The following is an incomplete, chronological list of people from

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

murdered by assassins mainly on political and religious grounds. Many were critical public servants and intellectuals assassinated by

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

proponents of an army-controlled Turkish Republic. Many of the victims have historically been

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...

proponents of laicism and the strict separation of religion and state in Turkey, as defined in the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

, and diplomats who were victims of militant attacks outside of Turkey.

Mustafa Suphi Mustafa Suphi or Mustafa Subhi (1883 – 28 January 1921) was a Turkish revolutionary and communist during the period of dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. Early life Suphi was born in 1883 in Giresun Province, in the Ottoman Empire, now loca ...

* 28 January 1921: Mustafa Suphi was the founder of the Communist Party of Turkey. Suphi and his 14 comrades were assassinated while they were being sent to Erzurum for trial.

Sabahattin Ali Sabahattin Ali (25 February 1907 – 2 April 1948) was a Turkish novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. Early life He was born in 1907 in Eğridere township (now Ardino in southern Bulgaria) of the Sanjak of Gümülcine (no ...

* 2 April 1948: Sabahattin Ali was a writer and critical intellectual who was assassinated at the

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n border while fleeing from Turkey. He had been imprisoned by the Turkish government.

1970s

Mehmet Baydar Mehmed (modern Turkish: Mehmet) is the most common Bosnian and Turkish form of the Arabic name Muhammad ( ar, محمد) (''Muhammed'' and ''Muhammet'' are also used, though considerably less) and gains its significance from being the name of Muha ...
and
Bahadır Demir Bahadır is a common masculine Turkish given name. In Turkish, "Bahadır" means "brave", "galahad", "hero", "valiant", and/or "gallant". This name is written with a dotless ı. It appears as BAHADIR in uppercase and bahadır in lowercase. Relat ...

* 27 January 1973: Mehmet Baydar was Turkey's consul general in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and Bahadır Demir his deputy, in 1973. Shot in a Santa Barbara hotel by

Kourken Yanigian Gourgen Mkrtich Yanikian ( hy, Գուրգէն Մկրտիչ Եանիկեան, December 24, 1895 – February 27, 1984) was an Armenian genocide survivor. He is best known for the Assassination of Mehmet Baydar and Bahadır Demir, assassination of ...

who had invited them there on the pretext of a donating a painting to the Turkish government. Yanigian, sentenced to life imprisonment, was amnestied in 1984 and died shortly afterwards. The event is considered to be the first in a decade-long chain of organized attacks against Turkish diplomats by

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...

groups.

Daniş Tunalıgil Hüseyin Daniş Tunalıgil (1915 – 22 October 1975) was a Turkish diplomat. He was assassinated by JCAG in 1975 during his duty as the Turkish ambassador to Austria. Life and career Tunalıgil was born in Ankara, Turkey in 1915. He graduated f ...

*22 October 1975: Turkey's Ambassador to

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Daniş Tunalıgil was murdered by three

gunmen raiding the Embassy in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Ismail Erez Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...

* 24 October 1975: Turkey's Ambassador to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

İsmail Erez and his driver Talip Yener were murdered by

militants in the vicinity of the Embassy in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

by car bomb.

Taha Carim Taha may refer to: * Ta-Ha, the 20th sura of the ''Qur'an'' * Taha (name) Taaha ( ar, طه) is the combination of two letters " Ta" and " Ha". It is the first verse of surah Ta-Ha in the Quran and one of the mysterious letters; thus the meaning ...

* 9 June 1977: Turkey's Ambassador to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

Taha Carim Taha may refer to: * Ta-Ha, the 20th sura of the ''Qur'an'' * Taha (name) Taaha ( ar, طه) is the combination of two letters " Ta" and " Ha". It is the first verse of surah Ta-Ha in the Quran and one of the mysterious letters; thus the meaning ...

was killed by the cross fire of two

gunmen in front of the Embassy's residency in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Bedrettin Cömert

*11 March 1978: Art historian, scholar, literary critic and translator. He was serving on a committee investigating right-wing terror squads at his university. Shot dead in his car with his wife severely wounded by Rıfat Yıldırım, Üzeyir Bayraklı and by another man nicknamed "Ahmet" who were ultra-nationalists and believed to have been directly funded by the Turkish state. A tribunal found

Abdullah Çatlı Abdullah Çatlı (1 June 1956 – 3 November 1996) was a Turkish secret government agent, as well as a contract killer for the National Intelligence Organization (MİT). He led the Grey Wolves, the youth branch of the Nationalist Movement Party ...

responsible but nobody was punished as a result.

Doğan Öz Doğan Öz (1934 - 24 March 1978), was a Turkish prosecutor. He was assassinated in 1978 while investigating the Turkish deep state. In 1978 he wrote a report for Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit accusing clandestine groups of creating chaos in orde ...

*24 March 1978: Public prosecutor who wrote a report for Prime Minister

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 ...

accusing clandestine groups (later named as Ergenekon) of creating chaos in order to lay the ground for a military takeover.

Haluk Kırcı Haluk Kırcı (born 1958) is a Turkish militant, who was involved in the Susurluk scandal. His father and mother were Şükrü and Hafize, respectively. Known among the ultra-nationalist activists (Grey Wolves) under the nickname "Idi Amin",Gans ...

, a Grey Wolves activist, was implicated in his assassination.

Bedri Karafakıoğlu

*20 October 1978: Former rector of Istanbul Technical University

Abdi İpekçi Abdi İpekçi (9 August 1929 – 1 February 1979) was a Turkish journalist, intellectual and an activist for human rights. He was murdered while editor-in-chief of one of the main Turkish daily newspapers ''Milliyet'' which then had a centre ...

*1 February 1979: Editor of the major national newspaper ''

Milliyet ''Milliyet'' ( Turkish for "''nationality''") is a Turkish daily newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey. History and profile ''Milliyet'' came to publishing life at the Nuri Akça press in Babıali, Istanbul as a daily private newspaper on 3 ...

''. Killed in his car in the street, where he lived, by Mehmet Ali Ağca, a member of the ultra-

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

Grey Wolves, who would later try to assassinate the

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

in 1981.

Metin Yüksel

*23 March 1979: Islamist political and social activist. Shot to death outside of

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

's Fatih Mosque by nationalist gunmen while leaving Friday prayers.

Cevat Yurdakul Cevat Yurdakul (1 January 1942 – 28 September 1979) was a prosecutor and the chief of police of Adana Province, Turkey, when he was assassinated in 1979. Adana Provincial Police Chief of the period was killed as a result of an armed attack prio ...

28 September 1979: prosecutor.

Ahmet Benler

12 October 1979: son of the Turkish ambassador to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, Özdemir Benler, murderered by ASALA.

İlhan Egemen Darendelioğlu

*19 November 1979: journalist and writer. Shot to death by unidentified left-wing militants.

Cavit Orhan Tütengil Cavit Orhan Tütengil (1921 – December 7, 1979) was a Turkish sociologist, writer and columnist, who was assassinated. Biography He was born in Sebil, a village of Tarsus, in Mersin province of what was then the Ottoman Empire. Following ...

* 7 December 1979: Professor of Sociology at

Istanbul University , image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg , image_size = 200px , latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis , motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü , mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future , established = 1453 1846 1933 ...

, columnist of the newspaper '' Cumhuriyet''. Shot dead at a city bus stop in

1980s

Ümit Kaftancıoğlu Ümit Kaftancıoğlu (1935 – 11 April 1980) was a Turkish TV producer, writer and columnist of the newspaper ''Cumhuriyet''. Life and career Kaftancıoğlu was born in Saskara village, Hanak, Ardahan Province. He graduated from Cilavuz Villa ...

* 11 April 1980: TV producer, writer and columnist of the newspaper '' Cumhuriyet''. Gunned down in front of his home in Istanbul as he was about to get in his car.

Gün Sazak

* 27 May 1980: briefly customs and tobacco minister of Turkey and a right wing politician. Murdered in front of his car while putting out baggage. Radical leftist militant group

Dev Sol The Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front ( tr, Devrimci Halk Kurtuluş Partisi-Cephesi or DHKP-C) is a far-left Marxist–Leninist Communist party in Turkey. It was founded in 1978 as Revolutionary Left (Turkish: or ), and has been in ...

(Revolutionary Left) claimed responsibility for the attack.

Nihat Erim

* 19 July 1980:

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

of Turkey in 1971-1972, for almost 14 months. Shot to death by two gunmen in İstanbul. Radical leftist militant group

(Revolutionary Left) claimed responsibility for the attack.

Kemal Türkler Kemal Türkler (1926 – 22 July 1980) was a Turkish socialist labor union leader. He was founder and first president of Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions of Turkey (Türkiye Devrimci İşçi Sendikaları Konfederasyonu, DISK), and ...

* 22 July 1980: Socialist

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

leader and left-wing politician. Murdered in front of his home by ultra-right militants.

Şarık Arıyak Şarık Arıyak (3 March 1930 – 17 December 1980) was a Turkish diplomat killed by an organization named Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide in Sydney, Australia. Early life Şarık Arıyak was born on 3 March 1930 in İstanbul, Turkey ...

*17 December 1980: Turkish chief consul in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. Killed together with his bodyguard Engin Sever. The

Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide (JCAG) ( hy, Հայկական Ցեղասպանութեան Արդարութեան Մարտիկներ, ՀՑԱՄ) was an Armenian militant organization active from 1975 to 1987. JCAG conducted an interna ...

claimed responsibility.

Kemal Arıkan Kemal Arıkan (1927–1982) was a Turkish diplomat assassinated by two US citizens of Armenian origin in Los Angeles, United States. Early life He was born on 1927 in İskilip, Çorum Province. After completing his education at Ankara Universit ...

*28 January 1982: Turkish diplomat Kemal Arıkan shot to death by two gunmen of

origin in Los Angeles.

Atilla Altıkat Colonel Atilla Altıkat was the Turkish military attaché to the Turkish Embassy in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and was assassinated in 1982. The Armenian militant group ASALA claimed responsibility for the attack."Turks honour memory of assassina ...

* 23 August 1982: Turkish military attaché in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Assassinated in his car while driving in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

by the

Justice Commandos Against Armenian Genocide Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide (JCAG) ( hy, Հայկական Ցեղասպանութեան Արդարութեան Մարտիկներ, ՀՑԱՄ) was an Armenian militant organization active from 1975 to 1987. JCAG conducted an internat ...

Esat Oktay Yıldıran Esat Oktay Yıldıran (15 February 1949 – 22 October 1988) was a Turkish military officer who was appointed governor of the Diyarbakır Prison after the 1980 Turkish coup d'état. Yıldıran became known for his extensive torture of PKK aligne ...

* 22 October 1988: Military officer and former governor of

Diyarbakır Prison Diyarbakır Prison ( tr, Diyarbakır Cezaevi; ku, Girtîgeha Amedê) is a prison located in Diyarbakır, southeastern Turkey. It was established in 1980 as an E-type prison by the Ministry of Justice. After the September 12, 1980 Turkish coup d' ...

. Shot dead in a public bus in Istanbul by a PKK militant.

1990s

Muammer Aksoy Muammer Aksoy (1917 – January 31, 1990) was a Turkish academic of law, politician, columnist and intellectual. He was assassinated. Biography Aksoy was born 1917 in İbradı, Antalya Province Antalya Province ( tr, ) is located on the ...

* 31 January 1990: Professor of law at

Ankara University Ankara University ( tr, Ankara Üniversitesi) is a public university in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in Turkey after the formation of the republic in 1923. The university has 40 vocat ...

, Faculty of

Political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

; author of books on

Kemalism Kemalism ( tr, Kemalizm, also archaically ''Kamâlizm''), also known as Atatürkism ( tr, Atatürkçülük, Atatürkçü düşünce), or The Six Arrows ( tr, Altı Ok), is the founding official ideology of the Republic of Turkey.Eric J. Zurche ...

; elected head of the Ankara Bar Association 1969, columnist of the newspaper '' Cumhuriyet''. Shot in the back of his head in front of his house.

Çetin Emeç

* 7 March 1990: Journalist, editor-in-chief and chief columnist of the liberal rightist daily ''

Hürriyet ''Hürriyet'' (, ''Liberty'') is one of the major Turkish newspapers, founded in 1948. , it had the highest circulation of any newspaper in Turkey at around 319,000. ''Hürriyet'' has a mainstream, liberal and conservative outlook. ''Hürriyet ...

''. Shot to death in front of his house. Case remains unresolved.

Turan Dursun Turan Dursun (1934 – 4 September 1990) was a Turkish author and atheist who was a critic of Islam. A former Muslim cleric and scholar of Shia Islam, he became an atheist during his study of the history of monotheistic religions. Influenced by t ...

* 4 September 1990: Former member of Islamic clergy who became a critic of Islam and advocate of atheism. Shot to death in front of his house. Case remains unresolved.

Bahriye Üçok Bahriye Üçok (1919 – October 6, 1990) was a Turkish academic of theology, left-wing politician, writer, columnist, and women's rights activist whose assassination in 1990 remains unresolved. Early life and education Born in Trabzon, Bahriye ...

* 6 October 1990: Female academic, pro-secular theologist, columnist of the newspaper '' Cumhuriyet''. Killed by a

parcel bomb A letter bomb, also called parcel bomb, mail bomb, package bomb, note bomb, message bomb, gift bomb, present bomb, delivery bomb, surprise bomb, postal bomb, or post bomb, is an explosive device sent via the mail, postal service, and designed ...

Memduh Ünlütürk Memduh Ünlütürk (1913 - 7 April 1991) was a Turkish general associated with the Counter-Guerrilla and the anti-communist Ziverbey interrogations following the 1971 coup. He was assassinated at his Istanbul home by members of the left-wing rev ...

* 7 April 1991: Retired General. Shot dead at his house.

Kemal Kayacan Kemal Kayacan (1915, Sinop, Kastamonu Vilayet - 29 July 1992, Kadıköy) was a Turkish admiral. He was Commander of the Turkish Naval Forces from 1972 to 1974. He was elected to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey at the 1977 Turkish general ...

* 29 July 1992: Admiral (retired), former commander of the Turkish Navy. Shot dead in his house.

Musa Anter

*1992: Kurdish writer, assassinated in Diyarbakir.

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 ...

fined Turkey for this assassination, allegedly committed by JITEM illegal gendarmerie unit.

Zübeyir Akkoç

* 13 January 1993: Union member of

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 ...

origin. His murder led to the

case '' Akkoç v. Turkey'' (2000).

Uğur Mumcu Uğur Mumcu (; 22 August 1942 – 24 January 1993)
um:ag was a Turkish people, Turkish investigative journalist for the daily ''Cum ...

* 24 January 1993: Research journalist, columnist of the major newspaper '' Cumhuriyet''. Killed in front of his home in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

by a bomb installed in his car.

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 ...

* 4 November 1993: ex- JITEM commander who had begun speaking to the press.

Onat Kutlar Onat Kutlar (25 January 1936 – 11 January 1995) was a prominent Turkish writer and poet, founder of the Turkish Sinematek and cofounder of the Istanbul International Film Festival. Biography Onat Kutlar was born in Alanya, Turkey, on 25 J ...

* 11 January 1995: prominent art critic, writer, poet, columnist for the daily '' Cumhuriyet'' and one of the founders of the Istanbul International Film Festival, died of injuries he suffered during a bomb attack at a hotel in İstanbul.

Metin Göktepe Metin Göktepe (; April 10, 1968 – January 9, 1996) was a Kurdish photojournalist who was tortured and brutally murdered in police custody in Istanbul on January 8, 1996. Life Metin Göktepe was born to a Kurdish family in Sivas on April 10, ...

* 8 January 1996: , a left wing journalist of

Evrensel ''Evrensel'' (English: Universal) is a Turkish daily newspaper. History and profile ''Evrensel'' was founded on 7 June 1995. The issues captured and written are from a socialist perspective. The paper is different from other Turkish newspapers in ...

was beaten to death by Turkish police while covering civil unrest in the Gazi district of Istanbul. The first case in Turkey where the police were convicted of murder.

Özdemir Sabancı Özdemir Sabancı (May 15, 1941 – January 9, 1996) was a Turkish businessman and a second generation member of the Sabancı family. Biography He was born in Adana, Turkey. After finishing the high school at the Tarsus American College in Tarsu ...

* 9 January 1996: Businessman and a member of the

Sabancı family The Sabancı family is one of the wealthiest families in Turkey according to the Forbes billionaires list of 2016, with an estimated fortune ranging between $20–30 billion. The family's main business entity was founded by Hacı Ömer Sabancı in ...

in the second generation. Gunned down in his office in Sabancı Towers, Levent, İstanbul, by assassins hired by the leftist armed group

DHKP-C The Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front ( tr, Devrimci Halk Kurtuluş Partisi-Cephesi or DHKP-C) is a far-left Marxist–Leninist Communist party in Turkey. It was founded in 1978 as Revolutionary Left (Turkish: or ), and has been inv ...

. The general manager of ToyotaSA and a secretary was also killed. They had been given access to the building by

Fehriye Erdal Fehriye Erdal (born 25 February 1977) is a Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front militant.. She was one of the three DHKP-C members involved in the assassination of a Turkish businessman, Özdemir Sabancı and two of his employees on 9 ...

, a female member of DHKP-C, who was an employee at that time.

Ahmet Taner Kışlalı Ahmet Taner Kışlalı (10 July 1939 – 21 October 1999) was a Turkish intellectual, political scientist, lawyer, commentator/author for the ''Cumhuriyet'' newspaper, academics and politician. Biography He completed his primary and secondary e ...

* 21 October 1999: Academic, writer. politician, former Minister of Culture and columnist of the newspaper '' Cumhuriyet''. Killed in

by a bomb placed on the windshield of his car.

2000s

Gaffar Okkan Ali Gaffar Okkan (1952 – January 24, 2001) was a Turkish police chief who was assassinated in an ambush in Diyarbakır, southeastern Turkey. Early life Ali Gaffar Okkan was born in Hendek, Sakarya Province in 1952. He graduated from Police Col ...

* 24 January 2001:

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, ...

Police Chief, his driver and four policemen escorting him were shot dead in an attack after they left Diyarbakır Police Department building. Radical Islamic group known as Turkish Hezbollah was suspected.

Üzeyir Garih Üzeyir Garih (1929 – August 25, 2001) was a Turkish engineer, businessman, writer and investor. Early years Üzeyir Garih was born in İstanbul on 28 June 1929. He graduated from İstanbul Technical University ranking in the Dean's Honors list ...

* 25 August 2001: A prominent Turkish Jewish businessman and a founding partner of the Alarko group of companies. He was stabbed to death in the cemetery of the historic İstanbul quarter of

Eyüp Eyüp () or Eyüpsultan is a district of the city of Istanbul, Turkey. The district extends from the Golden Horn all the way to the shore of the Black Sea. Eyüp is also the name of a prominent neighborhood and former village in the district, lo ...

Necip Hablemitoğlu Necip Hablemitoğlu (28 November 1954 – 18 December 2002) was a Turkish historian and intellectual. He was assassinated in front of his home in 2002. The perpetrators of this assassination have still not been found. In Ergenekon trial testimo ...

* 18 December 2002: A Kemalist historian from ''

'' who was killed in an armed attack near his home in Ankara.

Andrea Santoro Andrea Santoro (7 September 1945, in Priverno, Italy – 5 February 2006, in Trabzon, Turkey) was a Roman Catholic priest in Turkey, murdered in the Santa Maria Church in Trabzon where he served as a member of the Catholic Church's Fidei donum ...

* 5 February 2006: Father Andrea Santoro was a Roman Catholic priest, murdered in the Santa Maria Church in

Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the Bl ...

where he served as a member of the Catholic Church's

Fidei donum This is a list of encyclicals of Pope Pius XII. Pius XII promulgated 41 papal encyclicals, during his reign as pope for over 19 years, from his election of March 2, 1939, until his death on October 9, 1958. The 41 encyclicals of Pius XII exceed ...

missionary program. On 5 September 2006 he was shot dead from behind while kneeling in prayer in the church. A witness heard the perpetrator shouting "Allahu Akbar". A 16-year-old high school student was arrested two days after the shooting carrying a 9mm pistol. An investigation by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations on stolen weaponry in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

revealed that the gun was of the same type used in the supposedly Islamist attack on the Turkish Council of State in 2006.

Mustafa Yücel Özbilgin Mustafa Yücel Özbilgin (June 20, 1942 – May 17, 2006) was a Turkish supreme court magistrate, who was shot dead in the Turkish Council of State courtroom in Ankara, Turkey on May 17, 2006, by Alparslan Arslan.Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
.

Hrant Dink

* 19 January 2007:

Armenian-Turkish Armenians in Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Ermenileri; hy, Թուրքահայեր, also Թրքահայեր, "Turkish Armenians"), one of the indigenous peoples of Turkey, have an estimated population of 50,000 to 70,000, down from a population of over 2 ...

journalist and editor-in-chief of the weekly Armenian and Turkish language newspaper '' Agos'' in

. Shot dead in front of his newspaper's office.

Necati Aydın, Uğur Yüksel and Tilman Geske

*18 April 2007. Three Christian leaders assassinated, two Turkish Pastors and a German missionary.

İhya Balak

*16 November 2007. Director of '' Milli Piyango'', the Turkish National Lottery, was assassinated in his office by an ex-inspector of his directorate.

Ahmet Yıldız Ahmet Yıldız (born 1979 in Sakarya, Turkey) is an American Turkish academic. He is currently a professor of physics and molecular cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley. He has contributed significantly to the understanding of t ...

*July 2008: "the victim of what sociologists say is the first gay

honor killing An honor killing (American English), honour killing (Commonwealth English), or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honor of t ...

in Turkey to surface publicly".

Cihan Hayırsevener

19 December 2009: founder and editor of the daily ''Güney Marmara’da Yaşam'', was shot in a street in

Bandırma Bandırma () is a city in northwestern Turkey with 161,894 inhabitants as of 2021 on the Sea of Marmara. Bandırma is a district of Balıkesir Province. Bandırma is located in the south of the Marmara Sea, in the bay with the same name, and is a ...

Balıkesir Province Balıkesir Province ( tr, ) is a province in northwestern Turkey with coastlines on both the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean Sea, Aegean. Its adjacent provinces are Çanakkale Province, Çanakkale to the west, İzmir Province, İzmir to the southw ...

and died later that day at a hospital in

Bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

. He had reported on corruption charges involving the owners of ''İlkhaber'', another daily in the town.

Andrei Karlov

19 December 2016: Andrei Karlov, the

Russian Ambassador This is a list of diplomatic missions of Russia. These missions are subordinate to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Russian Federation has one of the largest networks of embassies and consulates of any country. Russia has significant ...

, was

assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş Andrei Karlov, the Russian Ambassador to Turkey, was assassinated by Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş, an off-duty Turkish police officer, at an art exhibition in Ankara, Turkey on the evening of 19 December 2016. The assassination took place after se ...

, an off-duty Turkish police officer, at an art exhibition in Ankara,Turkey

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Assassinated people from Turkey Lists of Turkish people

Assassinated people

Mustafa Suphi Mustafa Suphi or Mustafa Subhi (1883 – 28 January 1921) was a Turkish revolutionary and communist during the period of dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. Early life Suphi was born in 1883 in Giresun Province, in the Ottoman Empire, now loca ...

Sabahattin Ali Sabahattin Ali (25 February 1907 – 2 April 1948) was a Turkish novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. Early life He was born in 1907 in Eğridere township (now Ardino in southern Bulgaria) of the Sanjak of Gümülcine (no ...

1970s

Daniş Tunalıgil Hüseyin Daniş Tunalıgil (1915 – 22 October 1975) was a Turkish diplomat. He was assassinated by JCAG in 1975 during his duty as the Turkish ambassador to Austria. Life and career Tunalıgil was born in Ankara, Turkey in 1915. He graduated f ...

Ismail Erez Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...

Taha Carim Taha may refer to: * Ta-Ha, the 20th sura of the ''Qur'an'' * Taha (name) Taaha ( ar, طه) is the combination of two letters " Ta" and " Ha". It is the first verse of surah Ta-Ha in the Quran and one of the mysterious letters; thus the meaning ...

Doğan Öz Doğan Öz (1934 - 24 March 1978), was a Turkish prosecutor. He was assassinated in 1978 while investigating the Turkish deep state. In 1978 he wrote a report for Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit accusing clandestine groups of creating chaos in orde ...

Abdi İpekçi Abdi İpekçi (9 August 1929 – 1 February 1979) was a Turkish journalist, intellectual and an activist for human rights. He was murdered while editor-in-chief of one of the main Turkish daily newspapers ''Milliyet'' which then had a centre ...

Cevat Yurdakul Cevat Yurdakul (1 January 1942 – 28 September 1979) was a prosecutor and the chief of police of Adana Province, Turkey, when he was assassinated in 1979. Adana Provincial Police Chief of the period was killed as a result of an armed attack prio ...

Ahmet Benler

İlhan Egemen Darendelioğlu

Cavit Orhan Tütengil Cavit Orhan Tütengil (1921 – December 7, 1979) was a Turkish sociologist, writer and columnist, who was assassinated. Biography He was born in Sebil, a village of Tarsus, in Mersin province of what was then the Ottoman Empire. Following ...

1980s

Ümit Kaftancıoğlu Ümit Kaftancıoğlu (1935 – 11 April 1980) was a Turkish TV producer, writer and columnist of the newspaper ''Cumhuriyet''. Life and career Kaftancıoğlu was born in Saskara village, Hanak, Ardahan Province. He graduated from Cilavuz Villa ...

Kemal Türkler Kemal Türkler (1926 – 22 July 1980) was a Turkish socialist labor union leader. He was founder and first president of Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions of Turkey (Türkiye Devrimci İşçi Sendikaları Konfederasyonu, DISK), and ...

Şarık Arıyak Şarık Arıyak (3 March 1930 – 17 December 1980) was a Turkish diplomat killed by an organization named Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide in Sydney, Australia. Early life Şarık Arıyak was born on 3 March 1930 in İstanbul, Turkey ...

Kemal Arıkan Kemal Arıkan (1927–1982) was a Turkish diplomat assassinated by two US citizens of Armenian origin in Los Angeles, United States. Early life He was born on 1927 in İskilip, Çorum Province. After completing his education at Ankara Universit ...

Atilla Altıkat Colonel Atilla Altıkat was the Turkish military attaché to the Turkish Embassy in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and was assassinated in 1982. The Armenian militant group ASALA claimed responsibility for the attack."Turks honour memory of assassina ...

Esat Oktay Yıldıran Esat Oktay Yıldıran (15 February 1949 – 22 October 1988) was a Turkish military officer who was appointed governor of the Diyarbakır Prison after the 1980 Turkish coup d'état. Yıldıran became known for his extensive torture of PKK aligne ...

1990s

Muammer Aksoy Muammer Aksoy (1917 – January 31, 1990) was a Turkish academic of law, politician, columnist and intellectual. He was assassinated. Biography Aksoy was born 1917 in İbradı, Antalya Province Antalya Province ( tr, ) is located on the ...

Turan Dursun Turan Dursun (1934 – 4 September 1990) was a Turkish author and atheist who was a critic of Islam. A former Muslim cleric and scholar of Shia Islam, he became an atheist during his study of the history of monotheistic religions. Influenced by t ...

Bahriye Üçok Bahriye Üçok (1919 – October 6, 1990) was a Turkish academic of theology, left-wing politician, writer, columnist, and women's rights activist whose assassination in 1990 remains unresolved. Early life and education Born in Trabzon, Bahriye ...

Memduh Ünlütürk Memduh Ünlütürk (1913 - 7 April 1991) was a Turkish general associated with the Counter-Guerrilla and the anti-communist Ziverbey interrogations following the 1971 coup. He was assassinated at his Istanbul home by members of the left-wing rev ...

Kemal Kayacan Kemal Kayacan (1915, Sinop, Kastamonu Vilayet - 29 July 1992, Kadıköy) was a Turkish admiral. He was Commander of the Turkish Naval Forces from 1972 to 1974. He was elected to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey at the 1977 Turkish general ...

Uğur Mumcu Uğur Mumcu (; 22 August 1942 – 24 January 1993) um:ag was a Turkish people, Turkish investigative journalist for the daily ''Cum ...

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 ...

Onat Kutlar Onat Kutlar (25 January 1936 – 11 January 1995) was a prominent Turkish writer and poet, founder of the Turkish Sinematek and cofounder of the Istanbul International Film Festival. Biography Onat Kutlar was born in Alanya, Turkey, on 25 J ...

Metin Göktepe Metin Göktepe (; April 10, 1968 – January 9, 1996) was a Kurdish photojournalist who was tortured and brutally murdered in police custody in Istanbul on January 8, 1996. Life Metin Göktepe was born to a Kurdish family in Sivas on April 10, ...

Özdemir Sabancı Özdemir Sabancı (May 15, 1941 – January 9, 1996) was a Turkish businessman and a second generation member of the Sabancı family. Biography He was born in Adana, Turkey. After finishing the high school at the Tarsus American College in Tarsu ...

Ahmet Taner Kışlalı Ahmet Taner Kışlalı (10 July 1939 – 21 October 1999) was a Turkish intellectual, political scientist, lawyer, commentator/author for the ''Cumhuriyet'' newspaper, academics and politician. Biography He completed his primary and secondary e ...

2000s

Gaffar Okkan Ali Gaffar Okkan (1952 – January 24, 2001) was a Turkish police chief who was assassinated in an ambush in Diyarbakır, southeastern Turkey. Early life Ali Gaffar Okkan was born in Hendek, Sakarya Province in 1952. He graduated from Police Col ...

Üzeyir Garih Üzeyir Garih (1929 – August 25, 2001) was a Turkish engineer, businessman, writer and investor. Early years Üzeyir Garih was born in İstanbul on 28 June 1929. He graduated from İstanbul Technical University ranking in the Dean's Honors list ...

Necip Hablemitoğlu Necip Hablemitoğlu (28 November 1954 – 18 December 2002) was a Turkish historian and intellectual. He was assassinated in front of his home in 2002. The perpetrators of this assassination have still not been found. In Ergenekon trial testimo ...

Andrea Santoro Andrea Santoro (7 September 1945, in Priverno, Italy – 5 February 2006, in Trabzon, Turkey) was a Roman Catholic priest in Turkey, murdered in the Santa Maria Church in Trabzon where he served as a member of the Catholic Church's Fidei donum ...

Ahmet Yıldız Ahmet Yıldız (born 1979 in Sakarya, Turkey) is an American Turkish academic. He is currently a professor of physics and molecular cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley. He has contributed significantly to the understanding of t ...

See also

References

Uğur Mumcu Uğur Mumcu (; 22 August 1942 – 24 January 1993)
um:ag was a Turkish people, Turkish investigative journalist for the daily ''Cum ...