Former police chief and politician Mehmet Ağar, who is accused of “establishing a criminal organization” while he was police chief, will stand trial today in the Susurluk case -- so named after the site of a car crash that uncovered deep links between the Turkish state, the criminal underworld and Turkish security forces.

Ağar, a former Democrat Party (DP) leader, will be tried at the Ankara 3rd High Criminal Court. The First Chamber of the Council of State previously ordered that Ağar be tried in connection with charges of “founding a criminal organization, helping Abdullah Çatlı, [who was] sought on a warrant issued in absentia, to hide, and providing a firearms license to Çatlı” and to Yaşar Öz, another Susurluk figure who is jailed for his suspected involvement in Ergenekon.
Upon Ağar’s appeal, the ruling was reviewed by the Council of State’s administrative board, which rejected Ağar’s appeal and sent the dossier to the Supreme Court of Appeals Chief Prosecutor’s Office because Ağar had governor status; he was governor of Erzurum in 1992. But the Supreme Court of Appeals 8th Chamber noted that Ağar was police chief at the time of the alleged crimes and sent the dossier to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Ağar is accused of helping Çatlı hide and of giving him a firearms license. With the licenses provided by police chief’s office, those sought by the state and involved in illegal acts are able to carry arms and go abroad easily.

Ağar is also suspected in the murder of Kurdish businessman Ömer Lütfi Topal in 1996. Çatlı’s fingerprints were found on the gun that killed Topal; Çatlı was taken into custody along with Sami Hoştan and Ali Fevzi Bir. Under Ağar’s orders, they were allegedly freed after a superficial investigation by the Ankara Police Department.

In 1996, Çatlı, Sedat Bucak and a police chief were together in a Mercedes in the Susurluk area, a fact exposed by a fatal car accident. Çatlı and the police chief died, and Bucak said he lost his memory after the accident. The shady relations between the crime world, the state and politicians were revealed for the first time. The incident was covered up during the investigation into Susurluk.

TODAY’S ZAMAN