The Presidency’s Directorate of Communications announced on Monday that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan would receive Ayşe Ateş, wife of murdered nationalist activist Sinan Ateş, “in the coming days.” No further details were provided.
Ateş, 38, was murdered in December 2022 in the capital Ankara. The murder of the academic came two years after he ended his tenure as head of Ülkü Ocakları, or Idealist Hearths, an influential foundation linked to the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), a close ally of the government.
A total of 22 defendants are scheduled to be tried over his murder in a trial whose first hearing will be held in Ankara on July 1. They are charged with murder, attempted murder, inciting to commit a crime, and aiding and abetting a crime. Among them is E.Ö., the shooter who fired at Ateş while he was on the street with his brother-in-law. Ateş’s brother-in-law was injured in the attack, while Ateş succumbed to his wounds as he was taken to a hospital. E.Ö. has claimed that he just wanted to shoot and injure Ateş over a personal feud but had to fire deadly shots when Ateş’ brother-in-law pulled a gun in self-defense. Another defendant has disputed this account and told investigators that E.Ö. was ordered to beat and shoot Ateş in the leg by D.Ç., a suspect with a long criminal history.
Ayşe Ateş accused unnamed members of Idealist Hearths and the MHP of involvement in the murder in a televised interview last month, while the opposition parties have claimed that the murder was politically motivated. She most recently met the leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli has denied the accusations and claimed the party was subject to a defamation campaign.
