The family of slain journalist Uğur Mumcu met with Justice Minister Akın Gürlek on Aug. 6 to discuss the latest developments in the investigation into his 1993 assassination.
Mumcu’s wife, Şükran Güldal Mumcu, and his son, Özgür Mumcu, attended the meeting at the Justice Ministry, along with the family’s lawyers. The sides discussed the status of the case and new efforts to uncover the circumstances surrounding the killing.
Güldal Mumcu said after the meeting that the family had called for the perpetrators and those who ordered the assassination to be identified regardless of who they were.
“We conveyed our demand that the perpetrators and instigators be identified, whoever they may be,” Güldal Mumcu said. She said Gürlek had pledged to do everything possible to uncover those behind the killing and their connections.
In remarks to private broadcaster Halk TV, she described the meeting and the team assigned to the case positively, expressing hope that the full network behind the assassination would be uncovered.
Gürlek said the state was determined to uncover the full circumstances of Mumcu’s killing, according to a Justice Ministry statement.
Mumcu was killed on Jan. 24, 1993, when a bomb planted in his car exploded outside his home in Ankara. The investigative journalist and writer had been known for reporting on political violence, organized crime and alleged links between state officials and criminal networks.
Convictions against Ferhan Özmen, who was accused of preparing the bomb, and Necdet Yüksel, who was accused of acting as a lookout, had been finalized. The trial of Demir, who is accused of placing the bomb on Mumcu’s vehicle, is continuing at an Ankara court.
Gürlek recently said about 680 unsolved cases that had not reached the statute of limitations were being reviewed, including Mumcu’s case.
The family said it did not oppose a broader investigation but warned that the process should not undermine final court rulings, clear convicted perpetrators of responsibility or distract from efforts to capture Demir.
In a statement before the meeting, they said the state’s priority should be capturing fugitive suspect Oğuz Demir and bringing him before the court, while also stressing that they wanted all aspects of the assassination to be uncovered.
