Ayhan Çarkin
Encyclopedia
Ayhan Çarkın is a Turkish
policeman. He was a member of its special force
s unit, and says with the sanction of state officials he personally killed 1000 people at the height of the Turkey-PKK conflict
. The leader of the Special Operations Department , İbrahim Şahin
, said Çarkın was the most fearless policeman he had ever met.
(PKK) was established (1984), he signed up to the police force
. He received training in special warfare from Korkut Eken
. He was deployed in Diyarbakır under chief Şahin, who described Çarkın as his best man. He gained a reputation for conducting lightning-fast raids—350 in all—though some have suggested the possibility that some of his victims might have been innocent.
Later, Şahin took Çarkın to Istanbul to target Dev-Sol militants. He led a raid on 12 July 1991 in which eleven were killed. Relatives of the victims took the state to the European Court of Human Rights
, and won the case. Çarkın's next raid was on 16 April 1992; three were killed. Twenty people including Çarkın were sued; this time he was acquitted.
Another was the "Perpa" raid on 13 August 1993 in which Selma Çıtlak, Mehmet Salgın, Sabri Atılmış, Hakan Kasa, and Mehmet Akyürek were killed. Five of the eight participating policemen were initially sentenced to death, but this was reduced to three years and ten months in prison. They were all acquitted by the Supreme Court of Appeals.
. He was also a bodyguard for another key figure in the scandal Sedat Bucak
. Bucak was a True Path Party deputy as well as the leader of a 20-30,000-strong armed clan. Significantly, he was the only survivor of the Susurluk crash, thanks to his bodyguards.
One of these was allegedly the so-called "casino king", Ömer Lütfü Topal
. Afterwards, Çatlı was killed in an "accident". The other three were detained, but released on the orders of the chief of police, Mehmet Ağar
. Since the assassinations were extrajudicial (the public did not know that the state had sanctioned them), he was tried again. He was sentenced to four years in jail; he served twenty months.
Çarkın denies having taken part in the Topal assassination. He says he has alibis; he was leading a unit of five in Kadıköy
at the moment the assassination took place.
After the scandal, the Çiller
-Erbakan
administration was replaced by the Mesut Yılmaz
administration. Çarkın alleges that deputies in the Yılmaz administration offered him a passport to enable him to flee, but he refused since he believed he was innocent.
Çarkın became disillusioned and spoke out. He alleges that the state, using the clandestine Ergenekon network
, colluded with militant groups such as the PKK, Dev-Sol, and Hezbollah, with the goal of profiting from the war.
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
policeman. He was a member of its special force
Special Force
Special Force is a first-person shooter military video game, published by Hezbollah, created using the Genesis 3D engine. The game is set in a 3D environment, in which the player takes the role of a Hezbollah combatant fighting the IDF...
s unit, and says with the sanction of state officials he personally killed 1000 people at the height of the Turkey-PKK conflict
Turkey-PKK conflict
The Turkey – Kurdistan Workers' Party conflict, also referred to as the Kurdish Conflict in Turkey, the Kurdish Conflict, the Kurdish insurgency, the Kurdish rebellion or PKK-terrorism and has also been described as the latest Kurdish uprising or as a civil war, is an armed conflict between the...
. The leader of the Special Operations Department , İbrahim Şahin
Ibrahim Sahin
İbrahim Şahin is a Turkish police and state security official who served from 1976 to 1996. He led General Directorate of Security's special forces unit, the Special Operations Department and, following dismissal in 1996 for associating with ultra-nationalist drug trafficker and contact killer...
, said Çarkın was the most fearless policeman he had ever met.
Biography
Çarkın grew up in Erzincan. He came from an underprivileged family that was unable to fund his high school education; he dropped out. The year after the Kurdistan Workers' PartyKurdistan Workers' Party
The Kurdistan Workers' Party , commonly known as PKK, also known as KGK and formerly known as KADEK or KONGRA-GEL , is a Kurdish organization which has since 1984 been fighting an armed struggle against the Turkish state for an autonomous Kurdistan and greater cultural and political rights...
(PKK) was established (1984), he signed up to the police force
General Directorate of Security
The General Directorate of Security are the civilian police force responsible for law enforcement in Turkey.-Structure:In the provinces, it operates under the command of governors and district governors . Civil administrators are responsible for the security and wellbeing of towns and districts...
. He received training in special warfare from Korkut Eken
Korkut Eken
Korkut Eken is a Turkish security officer trained in special warfare. He became involved in the Susurluk scandal after some of his subordinates, notably Ayhan Çarkın, were convicted of extrajudicial killings.- Career :...
. He was deployed in Diyarbakır under chief Şahin, who described Çarkın as his best man. He gained a reputation for conducting lightning-fast raids—350 in all—though some have suggested the possibility that some of his victims might have been innocent.
Later, Şahin took Çarkın to Istanbul to target Dev-Sol militants. He led a raid on 12 July 1991 in which eleven were killed. Relatives of the victims took the state to the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
, and won the case. Çarkın's next raid was on 16 April 1992; three were killed. Twenty people including Çarkın were sued; this time he was acquitted.
Another was the "Perpa" raid on 13 August 1993 in which Selma Çıtlak, Mehmet Salgın, Sabri Atılmış, Hakan Kasa, and Mehmet Akyürek were killed. Five of the eight participating policemen were initially sentenced to death, but this was reduced to three years and ten months in prison. They were all acquitted by the Supreme Court of Appeals.
Susurluk scandal
Çarkın was involved in the events that led to the scandal. Specifically, he was part of an elite unit that was responsible for assassinating businessmen suspected of financially supporting the PKK. Çarkın's associates included Ayhan Akça, Oğuz Yorulmaz, Ercan Ersoy, and the notorious Abdullah ÇatlıAbdullah Çatli
Abdullah Çatlı was a Turkish convicted drug trafficker, and contract killer for the Counter-Guerrilla. He led the youth branch of the Nationalist Movement Party...
. He was also a bodyguard for another key figure in the scandal Sedat Bucak
Sedat Bucak
Sedat Edip Bucak is a Turkish politician, a chieftain of Zaza Bucak tribe. He was involved in the Susurluk scandal.He born in Siverek. His father is İsmail Hakkı. He leads the Bucak tribe in Siverek, Şanlıurfa Province...
. Bucak was a True Path Party deputy as well as the leader of a 20-30,000-strong armed clan. Significantly, he was the only survivor of the Susurluk crash, thanks to his bodyguards.
One of these was allegedly the so-called "casino king", Ömer Lütfü Topal
Ömer Lütfü Topal
Ömer Lütfü Topal, sometimes spelled Lütfi, was a Turkish businessman, who was deeply involved in the Susurluk scandal...
. Afterwards, Çatlı was killed in an "accident". The other three were detained, but released on the orders of the chief of police, Mehmet Ağar
Mehmet Agar
Mehmet Kemal Ağar is a Turkish former police chief, politician, government minister and leader of the Democratic Party.-Early years:...
. Since the assassinations were extrajudicial (the public did not know that the state had sanctioned them), he was tried again. He was sentenced to four years in jail; he served twenty months.
Çarkın denies having taken part in the Topal assassination. He says he has alibis; he was leading a unit of five in Kadıköy
Kadiköy
Kadıköy is a large, populous, and cosmopolitan district of İstanbul, Turkey on the Asian side of the Sea of Marmara, facing the historic city centre on the European side of the Bosporus...
at the moment the assassination took place.
After the scandal, the Çiller
Tansu Çiller
Tansu Penbe Çiller is a Turkish economist and politician. She was Turkey's first and only female Prime Minister.- Early career :She is the daughter of a Turkish governor of Bilecik province during the 1950s. She graduated from the School of Economics at Robert College after finishing the American...
-Erbakan
Necmettin Erbakan
Necmettin Erbakan was a Turkish engineer, academic, politician , who was the Prime Minister of Turkey from 1996 until 1997. He was Turkey's first Islamist Prime Minister...
administration was replaced by the Mesut Yılmaz
Mesut Yilmaz
Ahmet Mesut Yılmaz is the former leader of the Motherland Party and was the Turkish prime minister in the 1990s.Mesut Yılmaz was a rising star in the Motherland Party of Turgut Özal, representing the Black Sea province of Rize in the parliament and serving as tourism minister in Ozal's cabinet...
administration. Çarkın alleges that deputies in the Yılmaz administration offered him a passport to enable him to flee, but he refused since he believed he was innocent.
Çarkın became disillusioned and spoke out. He alleges that the state, using the clandestine Ergenekon network
Ergenekon network
Ergenekon is the name given to an alleged clandestine, Kemalist ultra-nationalist organization in Turkey with possible ties to members of the country's military and security forces...
, colluded with militant groups such as the PKK, Dev-Sol, and Hezbollah, with the goal of profiting from the war.