Turkey: Officials vow justice for murdered scholar

ANKARA

The Turkish justice system is determined to solve the 2002 murder of a scholar who was investigating the terror group FETO, the justice minister said on Thursday.

"The justice system is continuing its dedicated work" to solve the murder of Ankara University's Necip Hablemitoglu, Abdulhamit Gul told lawmakers during the 2020 budget debate.

"We are also exerting maximum effort," he added.

Hablemitoglu, known for his research and books on the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), was killed in 2002 in front of his house, but the murder was never solved.

On Monday, Nuri Gokhan B., a suspected murderer and fugitive linked to FETO, the terror group behind the 2016 coup in Turkey, was arrested in Ukraine, and is reportedly expected to be extradited to Turkey following a decision by Ukrainian authorities.

In 2015, prosecutors in Turkey’s capital Ankara launched an investigation into FETO's involvement in unsolved murders from 2000-2013, including the killings of Behcet Oktay (2009), the head of Ankara police's special operations department, judge candidate Didem Yaylali (2013), and high court judge Mustafa Yucel Ozbilgin (2006).

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup on July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.