Yachts, dead bodies, the regime and Mr. Ağar

Millions watched the videos of Turkish mafia leader Sedat Peker who is currently seeking refuge in Dubai. If you have the nerve, it’s like watching a real time crime series, perfect timing since everyone is trapped at home due to the lockdown.
 
Peker, who was once close to the AKP and even served as Erdoğan’s personal hitman, is now targeting the President’s son-in-law Berat Albayrak and Mehmet Ağar. (Here is a great article on Ağar’s and the regime’s involvement in the Bodrum Yalıkavak Marina and in Azerbaijan)
 
One of the most debated accusations made by Sedat Peker surrounds the death of a young Kazakh reporter, Yeldana Kaharman. Kaharman was allegedly raped and killed by Mehmet Ağar’s son and AKP deputy Tolga Ağar in 2019. Her death caused an outcry, but amid scores of femicides in Turkey, it was forgotten.
 
Peker now claims that Kaharman went to the gendarmerie to file a complaint, but was sent away. The next day, she was found dead.
 
The Turkish authorities have renewed the statement according to which Kaharman’s death was suicide by hanging, but a journalist underlined the inconsistencies in the autopsy report.
 
Recently, Turkish Physicians Association (TTB) head Şebnem Korur Fincancı, who is a professor of forensic medicine, reviewed the autopsy report and said that it looks like it was asphyxiation.
 
Yet Fincancı also pointed out some discrepancies: “The crime scene investigation says there was a huge mistake since the deceased was taken down and the first examination was taken there. Second, the bruises on her forehead should have been looked into, since they seem older than the time of the death, due to heavy blows.”
 
In order to find out whether the suicide was faked or not, a detailed and unbiased investigation is necessary. But since it involves the Ağar family, nobody expects justice. For now, at least.
 
While the opposition parties slam the regime with Peker’s accusation, it is interesting to note that only one party, namely the HKP (Halkın Kurtuluş Partisi-people’s Salvation party) filed a complaint against the Ağars, father and son.
 
At this point, it’s necessary to understand who Mehmet Ağar is, why he is related to the “deep state” and how he was able to get away with numerous murders and judiciary cases. (Zafer Yörük wrote a good portrait of him)
 
Mehmet Ağar acts confident, saying he has no immunity and can be investigated. Of course, everyone knows that he won’t be brought to justice. Even if he did, which was the case in Ergenekon and a series of cases regarding forced disappearances and the deaths of civilians, he knows he’d be able to get away with it.
 
Ağar is so indifferent that he posed with his buddies, including a convicted general and a mafia leader, Alaattin Çakıcı, at Yalıkavak Marina. After Peker’s video, Ağar released a statement saying as the general manager of the marina, he prevented the mafia to control the place. Which also meant, the authorities were unable to prevent the mafia but only he could.
 
Back in 2018, Journalist Özlem Akarsu Çelik wrote that Ağar was invited to Justice Minister Abdülhamit Gül’s meeting with judges on the “Justice Reform Strategy”.
 
Mehmet Ağar allegedly said that Turkey was going through an extraordinary time and that the ECHR and human rights could wait. He acted like he was the speaker of the government.
 
I can picture him with his signature sunglasses, sipping his drink at a yacht anchored at the Yalıkavak Marina with other shady figures, reflecting on Turkey’s past 30 years. Who’s really in charge?