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MULTIMEDIA
May 27, 2012
 
 
 
 
 
 

Retired military prosecutor calls for probe into suspicious suicides

The suspicious suicide of retired Col. Belgütay Varımlı has brought similar suicides of army personnel back to the agenda.
27 November 2009 / TODAY'S ZAMAN WITH WIRES, İSTANBUL
Former Chief Prosecutor of the General Staff Col. Saim Öztürk has called for an in-depth investigation into the alleged suicides of four members of the military, whose deaths have raised concern in society.

“All incidents are suspicious when you look at them from outside. They have sparked concern in society. They should be investigated thoroughly. That would produce results to ease public concerns,” Öztürk remarked. He also said he was ready to testify if prosecutors conducting an ongoing probe into a clandestine criminal organization known as Ergenekon summon him.

“If a probe is launched into the suicides of the members of the military, I am ready to testify as part of the investigation,” he stated.

The suspicious suicides of the army personnel were brought back to Turkey’s agenda last week after a retired colonel, Belgütay Varımlı, reportedly killed himself by jumping off the balcony of his apartment in İstanbul’s Kadıköy district on Nov. 20. Varımlı threw himself off his balcony while his wife and mother were at home. He hit the concrete pavement below and died at the scene. His body was taken to the Göztepe Teaching and Research Hospital after police and prosecutors examined it.

Varımlı’s suicide sparked suspicion because he was known to be a devout Muslim and would not condone the idea of killing oneself since suicide is one of the biggest sins in Islam.

Retired Lt. Col. Tevfik Diker, a close friend of the late officer, claimed that Varımlı played a significant role in the exposure of the Ergenekon terrorist organization and had informed former Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Özkök of previous failed coup plans. Varımlı was also a key part of the trial of former Naval Forces Commander Adm. İlhami Erdil, causing the admiral to be demoted to the rank of private after the investigation.

Öztürk also said the ambiguity surrounding the suicide of retired navy Col. Tanju Ünal had not been dispelled. “The investigation into the suicide was completed; however, the suicide may be investigated again for public satisfaction,” he said.

Şamil Tayyar, a Star daily columnist, devoted his column on Wednesday to the mysterious suicides of the four members of the military. According to Tayyar, prosecutors will fail to satisfy the questions in people’s minds if they cannot give satisfactory answers with investigations they conduct.

“There were claims that Col. Varımlı had provided confidential military documents to prosecutors. His death left those claims flat. According to his friends, the colonel had important information about the Ergenekon investigation,” Tayyar remarked.

Touching on Col. Ünal’s suicide, the columnist said the colonel was believed to have had immense and confidential information on the Hizbullah terrorist organization, the Western Study Group and Ergenekon.

Tayyar went on to mention the alleged suicide of naval Capt. Olgun Ural, who was found dead in his house on March 24, 2009. The colonel had sent confidential documents about an anti-democratic formation within the Turkish military to Ergenekon prosecutors, according to claims.

The columnist also mentioned the suspicious death of Lt. Col. Nursal Gedik, who was found dead on Nov. 11, 2007. Gedik was serving in a biochemistry laboratory at the Kasımpaşa Military Hospital. He reportedly had knowledge of drug smuggling and the trafficking of women in Turkey. “It sounds strange, doesn’t it? Or, is ambush called ‘suicide’?” Tayyar asked in his column.

 
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© Feza Gazetecilik A.Ş. 2007, Ahmet Taner Kışlalı Cad. No: 6, Bahçelievler - İstanbul 34194 Turkey, +90 (212) 454 1454, +90 (212) 454 1497(fax)