Who is Abdi İpekçi?

Abdi İpekçi (9 August 1929 - 1 February 1979), Turkish journalist and writer. After completing his primary education, he graduated from Galatasaray High School. Then he continued to the Faculty of Law for a while. He worked as a sports reporter, page secretary and editor in chief for various newspapers such as Yeni Sabah, Yeni İstanbul and İstanbul Ekspres Newspaper. He became the editor-in-chief of Milliyet Newspaper (1954), published by Ali Naci Karacan, and after a while he became the chief editor.

Have been killed since 1961 and February 1, 1979 until the date of the same newspaper başyazarlıg as I walked Abdi Ipekci, Turkey Journalists' Union, Turkey Press Institute Presidency, Istanbul Journalists Association and the vice-presidency of the Press Institute International, found in the Press Hall of the Court of duty as secretary general. In his articles he defended Kemalism, peace, freedom of thought, independence and integrity of the country. They are cousins ​​with former Foreign Minister İsmail Cem.

Assassination and death

İpekçi, who favored a constructive consensus between the government and the opposition leaders in order to prevent the turmoil and terrorism in the 1970s, and demanded that partisanship and sentimentality be replaced by a rational, modern and moderate practice in the state administration, on the night of February 1, 1979, Mehmet He was killed by Ali Ağca. The statement given by Mehmet Ali Ağca stated that he fired 5-6 shots at Abdi İpekçi. However, 9 bullet casings were seized at the scene. This showed that there was a second person. He is also Oral Çelik. Oral Çelik and Mehmet Şener designed the assassination together, and Mehmet Ali Ağca later joined them as a hitman.

Mehmet Ali Ağca was tried with execution for the İpekçi assassination, and was abducted from Maltepe Military Prison, one of the best protected military prisons in the country, in 1979.

Abdullah Çatlı was captured in Sakarya in August 1978 while he was wanted for the assassination of Bedrettin Cömert. He was released after 48 hours. While Çatlı, who Uğur Mumcu called the key figure in İpekçi's murder, was searched for the 'MHP' case in February 1982, was caught with Mehmet Şener in Zurich with a fake passport and was released 48 hours later.

Uğur Mumcu: "If Şener is given back, İpekçi will be enlightened, every second lost is important." he wrote. But not seconds, months passed, Şener was tried and released due to lack of evidence.

Oral Çelik was caught in Switzerland in 1982. He was released after 10 days. After returning to Turkey in the period in Malatya murder case file it was judged to be released upon the loss of a document.

Yalçın Özbey, whom Ağca said that he had triggered the İpekçi murder, was detained in 1983 at the local club he operated in Germany and was released two months later.

Mehmet Ali Ağca's statement

“Yavuz (Çaylan) informed me that İpekçi's car was coming and I told him to go to the car and start it before I ran away. İpekçi's car slows down in the corner zamAt the moment I ran and shot 4 or 5 shots. I ran back to the car. Yavuz, it was working, we sat in the front and ran away at full speed. "

Published works 

• Africa (1955)
• The Inner Face of the Revolution (with D. Sami Coşar, 1965)
• From Four Streets of the World (1971)