Prominent politician Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu will be remembered on Friday, his 13th death anniversary. He died in a shocking helicopter crash, which also claimed the life of the founder of the Greater Unity Party (BBP) and five other people accompanying him. Three trials have been conducted over allegations of negligence during search and rescue efforts following the crash while another trial is still underway.
Late politician's family had long voiced suspicions over the "accident" and had urged investigations into possible sabotage that caused the crash. Currently, a court is looking into allegations that members of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) might have been involved in attempts to hinder investigations into the incident in the southern province of Kahramanmaraş.
Yazıcıoğlu, his entourage and a journalist were traveling from one campaign stop to another ahead of elections when their helicopter crashed in a mountainous area. Multiple investigations ended up with non-prosecution but Yazıcıoğlu's family pressed on with their legal battle over possible negligence that may have caused the crash and search efforts in its aftermath.
The most recent investigation is being carried out by prosecutors in Kahramanmaraş. In 2020, a court accepted an indictment against 17 defendants, including two former soldiers accused of ties to FETÖ. The indictment had accused defendants of obstructing the earlier investigations and forging evidence, allegedly to conceal the terrorist group's possible links to the crash.
Yazıcıoğlu, a nationalist politician, was a staunch critic of FETÖ and the terrorist group's leader Fetullah Gülen was quoted as saying that Yazıcıoğlu was "removed with a divine blow" in a speech five days after the politician's death.
A trial based on the indictment is merged with another trial over the removal of a tracking device from the helicopter following the crash. A new hearing is scheduled for May 23. In earlier trials, a former police chief who was convicted of FETÖ membership was convicted of abuse of duty for spreading false information about the state of Yazıcıoğlu in the immediate aftermath of the crash, with the purpose of distracting search and rescue efforts. Other former public officials, who worked as public administrators and military commanders in Kahramanmaraş at the time of the crash, were also sentenced for abuse of duty due to their negligence over the crash.
Family's lawyer Kemal Yavuz told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Thursday that investigations are still underway over suspicions that the crash may have been caused by "other planes" in the area and other suspicious factors that might have contributed to the crash.