At the 14th hearing of the Hope case, the court accepted a request by Uğur Mumcu family's lawyer Yalçın Akbal to hear retired Lt. Gen. Erdoğan Karakuş as a witness.
Büşra Genel
The 14th hearing in the Hope case, which covers 21 unsolved killings including the assassination of investigative journalist Uğur Mumcu, was held at the Ankara 5th High Criminal Court.
In addition to an observer from the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), members of the press attended the hearing. The proceedings began at 9:50 a.m. and were attended by Yalçın Akbal, the lawyer representing the Uğur Mumcu family, and Erkin Etki, the lawyer for Uğur Mumcu's brother, Ceyhan Mumcu.
Speaking first, Etki said his client, Ceyhan Mumcu, had requested to join the proceedings as the brother of the slain journalist Uğur Mumcu.
Etki said his client had been a party to the original case and was therefore seeking to be admitted to the current proceedings once again.
Speaking next, Yalçın Akbal, the lawyer representing the Uğur Mumcu family, said they had repeatedly renewed their requests over the years for the extradition of defendant Oğuz Demir. Recalling claims raised during meetings with a former interior minister that intelligence information indicated Demir was in Iran, Akbal said they were once again requesting his extradition. He also referred to the extradition treaty between Turkey and Iran and asked the court to take it into consideration.
The court ruled that the relevant authorities should be notified regarding the claims that Oğuz Demir is in Iran. It also accepted Ceyhan Mumcu's request to join the proceedings and approved the request to hear retired Lt. Gen. Erdoğan Karakuş as a witness.
The next hearing was adjourned until Dec. 2.
