Uğur recently gained public attention when political figure Doğu Perinçek claimed that a “friend” had informed the pro-government Yeni Şafak newspaper about the 2016 coup attempt in advance; it was later revealed this figure was Hasan Atilla Uğur. Now, Uğur is facing severe allegations in the Kızıltepe JİTEM trial. JİTEM is an alleged clandestine military intelligence unit long associated with abuses in Turkey’s Kurdish-majority southeast. The trial investigates the murders of 22 people detained by military units between 1992 and 1996.
SECRET WITNESS TESTIFIES
At the Ankara 5th High Criminal Court, a secret witness code-named “Aydos,” who admitted to being part of an execution team during that era, testified via video link with an altered voice and appearance. The defense’s request to reveal the witness’s identity was denied due to witness protection protocols.
‘HE WOULD THROW PEOPLE INTO WELLS’
Aydos claimed that Uğur was at the center of the dark events in the region, acting with impunity. “Hasan Atilla Uğur pressured people, confiscated property, and took away whoever he wanted. In the middle of the night, he would take innocent people from their homes, falsely label them as terrorists, execute them, and throw them into wells,” the witness stated.
EXECUTIONS AT KIZILTEPE
Responding to defense lawyers who tried to discredit previous statements regarding a specific victim, Aydos clarified the details of a different execution: “We caught five people in a cave. We killed three there, and executed Ali Temel and two others at the entrance of Kızıltepe. Hasan Atilla Uğur personally executed Ali Temel by shooting him in the head. I was there that night.”
When defense lawyers argued the testimony was too vague to be useful, the witness offered to provide a detailed written statement based on personal notes. While defense lawyers objected to written statements as procedurally invalid, lawyers representing the victims’ families urged the court to accept the documents.
The court decided to evaluate any written documents once submitted and scheduled the next hearing for September 14.
