Ayse Ates and Kemal Kilicdaroglu advocate for justice in Sinan Ates murder trial

As the trial over the killing of Sinan Ates, former head of the nationalist Ulku Ocaklari continues in Ankara, Ates’ wife Ayse issued a stern warning, emphasizing that those responsible for the conspiracy will face the full force of justice.

“This conspiracy will befall those who created it. They will meet the state, everyone will face the just face of the state. No one should think they will get away with their crime,” she said.

The third session of the trial at Ankara 32nd Heavy Penal Court continues with the statements of the lawyers at the Sincan Penitentiary Institutions Campus. Former CHP Chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu and several deputies are also observing the trial.

After a break for lunch, Ayse Ates and Kilicdaroglu made statements to the press.

Ayes Ates remarked that the trial had finally started after one and a half years, describing it as a grand conspiracy theater, with rehearsed statements turning a political assassination into an ordinary murder case.

She argued that the defendant’s statements matched those of Ulku Ocaklari members and MHP leaders. “The picture we see is truly heartbreaking. What is being judged? Who is being judged? I truly do not understand. This conspiracy will befall those who created it. They will meet the state, everyone will face the just face of the state. No one should think they will get away with their crime,” she said.

Ayse Ates stated that it seemed as if the defendants had been brought together by chance, adding: “They have put up a barrier. They do not want anyone to see behind that barrier. They do not want the political dimension of this political assassination to be revealed. No matter what they do, no matter how hard they try, no matter what conspiracies they create, every game and every vile act they create will befall them. Everyone should know this.”

‘If this case is swept under rug, country will lose’

Kilicdaroglu remarked that in the courtroom, there appeared to be an effort to portray the incident not as political but as an ordinary incident.

Kilicdaroglu emphasized that it is natural for a mother or a wife to seek justice, saying, “In the courtroom, we are facing a structure that agrees with each other and plans what to say in advance. But no one should worry. Our struggle will continue until justice is served in this case. If this case is swept under the rug, the country will lose, democracy will lose, justice will lose, we will all lose.”

Kilicdaroglu stated that Ayse Ates’s case is the case of 83 million people, adding, “This is a matter of justice, and it is the shared responsibility of all who stand for justice to follow, observe, and conclude this case.”

‘We will follow this case through no matter what’

Recalling the moment when one of the defendants, Dogukan Cep, shouted “Where is Mr. Kemal?” during the hearing, Kilicdaroglu said: “They cannot digest the fact that I am seeking justice and keeping this case in the public eye. They thought, ‘This is a political case, we can commit the murder, we have our superiors behind us, and they will cover up this case.’

This was their thought, their belief. But they saw that, yes, as they themselves stated, Mr. Kemal was standing against them. There is a person who defends justice. If we do not defend justice, we will destroy the world. Ates was an intellectual and an academician raised in this country. He was killed in the street, and we will not close our eyes to this. We will follow this case through no matter what.”