Ibrahim Sahin
Encyclopedia
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 Abdullah Çatlı
, was further tarnished by complicity in the wide-ranging government conspiracy which became known as the Susurluk scandal
. The event, which began with the November 1996 car crash which killed Çatlı and other prominent individuals, resulted in Şahin's arrest and subsequent acquittal. His career, however, was effectively ended, and there were additional weapons-related charges in 1999, with a six-year prison term imposed in 2001. In 2008 he suffered a memory-impairing traffic accident and, in 2009, was among 37 highly-placed officials named in the government investigation of deep state
organization Ergenekon.
n city of Tokat
, the capital of Tokat Province
, İbrahim Şahin began his police career at the age of 20, following graduation from the police academy in 1976. Holding the rank of assistant superintendent, he was assigned to the police unit in another provincial capital, Sinop
. In 1978, he fulfilled his military duties in Erzurum
and the Isparta
Commando School and four years later, in 1982, joined the police force of yet another provincial capital, Bitlis
, in Eastern Anatolia. Later that year he transferred to the newly-formed Special Operations Department and completed a course in Special Operations from the Turkish General Staff's Special Warfare Department .
In 1984 he was sent to Germany for commando training from the country's Federal Police elite counter-terrorism and special operations unit GSG 9
and, in 1987, travelled to the United States to receive additional counter-terrorism training. The following year he was appointed head of Special Operations branch assigned to the police of yet another provincial capital in Southeastern Anatolia
, Siirt
. By 1990, he was in Istanbul
, performed the same duty for the capital city's police and, in 1993, was chosen by director general of Turkish Security in Ankara and organizer of Special Forces Command, Mehmet Ağar
, as the first commander of Special Operations for the entire police force. Special Operations became particularly active in the conflict with PKK, the Kurdistan Workers Party, and carried out covert operations, such as assassinations of those suspected of lending support to PKK.
, exposed links between politics, organized crime and the bureaucracy, referred to in Turkish as the derin devlet [deep state]. Upon Çatlı's death in the crash and the exposure of Şahin's intertwined connections to him, Şahin was dismissed from his posts and put under investigation for protecting members of the police department who were involved in the assassination, three months before the Susurluk crash, of controversial businessman Ömer Lütfü Topal
, known as the "casino king", as well as those implicated in the abduction of another shady operative, Tarık Ümit.
Tansu Çiller
, Turkey's first female prime minister, who served from June 1993 to March 1996, requested Şahin's return to the police force and said that he was owed an apology. However, on 27 January 1997 a warrant was issued for his arrest and although he initially eluded capture, on 6 March he was charged with 5–9 years in jail for felony and surrendered within five days later, ultimately being acquitted six months later, on 12 September. After a passage of eighteen months, in March 1999, he was charged for up to year's imprisonment for allegedly losing weapons donated to the police. Nine years later, on 28 March 2008, he was in a serious traffic accident and lost his memory. On 14 April he was sentenced to one year in jail for negligence. His deposition in May was ineffectual because of his memory problem. He and his subordinate Korkut Eken
were initially handed a six year sentence. This was later reduced to 486 days. Şahin's plea to president Ahmet Necdet Sezer
to pardon the rest on account of his ill health was granted.
The Turkish police said the round-up was triggered by orders Şahin gave to assassinate twelve Armenian community leaders in the provincial capital of Sivas Province
.
A map describing the location of an arms cache was found in his house. A team of excavators found the following in Gölbaşı, Ankara
:
According to the police, the weapons were wrapped in newspapers from 2004. Excavations in other parts of Ankara have been launched.
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
police and state security official who served from 1976 to 1996. He led General Directorate of Security
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...
's special forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
unit, the Special Operations Department and, following dismissal in 1996 for associating with ultra-nationalist drug trafficker and contact killer Abdullah Çatlı
Abdullah 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...
, was further tarnished by complicity in the wide-ranging government conspiracy which became known as the Susurluk scandal
Susurluk scandal
The Susurluk scandal was a scandal involving the close relationship between the Turkish government, the armed forces, and organized crime. It took place during the peak of the Turkey–Kurdistan Workers' Party conflict, in the mid-1990s...
. The event, which began with the November 1996 car crash which killed Çatlı and other prominent individuals, resulted in Şahin's arrest and subsequent acquittal. His career, however, was effectively ended, and there were additional weapons-related charges in 1999, with a six-year prison term imposed in 2001. In 2008 he suffered a memory-impairing traffic accident and, in 2009, was among 37 highly-placed officials named in the government investigation of deep state
Deep state
The Deep state is alleged to be a group of influential anti-democratic coalitions within the Turkish political system, composed of high-level elements within the intelligence services , Turkish military, security, judiciary, and mafia. The notion of deep state is similar to that of a "state within...
organization Ergenekon.
Career from 1976 to 1996
A native of the AnatoliaAnatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
n city of Tokat
Tokat
Tokat is the capital city of Tokat Province of Turkey, at the mid Black Sea region of Anatolia. According to the 2009 census, the city of Tokat has a population of 129,879.-History:Tokat was established in the Hittite era....
, the capital of Tokat Province
Tokat Province
Tokat Province is a province in northern Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Amasya to the northwest, Yozgat to the southwest, Sivas to the southeast, and Ordu to the northeast...
, İbrahim Şahin began his police career at the age of 20, following graduation from the police academy in 1976. Holding the rank of assistant superintendent, he was assigned to the police unit in another provincial capital, Sinop
Sinop, Turkey
Sinop is a city with a population of 36,734 on İnce Burun , by its Cape Sinop which is situated on the most northern edge of the Turkish side of Black Sea coast, in the ancient region of Paphlagonia, in modern-day northern Turkey, historically known as Sinope...
. In 1978, he fulfilled his military duties in Erzurum
Erzurum
Erzurum is a city in Turkey. It is the largest city, the capital of Erzurum Province. The city is situated 1757 meters above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 361,235 in the 2000 census. .Erzurum, known as "The Rock" in NATO code, served as NATO's southeastern-most air force post during the...
and the Isparta
Isparta
Isparta is a city in western Turkey and the provincial capital of the Isparta Province. The city's population is 222,556 and elevation from sea level is 1035 m. Another name of the city is "City of Roses"....
Commando School and four years later, in 1982, joined the police force of yet another provincial capital, Bitlis
Bitlis
Bitlis is a town in eastern Turkey and the capital of Bitlis Province. The town is located at an elevation of 1,400 metres, 15 km from Lake Van, in the steep-sided valley of the Bitlis River, a tributary of the Tigris. The local economy is mainly based on agricultural products which include...
, in Eastern Anatolia. Later that year he transferred to the newly-formed Special Operations Department and completed a course in Special Operations from the Turkish General Staff's Special Warfare Department .
In 1984 he was sent to Germany for commando training from the country's Federal Police elite counter-terrorism and special operations unit GSG 9
GSG 9
The GSG 9 der Bundespolizei , is the elite counter-terrorism and special operations unit of the German Federal Police.-History and name:...
and, in 1987, travelled to the United States to receive additional counter-terrorism training. The following year he was appointed head of Special Operations branch assigned to the police of yet another provincial capital in Southeastern Anatolia
Southeastern Anatolia Region
Southeastern Anatolia Region is one of Turkey's seven census-defined geographical regions . It is bordered by the Mediterranean Region to the west, the Eastern Anatolia Region to the north, Syria to the south, and Iraq to the southeast.-Provinces:...
, Siirt
Siirt
- External links :* * * *...
. By 1990, he was in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, performed the same duty for the capital city's police and, in 1993, was chosen by director general of Turkish Security in Ankara and organizer of Special Forces Command, Mehmet Ağar
Mehmet Agar
Mehmet Kemal Ağar is a Turkish former police chief, politician, government minister and leader of the Democratic Party.-Early years:...
, as the first commander of Special Operations for the entire police force. Special Operations became particularly active in the conflict with PKK, the Kurdistan Workers Party, and carried out covert operations, such as assassinations of those suspected of lending support to PKK.
Susurluk scandal
The fatal car crash, which occurred on 3 November 1996 in the small northwestern town of SusurlukSusurluk
Susurluk is a small town and a district of Balıkesir Province in northwestern Turkey. It is famous for its production soap and dairy products.İstanbul-İzmir road passes through Susurluk. Susurluk is known for its toasted sandwich with tomato paste and its bubbly ayran. The population is 23,995...
, exposed links between politics, organized crime and the bureaucracy, referred to in Turkish as the derin devlet [deep state]. Upon Çatlı's death in the crash and the exposure of Şahin's intertwined connections to him, Şahin was dismissed from his posts and put under investigation for protecting members of the police department who were involved in the assassination, three months before the Susurluk crash, of controversial businessman Ömer Lütfü Topal
Ömer Lütfü Topal
Ömer Lütfü Topal, sometimes spelled Lütfi, was a Turkish businessman, who was deeply involved in the Susurluk scandal...
, known as the "casino king", as well as those implicated in the abduction of another shady operative, Tarık Ümit.
Tansu 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...
, Turkey's first female prime minister, who served from June 1993 to March 1996, requested Şahin's return to the police force and said that he was owed an apology. However, on 27 January 1997 a warrant was issued for his arrest and although he initially eluded capture, on 6 March he was charged with 5–9 years in jail for felony and surrendered within five days later, ultimately being acquitted six months later, on 12 September. After a passage of eighteen months, in March 1999, he was charged for up to year's imprisonment for allegedly losing weapons donated to the police. Nine years later, on 28 March 2008, he was in a serious traffic accident and lost his memory. On 14 April he was sentenced to one year in jail for negligence. His deposition in May was ineffectual because of his memory problem. He and his subordinate 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 :...
were initially handed a six year sentence. This was later reduced to 486 days. Şahin's plea to president Ahmet Necdet Sezer
Ahmet Necdet Sezer
- External links :* , Presidency of the Republic of Turkey...
to pardon the rest on account of his ill health was granted.
Ergenekon investigation
Şahin was one of 37 people detained in the Ergenekon investigation's January 2009 wave of arrests.The Turkish police said the round-up was triggered by orders Şahin gave to assassinate twelve Armenian community leaders in the provincial capital of Sivas Province
Sivas Province
The Sivas Province is a province of Turkey. It located at the eastern part of the Central Anatolian region of Turkey; it is the second largest province in Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Yozgat to the west, Kayseri to the southwest, Kahramanmaraş to the south, Malatya to the southeast, Erzincan...
.
A map describing the location of an arms cache was found in his house. A team of excavators found the following in Gölbaşı, Ankara
Gölbasi, Ankara
Gölbaşı is a town and district of the Ankara Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, south of the city of Ankara. According to a 2010 census, the population of the district is 95,109; 93,852 of which live in the town of Gölbaşı....
:
- 9 mm caliber9 mm caliberThis article lists firearm cartridges which have a bullet in the caliber range. The most prevalent of these rounds is the 9x19mm Parabellum.*Length refers to the cartridge case length.*OAL refers to the overall length of the cartridge....
bullets - boxed explosive
- ignition mine
- plastic explosivePlastic explosivePlastic explosive is a specialised form of explosive material. It is a soft and hand moldable solid material. Plastic explosives are properly known as putty explosives within the field of explosives engineering....
s - two lightweight anti-tank weaponsAnti-tank warfareAnti-tank warfare was created by the need to seek technology and tactics to destroy tanks and their supporting infantry during the First World War...
- 10 hand grenadeHand grenadeA hand grenade is any small bomb that can be thrown by hand. Hand grenades are classified into three categories, explosive grenades, chemical and gas grenades. Explosive grenades are the most commonly used in modern warfare, and are designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time...
s whose serial number had been deleted - 10 smoke bombSmoke bombA smoke bomb is a firework designed to produce smoke upon ignition. Smoke bombs are useful to military units, airsoft games, paintball games, self defense and pranks...
s used in training with colored smoke
According to the police, the weapons were wrapped in newspapers from 2004. Excavations in other parts of Ankara have been launched.