The Susurluk car crash took place on 3 November 1996 in the small town of Susurluk, in Turkey's Bal?kesir Province. It resulted with the death of four individuals travelling together; one of the four intended victims survived the crash. Abdullah Çatl?, a former ultra-rightist militant wanted by police for multiple murders and drug trafficking; Huseyin Kocada?, a senior police official; and beauty queen Gonca Us (Çatl?'s girlfriend) were killed. Sedat Bucak, an MP, escaped with a broken leg and fractured skull. The Susurluk crash was a key event in the unravelling of the "deep state" in Turkey, as the peculiar associations of the crash victims and their links with Interior Minister Mehmet A?ar led to a number of investigations, including a parliamentary investigation, of what became known as the Susurluk scandal.
Video Susurluk car crash
Background
Prior to the crash, all the victims, plus Interior Minister Mehmet A?ar, had been staying at the Onura Hotel in Ku?adas?. The assassination plan called for A?ar to be killed too. However, he was warned by Sami Ho?tan so he remained at the hotel and told the rest to leave without him.
Former MHP deputy Kubilay Uygun said that he was introduced to Abdullah Çatl? and Hüseyin Kocada? three days before the accident by a now-retired lieutenant general. Uygun says that he too has worked for the "deep state".
The Prosecutor's Report said that the passengers in the car were on their way to stage an assassination.
Maps Susurluk car crash
Event
A Mercedes 600 SEL owned by Bucak crashed into a truck near Çatalceviz, Susurluk in the Bal?kesir province in Turkey. The crash took place on 3 November 1996 at around 19:25. The car was travelling at nearly 180 kilometers per hour.
Abdullah Çatl?, a former ultra-rightist militant wanted by police for multiple murders and drug trafficking; Huseyin Kocada?, a senior police official; and beauty queen Gonca Us (Çatl?'s girlfriend) were killed in the crash. Kocada?, Çatl?, and Us died, either immediately, or soon afterwards. Bucak escaped with a broken leg and fractured skull.
According to an anonymous witness in the 2007 Ergenekon investigation, everyone initially survived the crash, which was precipitated by remotely disabling the brakes of the Mercedes. A three-person team came and snapped the necks of Us and Çatl?. Bucak was rescued by his guards, who also took his bag from the boot (trunk) and called Grey Wolf Haluk K?rc?. One of the first people to visit the site was mafia king Ali Yasak, better known as "Drej Ali", who took Çatl?'s bag from the car, according to Tuncay Güney. Veli Küçük refutes Güney's allegation that Yasak acted on his orders. A prosecutor from Ilgin made similar allegations ten years ago.
Alleged drug baron Sami Ho?tan said that Bucak's guards were Ercan Ersoy and Ali Fevzi Bir (a.k.a. "Aliço"). The guards called Ho?tan, who then called Bucak's friend Abdülgani G?z?lkaya, and Veli Küçük, allegedly because the accident occurred in his Gendarmerie's precinct. Driving to the scene of the accident, Ho?tan saw Drej Ali. Ho?tan said that Mehmet Eymür called while he, Çatl?, and Bucak were driving together, before the accident. Eymür asked Çatl? about the murder of M?T spy Tar?k Ümit. Eymür reportedly told Ümit's daughter, Hande Birinci, that her father worked with Korkut Eken (an adviser to A?ar) on the side and that he was assassinated by A?ar's men after he became disgusted by their corruption.
Evidence
Evidence seized at the crash site indicated that Çatl? had been carrying:
- diplomatic credentials, given by the Turkish authorities
- a government-approved weapons permit.
- a fake passport in the name of Mehmet Özbay; the same alias used by Mehmet Ali A?ca.
- numerous 9mm Beretta and Saddam (Beretta 92) pistols, one .22 caliber Beretta with a silencer, and two Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine guns.
- two listening devices.
- a cache of narcotics.
- thousands of U.S. dollars.
Aftermath
The truck driver, Hasan Gökçe, was held responsible for the accident and sentenced to three years in jail. He was bailed for 6.42 million TL. His truck (a 1968 Ford) was foreclosed after he failed to pay his taxes.
The revelation of the connections between the victims led to multiple investigations of what became known as the Susurluk scandal.
References
Bibliography
- "1998 Report" (PDF). Ankara: Human Rights Foundation of Turkey. 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-02-05. (contains the Susurluk reports in the annex, and material on the Counter-Guerrilla) (in English)
Source of article : Wikipedia
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