The hearing of the Umut trial, related to the murders of journalists Uğur Mumcu, Ahmet Taner Kışlalı, Muammer Aksoy and Bahriye Üçok, continued. The court decided that former Interior Minister Mehmet Ağar would be heard via SEGBİS in the next session.
Nalin Öztekin
The 12th hearing of the case concerning the murders of journalists Uğur Mumcu, Ahmet Taner Kışlalı, Muammer Aksoy and Bahriye Üçok was held at Ankara 5th High Criminal Court.
While complainant lawyer Yalçın Akbal attended the hearing, observers from the Ankara Bar Association’s Center for Social Cases and Legal Studies, the Journalists’ Union of Turkey and MLSA also followed the session.
Mehmet Ağar could not be found at his address
At the hearing, it was stated that the notifications sent to Mehmet Ağar, who was previously decided to be heard as a witness, had not reached him.
Lawyer Akbal requested that a new notification be sent to Ağar’s address in Beykoz and that the witness be brought to the hearing and heard in person.
While the court decided that a notification would be sent to the address indicated by lawyer Akbal, it ruled that Mehmet Ağar would be heard via SEGBİS at the next hearing.
It was also decided to write an official letter to the General Directorate of Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to investigate whether the defendant Oğuz Demir is in Australia.
The trial was postponed to September 22, 2025.
What is the Umut Trial?
The Umut Trial is one of Turkey's longest-running cases, opened against the perpetrators of political assassinations committed in the 1990s. In addition to the assassination of journalist Uğur Mumcu by a bomb attack in Ankara on January 24, 1993, investigations into the killings of many intellectuals such as Ahmet Taner Kışlalı, Muammer Aksoy, and Bahriye Üçok were merged under the “Umut Operation” launched in 2000.
Who is on trial?
In the case, 18 separate attack files were merged on the allegation that an Iran-linked organization called “Tevhid-Selam/Jerusalem Army” carried out political assassinations in Turkey. In the indictment, it is stated that the bomb placed in Uğur Mumcu’s car was prepared by Ferhan Özmen, placed in the car by Oğuz Demir, and that Necdet Yüksel acted as a lookout.
Where is Oğuz Demir?
Oğuz Demir, who is alleged to have placed the bomb in Mumcu’s car, still has not been captured. A red notice has been issued for him, and his file has been separated, his trials are ongoing, but no trace of the suspect has yet been found.
What has happened in the judicial process?
There was a chain of negligence in the investigations that lasted for years. It was claimed that military prosecutor Ülkü Coşkun, who carried out the investigation, said, “The state did this,” but he later denied this statement. Then-General Director of Security Mehmet Ağar had told the Mumcu family, “If we pull one brick, the wall will collapse.” This statement was also officially denied.
The Turkish Parliament, in an investigative commission it established in 1997, determined that Mumcu was killed with a C-4 type explosive and that the state had not provided adequate protection during this process. However, no sanctions were applied to any public officials over the negligence.
Some defendants in the case were sentenced, but later the Constitutional Court ruled that there had been violations of rights for certain names. Some individuals alleged to be linked to the organization returned to Turkey years later and were acquitted.
Why is it controversial?
Uğur Mumcu’s daughter Özge Mumcu says that the judicial process is not satisfactory and that the real perpetrators have not been revealed. She says, “Justice will not be achieved until the chain of command is exposed.” The Mumcu family, like the families of Dink and Anter, has continued their struggle for years.
