MURDER IN ANATOLIA - European Stability Initiative - ESI
MURDER IN ANATOLIA - European Stability Initiative - ESI
MURDER IN ANATOLIA - European Stability Initiative - ESI
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
– 19 –<br />
gun, rope and gloves in the trunk. I asked what these were and what they were for. He<br />
said that he was going to use them to frighten them and that I didn‟t need to worry.” 120<br />
Abuzer testified that “Emre said that on Monday we would go to Zirve Publishing, that we<br />
would get information from the missionaries there, and then go to Wolfgang [Hade] in Konya<br />
to resolve their links to the PKK.” 121 The suspects‟ testimony in court, however, was at odds<br />
with their earlier statements. Shortly after their arrest in April 2007, Hamit had told<br />
prosecutors:<br />
“I understood from what Emre told us that his fight against this group would be very<br />
decisive and if needed would continue until death or until they would be eliminated …<br />
He said that after killing the missionaries in Malatya, the actual goal was killing<br />
Wolfgang [Hade], and that he would do this on his own if necessary. He added that doing<br />
this would bring us great financial benefits … From time to time Emre told us about his<br />
plans how to kill and eliminate the missionaries. We wanted to eliminate this harmful<br />
group because of our love towards our country and nation.” 122<br />
d. “I was afraid of the powers behind him”<br />
The other four suspects all described Emre as extremely aggressive. As Cuma put it, Emre<br />
intimidated everyone from the very outset:<br />
“We told [Emre] that we would not accept his offer and that we had come to Malatya to<br />
study. He told us there was no turning back; otherwise he would put a bullet in our head<br />
and kill our families. He said we would die. He threatened us. I never saw him with a<br />
gun, but he carried a knife. It was a small knife with a wooden handle. Emre spoke<br />
harshly and yelled.” 123<br />
They also described Emre as someone who enjoyed close connections to the local police.<br />
Hamit told the court:<br />
“If I had not accepted his invitation, I thought he would have harmed me and my<br />
family … We thought about going to the police because of what Emre had told us. But<br />
Salih told me that Emre was closely acquainted with the police director. That‟s why we<br />
didn‟t do it.” 124<br />
All suspects told the court about Emre‟s immunity from police scrutiny prior to the murder.<br />
Abuzer told prosecutors that he “did not dare to inform the police because Emre was close to<br />
the police director and got help with the knife stabbing incident.” 125 He was referring to an<br />
event in February 2007, which Salih described during the fifth court hearing:<br />
“Emre once came to us after having stabbed a man he saw together with his girlfriend.<br />
He told us about the stabbing. He quickly changed clothes, went to the barber to get a<br />
shave and took me and Cuma with him to the Sumer police station. There he talked at the<br />
door with a policeman. He went inside and came out soon. Then he came over to us. The<br />
120 Protocol of the 5 th Court Hearing, 14 April 2008, p. 3.<br />
121 Protocol of the 5 th Court Hearing, 14 April 2008, p. 5.<br />
122 Malatya Indictment, pp. 11-12.<br />
123 Protocol of the 5 th Court Hearing, 14 April 2008, p. 2.<br />
124 Protocol of the 2 nd Court Hearing, 14 January 2008, p. 12.<br />
125 Protocol of the 5 th Court Hearing, 14 April 2008, p. 13.<br />
~ www.esiweb.org ~