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Jandarma İstihbarat ve Terörle Mücadele or Jandarma İstihbarat Teşkilatı (abbr. ''JİTEM'' or ''JİT''; English: "Gendarmerie Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism" or "Gendarmerie Intelligence Organization") is the unofficial and illegal intelligence agency of the
Turkish Gendarmerie The Gendarmerie General Command ( tr, Jandarma Genel Komutanlığı) is the national Gendarmerie force of the Republic of Turkey. It is a service branch of the Turkish Ministry of Interior responsible for the maintenance of the public order in a ...
. JİTEM was active in the
Kurdish–Turkish conflict Kurdish nationalism, Kurdish nationalist uprisings have periodically occurred in Turkey, beginning with the Turkish War of Independence and the consequent transition from the Ottoman Empire to the modern Turkish state and continuing to the prese ...
. After the
Susurluk scandal The Susurluk scandal () was a scandal involving the close relationship among the deep state in Turkey, the Grey Wolves and the Turkish mafia. It took place during the peak of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict, in the mid-1990s. The relationship ...
, former prime ministers
Bülent Ecevit Mustafa Bülent Ecevit (; 28 May 1925 – 5 November 2006) was a Turkish politician, statesman, poet, writer, scholar, and journalist, who served as the Prime Minister of Turkey four times between 1974 and 2002. He served as prime minister in ...
and
Mesut Yılmaz Ahmet Mesut Yılmaz () (6 November 1947 – 30 October 2020) was a Turkish politician. He was the leader of the Motherland Party ( tr, Anavatan Partisi, ANAP) from 1991 to 2002, and served three times as Prime Minister of Turkey. His first two p ...
have confirmed the existence of JİTEM. According to
Murat Belge Murat Belge (born March 16, 1943) is a Turkish academic, translator, literary critic, columnist, civil rights activist, and occasional tour guide. Career Belge was a member of the organizing committee for a two-day academic conference that st ...
of
Istanbul Bilgi University Istanbul Bilgi University ( tr, İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi), officially established in 1996, is a private university located in Istanbul, Turkey. The university has 4 campuses centrally-located in Istanbul namely SantralIstanbul, Kuştepe, Do ...
, who has reported that he was tortured in 1971 by its founder,
Veli Küçük Veli Küçük (born 9 May 1944, Türkmen, Gölpazarı, Bilecik, TurkeyToday's Zaman, 16 June 2009Ultranationalist Ergenekon suspect is of Armenian origin, magazine reveals/ref>) is a retired Turkish brigadier-general. He is thought to be the foun ...
, JİTEM is an embodiment of the deep state. In other words, it is used by "the Establishment" to enforce alleged national interests. It is also said to be the military wing of
Ergenekon Ergenekon (sometimes spelled ''Ergeneqon'', mn, Эргүнэ хун, Ergüne khun) is a founding myth of Turkic and Mongolic peoples.
, an underground
Turkish nationalist Turkish nationalism ( tr, Türk milliyetçiliği) is a political ideology that promotes and glorifies the Turkish people, as either a national, ethnic, or linguistic group. The term "ultranationalism" is often used to describe Turkish nationalis ...
organization. In 2008, long-maintained official denials of JİTEM's existence started collapsing in the courts, as ex-members of Turkey's "deep state" security apparatus testify to their participation in covert and illegal activities over the last few decades as part of the ongoing Ergenekon investigation.


History


Background

The unit was officially founded in 2005, but its unofficial history goes back to the 1980s. Its roots lie further back with the
Counter-Guerrilla Counter-Guerrilla ( tr, Kontrgerilla) is the Turkish branch of Operation Gladio, a clandestine stay-behind anti-communist initiative backed by the United States as an expression of the Truman Doctrine. The founding goal of the operation was to ere ...
: JİTEM used Counter-Guerrilla methods and possibly equipment, and key figures had been involved with the Counter-Guerrilla. For example,
Murat Belge Murat Belge (born March 16, 1943) is a Turkish academic, translator, literary critic, columnist, civil rights activist, and occasional tour guide. Career Belge was a member of the organizing committee for a two-day academic conference that st ...
of
Istanbul Bilgi University Istanbul Bilgi University ( tr, İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi), officially established in 1996, is a private university located in Istanbul, Turkey. The university has 4 campuses centrally-located in Istanbul namely SantralIstanbul, Kuştepe, Do ...
says he was tortured in 1971 by a key JİTEM figure,
Veli Küçük Veli Küçük (born 9 May 1944, Türkmen, Gölpazarı, Bilecik, TurkeyToday's Zaman, 16 June 2009Ultranationalist Ergenekon suspect is of Armenian origin, magazine reveals/ref>) is a retired Turkish brigadier-general. He is thought to be the foun ...
.


Unofficial (1980s–2005)

JİTEM was active in the
Kurdish–Turkish conflict Kurdish nationalism, Kurdish nationalist uprisings have periodically occurred in Turkey, beginning with the Turkish War of Independence and the consequent transition from the Ottoman Empire to the modern Turkish state and continuing to the prese ...
.Alt URL
/ref> It has repeatedly been claimed that JİTEM was dissolved. One of the first was Prime Minister Mesut Yılmaz. He stated on 22 January 1998 on the ''Arena'' program on
Kanal D Kanal D, also known as Channel D, is a nationwide television channel in Turkey and part of Demirören Group. It was founded by Ayhan Şahenk and Aydın Doğan in 1993. The network also runs an international channel, Euro D which is available o ...
hosted by
Uğur Dündar Uğur Dündar (born 28 August 1943) is a Turkish journalist, anchorman, political commentator, and writer. He was born in Akören village of Silivri district in Istanbul Province. He graduated from Istanbul University's Institute of Journalism. ...
that JİTEM did not exist any longer. When
İsmail Hakkı Karadayı İsmail Hakkı Karadayı (25 April 1932 – 26 May 2020) was a Turkish general, who became the 20th Commander of the Turkish Armed Forces on 30 August 1993. He served between 1994 and 1998 as the 22nd Chief of the Turkish General Staff for a four- ...
assumed the role of chief of general staff, (30 August 1994 – 30 August 1998), news stating the dissolution of JİTEM were leaked to the press. The last declaration about JİTEM's dissolution came in 2004 from the former Commander of the Gendarmerie in the State of Emergency Region (Olağanüstü Hal,
OHAL The OHAL region ( tr, Olağanüstü Hâl Bölge Valiliği, lit=Governorship of Region in State of Emergency) was a "super-region" created in Turkey under state of emergency legislation, as part of its approach to the Kurdish–Turkish conflict. Fr ...
), retired Lieutenant- General Altay Tokat. Tokat stated in his interview with the newspaper ''Zaman'' that JİTEM was a “public disclosure of an intelligence unit that fought against the PKK in the OHAL region” and that it had “fulfilled its role and was dissolved". The former chair of
Diyarbakır Bar Association The Diyarbakır Bar Association is an organization of lawyers established in the year 1927. It is one of the 81 members of the Turkish Bars Association. Several of its leaders were prosecuted and one of its presidents was assassinated. The curre ...
,
Sezgin Tanrıkulu Sezgin Tanrıkulu is a Turkish human rights lawyer known for his defense of the rights of Kurdish citizens. He is currently serving as an MP in the Turkish Grand Assembly with the Republican People's Party (CHP). Early life and education Tanr ...
, however claims that JİTEM was not dissolved, but the cadres were not active at the moment.


Official (2005–present)

JİTEM was made a legal entity through Article 5 of the Law 2803 on the Establishment, Duties and Jurisdiction of Gendarmerie and Article 4 of the Law Concerning the Transfer of Our Borders, Coasts and Territorial Waters' Protection and Anti-Smuggling Activities to the Ministry of Internal Affairs No. 6815. The gendarmerie intelligence, previously known as JİTEM or JİT, finally gained legal status with the Law Concerning Amendments to Some Laws No. 5397, accepted on 3 July 2005, effective since 23 July 2005 thus becoming the Gendarmerie Intelligence Department within the General Command of Gendarmerie. This law authorised the gendarmerie to carry out technical stakeouts.


Investigation history


1993–1996

The first person to write about JİTEM was journalist
Ayşe Önal Ayşe Önal (born 1955) is a Turkish journalist and writer. A former editor of ''Nokta'', in 2000 she moved to London and became foreign correspondent for Kanal 7, before moving to ''Akşam'' and Show TV in 2003. Her best known book is ''Honour K ...
for the '' Ateş'' newspaper on 2 July 1994. Önal had learned about it from
Veli Küçük Veli Küçük (born 9 May 1944, Türkmen, Gölpazarı, Bilecik, TurkeyToday's Zaman, 16 June 2009Ultranationalist Ergenekon suspect is of Armenian origin, magazine reveals/ref>) is a retired Turkish brigadier-general. He is thought to be the foun ...
after being introduced to him through MIT spy and fellow journalist,
Tuncay Güney Tuncay Güney (; born 25 August 1972 in Kargı For details, sefolder 398of the indictment's annex.), code name "Ipek" (silk), is a Turkish citizen of Dönmeh Jewish origin who claims to have infiltrated the Turkish Gendarmerie's intelligence org ...
. Önal and Küçük's meeting did not go well, and Önal vowed to write about it. She followed through, and was promptly fired, along with nineteen of her coworkers. Findings about JİTEM and Ersever were also published by researchers and journalists. One of the first and most detailed of these was by
Soner Yalçın Soner Yalçın (born January 1, 1966) is a Turkish journalist and writer. The co-founder of the news website odatv, he was arrested in February 2011 along with other odatv journalists and charged with links to the Ergenekon organization. He was ...
. Yalçın managed to interview
Cem Ersever Ahmet Cem Ersever (1950 – 4 November 1993) was a commander in the Turkish Gendarmerie, and said to be one of the founders of the Gendarmerie's JITEM intelligence unit. He was assassinated in November 1993.) is a retired Turkish brigadier-general ...
, subsequently publishing the interviews in his book ''Binbaşı Ersever'in İtirafları'' ("Confessions of Major Ersever").


Susurluk scandal

JİTEM was subjected to parliamentary scrutiny during the
Susurluk scandal The Susurluk scandal () was a scandal involving the close relationship among the deep state in Turkey, the Grey Wolves and the Turkish mafia. It took place during the peak of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict, in the mid-1990s. The relationship ...
, when commanders in the Gendarmerie repeatedly denied the existence of an overarching intelligence organization within the Gendarmerie. Susurluk commission member
Fikri Sağlar Fikri Sağlar (born 1953) is a Turkish social democrat politician. He was Minister of Culture in the early 1990s, and a member of the parliamentary commission which investigated the Susurluk scandal. He has been a columnist for ''Birgün''. In ...
said that the commanders denied its existence because the Gendarmerie formally acquired the legal capacity to conduct intelligence operations in 2005 (with Law 5397). The author of the Prime Ministry Inspection Board report, Kutlu Savaş, said JİTEM was created on Gendarmerie Commander
Hulusi Sayın Hulusi Sayın (28 April 1926 – 30 January 1991) was a general in the Turkish Gendarmerie, and may have been involved with the Gendarmerie's JITEM intelligence unit. He retired in 1989 and become an adviser to the Prime Minister's office. He was ...
's watch (1981–1985). The Parliamentary Investigation Committee's report on Unsolved Political Murders in Various Regions of Our Country (10/90) dated 12 October 1995 and the summary by Istanbul National Security Court General Prosecutor dated 30 January 1997 are also worthy of consideration.The article INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES OF THE GENDARMERIE CORPS (JİTEM & JİT) by Ertan Beşe, Assistant Professor, Police Academy, Faculty of Security Sciences can be found in the ALMANAC TURKEY 2005: SECURITY SECTOR AND DEMOCRATIC OVERSIGHT (DCAF) - TESEV (Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation) SERIES IN SECURITY SECTOR STUDIES, ALMANAC TURKEY 2005,
Link to the pdf-file
pages 172-189
Investigations into the 1996
Susurluk scandal The Susurluk scandal () was a scandal involving the close relationship among the deep state in Turkey, the Grey Wolves and the Turkish mafia. It took place during the peak of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict, in the mid-1990s. The relationship ...
revealed some role for JİTEM. Former prime ministers
Bülent Ecevit Mustafa Bülent Ecevit (; 28 May 1925 – 5 November 2006) was a Turkish politician, statesman, poet, writer, scholar, and journalist, who served as the Prime Minister of Turkey four times between 1974 and 2002. He served as prime minister in ...
, (archived fro
the original
2009-02-05),
Human Rights Foundation of Turkey The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (HRFT) ( tr, Türkiye İnsan Hakları Vakfı, TİHV) is headquartered in Ankara. The organization is committed to treating torture survivors and documenting human rights violations in daily bulletins, monthly an ...
, chapter II, "SUSURLUK SCANDAL: Counter-Guerrilla Affairs", p.39-86 (see quotation on p.40): "It seems that some illegal methods were employed within the state during the anti-terrorist struggle. In the report, some military people are mentioned, but the report implies that the army as a whole was not involved in such affairs. I am glad to hear that. If the army had been involved in such affairs, it would have been highly difficult for us to solve the problem. On the other hand, the situation of the Gendarmerie is a bit complex because its affiliation is to both the army and the Ministry of Interior Affairs. That's an outcome of the report. JİTEM seems corrupted."
and
Mesut Yılmaz Ahmet Mesut Yılmaz () (6 November 1947 – 30 October 2020) was a Turkish politician. He was the leader of the Motherland Party ( tr, Anavatan Partisi, ANAP) from 1991 to 2002, and served three times as Prime Minister of Turkey. His first two p ...
,
Human Rights Foundation of Turkey The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (HRFT) ( tr, Türkiye İnsan Hakları Vakfı, TİHV) is headquartered in Ankara. The organization is committed to treating torture survivors and documenting human rights violations in daily bulletins, monthly an ...
, chapter II, "SUSURLUK SCANDAL: Counter-guerilla Affairs", p.46: The report prepared by Prime Ministry Inspection Board Deputy Chairman Kutlu Savaş mentioned JİTEM as involved in gang activities. However, JİTEM is among the "state secrets" of Prime Minister
Mesut Yılmaz Ahmet Mesut Yılmaz () (6 November 1947 – 30 October 2020) was a Turkish politician. He was the leader of the Motherland Party ( tr, Anavatan Partisi, ANAP) from 1991 to 2002, and served three times as Prime Minister of Turkey. His first two p ...
. Yılmaz accepted the existence of JİTEM but argued that "military officials were not involved and they intervened when they learned about it." Yılmaz carefully tried to relieve military officials, the Gendarmerie's former Commander General Teoman Koman from responsibility. Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit said, "JİTEM is mentioned in the report. However, the Gendarmerie and JİTEM are not equal to the army."
accepted the existence of JİTEM. Seven months after the release of the Susurluk Report, a book entitled: ''Cem Ersever ve JİTEM Gerçeği'' ("Cem Ersever and the JİTEM Fact"), written by journalist Çetin Ağaşe, a friend of the Ersever family, was published. The appendix of the book contains documents such as the 1994 phone directory of the General Command of Gendarmerie, which contained the numbers of the JİTEM Group Commander and JİTEM units in each city. This was further proof of JİTEM's official existence and of Ersever's position within the chain of command.


Abdülkadir Aygan

Revelations have recently come from an informant named
Abdülkadir Aygan Abdülkadir Aygan (born Uzunhıdır, Suruç, Şanlıurfa Province, 1958) is a former member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and of the Turkish Gendarmerie's JITEM intelligence unit. He has been described as "the most well-known among PKK mem ...
(a former
PKK The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurds, Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla warfare, guerrilla List of guerrilla movements, movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based ...
member recruited by JİTEM, now a
political refugee The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another entit ...
in SwedenOkkan assassination linked to JİTEM
''
Today's Zaman ''Today's Zaman'' (Zaman is Turkish for 'time' or 'age') was an English-language daily newspaper based in Turkey. Established on 17 January 2007, it was the English-language edition of the Turkish daily '' Zaman.'' ''Today's Zaman'' included dom ...
'', 27 August 2008
) that it was founded by retired general Veli Küçük, who is currently arrested in the Ergenekon investigations. Other people allegedly involved in its founding are Ahmet Cem Ersever,
Arif Doğan Arif Doğan (born Kırıkhan, Hatay Province, 1945 – 17 October 2014) was a commander in the Turkish Gendarmerie, and said to be one of the founders of the Gendarmerie's JITEM intelligence unit. He was a defendant in the Ergenekon trials, and in ...
, Hasan Kundakçı, Hüseyin Kara, Hulusi Sayın and Aytekin Özen, according to Aygan. Küçük confirmed Aygan's allegations about his cofounding the organization.


Arif Doğan

After being taken into custody,
Arif Doğan Arif Doğan (born Kırıkhan, Hatay Province, 1945 – 17 October 2014) was a commander in the Turkish Gendarmerie, and said to be one of the founders of the Gendarmerie's JITEM intelligence unit. He was a defendant in the Ergenekon trials, and in ...
admitted to being a founder of the organization, originally known as the Intelligence Group Command ( tr, İstihbarat Grup Komutanlığı), and that in 1990 he handed the reins to Veli Küçük. In 2005 he had denied the very existence of such an organization. After his release from prison Arif Doğan spoke to journalists of the news channel
Habertürk TV Habertürk TV is a Turkish nationwide TV channel established in 2001 by Turkish journalist Ufuk Güldemir. It is owned by the Ciner Media Group (since 2007). In 2009 Ciner created the ''Habertürk'' newspaper, drawing on Habertürk TV's brand. ...
in September 2010 and said that he alone had founded JİTEM and had "frozen" it in 1990.''
Habertürk ''Habertürk'' (literally: "News Turkish"), abbreviated as ''HT'', was a high-circulation Turkish newspaper. It was established on March 1, 2009 by Ciner Media Group, drawing on the brand of Ciner's Habertürk TV. It ceased publication on 5 Jul ...
'', 26 September 2010
'JİTEM'i ben kurdum, ben dondurdum'
accessed on 27 September 2010
Concerning the structure of JİTEM Colonel Arif Doğan said: "''My staff was 10,000, including 620 women. They participated in operations and got 3,000 Lira for each head''." According to figures of the Justice Ministry about 1,950 PKK militants became confessors after arrest.See th
article in Haber Vitrin of 9 February 2009
; accessed on 27 September 2010
Unofficial figures put the number of confessors that were used and paid in the fight against the PKK at 500.


Modus Operandi

Among the alleged members are ex-PKK-operatives ( tr, İtirafçı), besides
non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...
s and a few officers of the Gendarmerie. While Aygan listed several units as part of JİTEM such as the Gendarmerie General Command, the Intelligence Command, the Joint Group Command, the Regional Group Commands (of which there are seven), the Team Commands and small clandestine cells the lawyer Tahir Elçi, who is acting on behalf of victims of JİTEM said:
"It is not possible to completely know the organizational structure of JİTEM; but it is understood that it was organized within the Gendarmerie, the centre being in Ankara and having group commands mostly in the South-East within the Regimental Commands of the provinces. They took their orders from the centre in Ankara and conducted three folded activities: gather intelligence, interrogate and carry out operations." JİTEM carried out its activities using the "staff system" (''eleman sistemi'') and technical stakeout approaches. The information gathered was analysed, became intelligence and submitted to the Intelligence Group Command. Every report was assembled by the Intelligence Group Command and operation teams were dispatched accordingly.


Actions


Fight against PKK

JİTEM was founded to counter the guerilla tactics of the PKK, but its units never directly clashed with armed groups of the PKK in the rural areas. They made use of PKK confessors('' itirafçı'') to kill PKK adherents, raid villages in guerilla dressing, detain, torture or make people "disappear". Intelligence units did not have the necessary mechanisms in place to fight the PKK in open country. The inefficiency in the intelligence network made it impossible for land forces to perform specific operations, to prevent terror raids and to develop a strategy against PKK front activities. The spokesperson of the Movement of Kurdish Democrats Ahmet Acar alleged that JİTEM fomented infighting in the PKK, while ensuring the perpetuation of both of the PKK, and by extension, itself. Kurdish-Turkish politician
Abdülmelik Fırat Abdülmelik Fırat (1934, Erzurum – 29 September 2009, Ankara) was a prominent Turkish-Kurdish politician. He was the grandson of Sheikh Said, leader of the 1925 Sheikh Said rebellion. Early life and education His grandfather Sheikh Said wa ...
maintained that JİTEM is connected to the PKK, while fighting it at the same time.


Political killings

Numerous people who claim to be or are purported to be JİTEM operatives have been accused of crimes such as
kidnapping In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...
,
intimidation Intimidation is to "make timid or make fearful"; or to induce fear. This includes intentional behaviors of forcing another person to experience general discomfort such as humiliation, embarrassment, inferiority, limited freedom, etc and the victi ...
, and
extra-judicial killing An extrajudicial killing (also known as extrajudicial execution or extralegal killing) is the deliberate killing of a person without the lawful authority granted by a judicial proceeding. It typically refers to government authorities, whether ...
s of PKK members. Former JİTEM operative Aygan estimated that 80% of these killings were done by JİTEM. JİTEM interrogators are especially brutal since they belong to an organization that ostensibly does not exist, and hence they are not accountable. Aygan says that detainees are invariably killed. He provided about 30 names of victims.
Tuncay Güney Tuncay Güney (; born 25 August 1972 in Kargı For details, sefolder 398of the indictment's annex.), code name "Ipek" (silk), is a Turkish citizen of Dönmeh Jewish origin who claims to have infiltrated the Turkish Gendarmerie's intelligence org ...
, a former spy for the
National Intelligence Organization The National Intelligence Organization ( tr, Millî İstihbarat Teşkilatı, MİT) is the state intelligence agency of Turkey. Established in 1965 to replace National Security Service, its aim is to gather information about the current and po ...
who infiltrated JİTEM, alleged that Veli Küçük's men, working for JİTEM, killed people using acid and buried the corpses in wells belonging to the state-owned Turkish Pipeline Corporation,
BOTAŞ BOTAŞ Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS) is the state-owned crude oil and natural gas pipelines and trading company in Turkey. The company was established in 1974 as a subsidiary of TPAO. Since 1995, BOTAS is a wholly state-owned company. ...
. Some have responded to the Şırnak Bar's request for witnesses and families of victims to step forward. Ergenekon defendant
Levent Ersöz Levent Ersöz (born 19 April 1954) is a former Turkey brigadier general in the Turkish Gendarmerie, who was head of the Gendarmerie's JITEM intelligence department. He was considered a key defendant in the Ergenekon trials, and on 5 August 2013 w ...
has also been named in connection with the incidents, in Silopi. There are no clear figures on the number of political killings in South-East Anatolia. According to intelligence units, 1550 unsolved murders were committed between 1990 and 2000 although the PKK claims that the accurate number exceeds 2000. The Human Rights Association estimates that between 1989 and 2008 JİTEM was involved in 5000 unsolved killings of journalists, human rights defenders, intellectuals and political activists and was responsible for 1,500 cases of "disappearances". Former chair of Diyarbakır Bar Association Sezgin Tanrıkulu put the figures above 4,000, close to 5,000. He stated that one JİTEM operative, Ibrahim Babat, alone had been charged with 61 killings. In a documentary by Mehmet Hatman the figure of 4653 unsolved political killings between 1991 and 2000 was mentioned.


High profile killings

Some murders received a lot of press coverage.


Vedat Aydın

Vedat Aydın Vedat Aydın (19537July 1991) was a Kurdish politician and human rights defender. He was married to Sükran Aydın. Early life and education He was born in 1953 in a village in Bismil, Diyarbakir. He graduated from the Literary department of ...
, the Diyarbakır branch chairman of the now-defunct
People's Labor Party The People's Labour Party ( tr, Halkın Emek Partisi, HEP), sometimes translated as the People's Work Party, was a pro-Kurdish political party in Turkey. It was founded on 7 June 1990 by seven members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly expell ...
(HEP), was found dead on a road near Malatya on 7 July 1991, two days after armed men had taken him from his home in Diyarbakir. The widow Sükran Aydın thinks her husband's murder was a turning point and that there was a sudden increase in the number of unsolved murders in the country's Southeast following his death. She believes that a clandestine unit within the gendarmerie was responsible for the murder. Only 18 years after the killing the public prosecutor in Diyarbakir opened a file seeking the detention of nine JİTEM members including the Major Aytekin Özen.


Musa Anter

Aygan said he had been part of a unit, alongside Cem Ersever and Arif Doğan, which had assassinated 72-year-old
Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...
writer
Musa Anter Musa Anter (1920 – 20 September 1992), also known as "Apê Musa" ( ku, Apê Musa, literally "Uncle Musa"), was a Kurdish writer, journalist and intellectual and was assassinated by Turkish JITEM in September 1992. Early life and education He w ...
in 1992 in Diyarbakır. Turkey was found guilty of this murder in 2006 by the
European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...
, which fined Turkey for 28,500 euros.


Ahmet Cem Ersever

Former JİTEM commander
Cem Ersever Ahmet Cem Ersever (1950 – 4 November 1993) was a commander in the Turkish Gendarmerie, and said to be one of the founders of the Gendarmerie's JITEM intelligence unit. He was assassinated in November 1993.) is a retired Turkish brigadier-general ...
was assassinated in November 1993.Ergenekon indictment reopens gendarmerie major's murder case
, ''
Today's Zaman ''Today's Zaman'' (Zaman is Turkish for 'time' or 'age') was an English-language daily newspaper based in Turkey. Established on 17 January 2007, it was the English-language edition of the Turkish daily '' Zaman.'' ''Today's Zaman'' included dom ...
'', 13 August 2008.
Aygan alleges that Arif Doğan and Veli Küçük's superiors in Ankara ordered the assassination in order to take control of JİTEM from Ersever.


Drugs and weapons trafficking

JİTEM's chief,
Arif Doğan Arif Doğan (born Kırıkhan, Hatay Province, 1945 – 17 October 2014) was a commander in the Turkish Gendarmerie, and said to be one of the founders of the Gendarmerie's JITEM intelligence unit. He was a defendant in the Ergenekon trials, and in ...
, was tried in the frame of the Yüksekova Gang (aka "the gang with uniforms"). According to ''
Today's Zaman ''Today's Zaman'' (Zaman is Turkish for 'time' or 'age') was an English-language daily newspaper based in Turkey. Established on 17 January 2007, it was the English-language edition of the Turkish daily '' Zaman.'' ''Today's Zaman'' included dom ...
'', the "Yüksekova Gang was an illegal organization formed in the
Yüksekova district Yüksekova District is a district in the Hakkâri Province of Turkey. Its seat is the city Yüksekova. Its area is 2,547 km2 and had a population of 119,194 people in 2021. It borders Iran to the east, and Kurdistan Region of Iraq to the sou ...
of
Hakkari Hakkari or Hakkâri may refer to: *Hakkari (historical region), a historical region in modern-day Turkey and Iraq *Hakkâri (city), a city and the capital of Hakkâri Province, Turkey *Hakkâri Province Hakkâri Province (, tr, Hakkâri ili, ...
, headed by three high-ranking military personnel and various politicians that smuggled drugs and weapons."Duvakli, Melik
JİTEM's illegal actions cost Turkey a fortune
, ''
Today's Zaman ''Today's Zaman'' (Zaman is Turkish for 'time' or 'age') was an English-language daily newspaper based in Turkey. Established on 17 January 2007, it was the English-language edition of the Turkish daily '' Zaman.'' ''Today's Zaman'' included dom ...
'', 27 August 2008.
Its activities were first revealed in 1996, in the aftermath of the
Susurluk scandal The Susurluk scandal () was a scandal involving the close relationship among the deep state in Turkey, the Grey Wolves and the Turkish mafia. It took place during the peak of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict, in the mid-1990s. The relationship ...
. Its activities "are only one part of the JİTEM activities" that have been sent to the
European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...
(ECHR). All of the local court prison sentences concerning the Yüksekova Gang were cancelled by the
High Court of Appeals of Turkey The Court of Cassation, also called Supreme Court of Appeals of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Yargıtay Başkanlığı – ''Yargıtay'' for short) is the last instance for reviewing verdicts given by courts of criminal and civil justice in Tur ...
, leading the ECHR to fine Turkey 103,000 Euro for its decisions about the Yüksekova Gang. Relying on a document as an attachment to the indictment in the Ergenekon case Fırat News Agency presented background on smuggling of JİTEM staff between 1981 and 1990. Details were mentioned on arms trafficking, drug smuggling, and cross border trafficking of electronic devices.


Court cases with JİTEM involvement

İlhan Cihaner, prosecutor in İdil (Şırnak province) was the first to point at JİTEM in an indictment of 1997. He held the defendants including civil servants, '' İtirafçı'' confessors and others responsible for killings, bombings and "disappearances". Defendant No. 1 was Ahmet Cem Ersever and defendant No. 2 was
Arif Doğan Arif Doğan (born Kırıkhan, Hatay Province, 1945 – 17 October 2014) was a commander in the Turkish Gendarmerie, and said to be one of the founders of the Gendarmerie's JITEM intelligence unit. He was a defendant in the Ergenekon trials, and in ...
. An indictment prepared by Diyarbakır Public Prosecutor Mithat Özcan dated 29 March 2005 charged eight PKK ''İtirafçı'' confessors, namely
Mahmut Yıldırım Mahmut Yıldırım (born 1951, Yenidal, Solhan, Bingöl Province), better known as Yeşil ( Turkish for "Green"), is a Turkish rogue agent of Zaza origins. He is wanted for the murders of eight people in Turkey. Among the murders he is accused o ...
(aka Yeşil),
Abdülkadir Aygan Abdülkadir Aygan (born Uzunhıdır, Suruç, Şanlıurfa Province, 1958) is a former member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and of the Turkish Gendarmerie's JITEM intelligence unit. He has been described as "the most well-known among PKK mem ...
, Muhsin Gül, Fethi Çetin, Kemal Emlük, Saniye Emlük, Yüksel Uğur and Abdülkerim Kırca. These people were suspected of being JİTEM members and were charged with eight unsolved murders, namely the murders of Harbi Arman, Lokman Zuğurli, Zana Zuğurli, Servet Aslan, Şahabettin Latifeci, Ahmet Ceylan, Mehmet Sıddık Etyemez and Abdülkadir Çelikbilek between the years 1992–1994. The case was transferred to a military court. The court case went through different stages. In September 2010 the number of defendants had risen to 15. During the hearing at Diyarbakir Heavy Penal Court No. 6 of 3 September 2010 the defendants Ali Ozansoy and Adil Timurtaş (both confessors) were present for the first time. Earlier the Ministry of Interior had refused to inform the Court of the new names of the defendants. Mehmet Şerif Avşar was abducted in Diyarbakir on 22 April 1994 and two weeks later found dead. The kidnappers, PKK confessor Mesut Mehmetoğlu and village guards hid in a building reportedly belonging to JİTEM. On 20 March 2001 six defendants were convicted for their involvement in the killing. The case was raised with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The court found a violation of Article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights.
Abdülkadir Aygan Abdülkadir Aygan (born Uzunhıdır, Suruç, Şanlıurfa Province, 1958) is a former member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and of the Turkish Gendarmerie's JITEM intelligence unit. He has been described as "the most well-known among PKK mem ...
is one of the 11 or 12 defendants charged with having killed Hacı Ahmet Zeyrek (in Silopi 1989), JİTEM staff member Mehmet Bayar (25 June 1990) and Tahsin Sevim, Hasan Utanç and Hasan Caner on 16 September 1989. A criminal court in Diyarbakır ruled in 2006 that the defendants were military personnel and should be tried in a military court. According to the report of Kutlu Savaş PKK ''İtirafçı'' confessor Hayrettin Toka had been involved in many killings of JİTEM. He was apprehended in Karamürsel in December 2005 and taken to Diyarbakir. A judge released him on 16 January 2006. In his testimony Toka stated that he had been imprisoned for 12.5 years.
Şırnak death well trials The Şırnak death well trials are trials in Turkey in relation to the unsolved murders of 55 people in the mid-1990s in the area of Silopi and Cizre in Şırnak Province. It is alleged that the Turkish Gendarmerie unit JITEM was responsible for ab ...
: on 11 September 2009 Diyarbakır Heavy Penal Court No. 6 started to hear the case of 7 defendants charged with 20 killings that had been committed between 1993 and 1995 when Colonel Cemil Temizöz had been the commander of Cizre Gendarmerie Station in Şırnak province, Cizre district. On 17 September 2010 the 18th hearing was held.Details on hearings in this case can be found in th
daily reports of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey
backed up by the Democratic Turkey Forum; the relevant dates are: 03-05.04.2010, 08-10.05.2010, 05-07.06.2010, 15.06.2010, 10-12.07.2010 and 07-09.08.2010
The 2005 Şemdinli incident involved Gendarmerie intelligence personnel and alleged links to JİTEM. Three men were sentenced to 39 years for murder in a grenade attack.


References


Further reading

* Özel tim-Özel Harekat Timi (Special Team) * * Ecevit Kılıç (2011), ''Jitem: Türkiye'nin Faili Meçhul Tarihi'', Timaş Yayınları


External links

Two series of articles in pro-Kurdish newspapers: * JİTEMciler konuşuyor
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ead links* JİTEM'i deşifre ediyoruz
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ead links {{DEFAULTSORT:JITEM Turkish intelligence agencies Law enforcement in Turkey Military of Turkey Gendarmerie (Turkey) Military units and formations established in 2005 Political controversies in Turkey Anti-communism in Turkey