2021
IMPUNITY CATEGORY
Impunity for Murders
MEDIA
National Media

In the trial held at the Ankara 5th High Criminal Court in the absence of Oğuz Demir, the defendant indicated to be the person who caused the death of journalist Uğur Mumcu on January 24, 1993 by planting a bomb in his car in front of his house in Ankara and allegedly sought with a red notice by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), the members of the Mumcu family were notified that the hearing would be held on May 21. As for the five defendants in the Hope (Umut) Case, they stand retrial at the Ankara 11th High Criminal Court as per the ruling of the Constitutional Court.

In the trial where defendants Ahmet Cansız, Selahattin Eş, Ali Akbulut and Aydın Koral had been facing charges since December 18, 2008 for being the members of the Tawhid Salam Jerusalem Army, the organization held accountable for the killing of Cumhuriyet newspaper columnist Uğur Mumcu in Ankara, the Ankara 5th High Criminal Court ruled for the acquittal of the defendants. The defendants were charged with receiving military, political and bomb training in Iran between 1991 and 1998 and “being on special duty in the organization, taking part in logistics and management and possession of the organization’s kalashnikov rifle.” Having faced a detention warrant and a red notice because of being fugitives, the three defendants, except for Ahmet Cansız, came to Turkey in 2020 and dismissed the allegations at court, claiming that they were working for the Salam newspaper. Appearing before the judge on October 20, 2020, Aydın Koral said, “I don’t know (bomber) Oğuz Demir. We didn’t have the slightest organizational activity. I engaged in religious and scholarly studies.” Koral also stated that in the event that the court ruled for his conviction, he would accept the deferment of the pronouncement of the verdict. Journalist Alican Uludağ reported that at the final hearing on December 8, 2020, the court board ruled for the acquittal of Eş, Akbulut and Koral on the grounds that “they had not been proved guilty of the offense charged.” The Ankara 5th High Criminal Court will try Oğuz Demir, who is indicated to be the person who caused the death of journalist Uğur Mumcu on January 24, 1993 by planting a bomb in his car and indicated to be the member of the Tawhid Salam Jerusalem Army, in his absence on May 5 (January 15).

Having notified the day of the hearing to the family, the Ankara 5th High Criminal Court adjourned the trial until October 5. As for the five defendants in the Hope (Umut) Case, they are still standing trial at the Ankara 11th High Criminal Court upon the judgement of the Constitutional Court (May 21). 

Sedat Peker’s statement on Uğur Mumcu murder

Convicted of establishing a criminal organization, Sedat Peker talked about the murder of Uğur Mumcu in the seventh of his videos that he had started posting following the operation against his group on April 9. In this video, Sedat Peker argued that the then Interior Minister Mehmet Ağar had a role in the assassination of journalist Uğur Mumcu. Peker claimed that the assassination happened as a result of Mehmet Ağar’s relations to the people benefiting from the drugs and arms trafficking. Peker said, “Why was Uğur Mumcu killed? Look at what he was writing when he was killed. ‘Terror lords feeding on terrorism’, a work on this and arms trade. Uğur Mumcu was martyred and who was the first one to arrive? The murderer arrives first, Mehmet Ağar. He told his wife, ‘If I pull a brick, the state will come down.’ When it reached the ones benefiting from terrorism, they martyred the man.” Mumcu’s spouse Güldal Mumcu made a statement on Twitter and said, “For years, we have said, ‘Whoever knows anything about Uğur Mumcu murder must speak to solve the murder.’ We have said, ‘Whomever it gets to, so be it.’ We are trying to hold on to this view. Pull the bricks, let the wall come down, no matter who is trapped under it” (May 24).

In the trial held in the absence of defendant Oğuz Demir, who reportedly planted a bomb in journalist Uğur Mumcu’s vehicle in the capital city of Ankara, causing him to lose his life on January 24, 1993, and is allegedly on the wanted list of Interpol, the Ankara 5th High Criminal Court, which notified the Mumcu Family about the day of the hearing, has adjourned the hearing until October 5, 2021. As for the five defendants in the Umut (Hope) Case, they are still standing retrial at the Ankara 11th High Criminal Court, as is required by the related Constitutional Court ruling (July 1).