Application Filed to Reopen Journalist Musa Anter Murder Case

An application has been submitted to Turkey's Ministry of Justice seeking to reopen the investigation into the 1992 murder of journalist and writer Musa Anter in Diyarbakır. The request was filed with the Directorate General for Research into Crimes Without Perpetrators, which operates under the ministry.

Musa Anter's daughter, Rahşan Yorozlu, through her lawyer Bişar Abdi Alinak, formally requested the retrial of the case. The case had been dismissed on September 21, 2022, due to the statute of limitations. In her application, Yorozlu emphasized the need to complete the investigations and inquiries that were lacking during the previous prosecution stages. She also called for a re-evaluation of the physical evidence in the case using current forensic science and criminal investigation methods to uncover the complete truth.

The application further demands the identification and prosecution of those responsible within the chain of command for the assassination, ensuring all aspects of the incident are thoroughly illuminated. This renewed effort comes after the case had been reopened in 2009, 17 years after Anter's death, following confessions from a former JİTEM operative, Abdülkadir Aygan, who admitted his team carried out the killing. The European Court of Human Rights had previously ruled that the right to life was violated, both materially and procedurally, in the handling of the case.

Previously, charges were filed in 2013 against Hamit Yıldırım (codenamed "Yeşil"), Abdülkadir Aygan, and retired Colonel Savaş Gevrekçi. The case was later transferred to Ankara and merged with the main JİTEM case. However, the Ankara 6th High Criminal Court ultimately decided to drop the Musa Anter murder case due to the statute of limitations during a hearing on September 21, 2022.