A renewed push in the case into the death of nationalist politician Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu may finally bring closure to his family and his Great Union Party (BBP), which has long claimed the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) may have played a role in the helicopter crash that killed him in 2009.
Yazıcıoğlu, his aides and a journalist were traveling in the southern province of Kahramanmaraş on March 25, 2009, when their helicopter crashed in a mountainous area. Search-and-rescue efforts were stalled due to bad weather, but an earlier investigation into the crash had suggested that the efforts could have been deliberately delayed. Still, no substantial progress was made in the case, except for findings that indirectly pointed to the involvement of people linked to FETÖ in delaying the search efforts. Earlier this month, authorities detained new suspects in the case, including a military pilot with alleged ties to the terrorist group, whose leader had "hailed" the death of Yazıcıoğlu, a staunch critic of the group.
BBP Deputy Chair Ekrem Alfatlı told Ihlas News Agency (IHA) on Tuesday that they had been waiting for "justice" for 17 years and for "the truth to be revealed." "Now, there is a new process," he said, lauding the course of the investigation. He noted that the case was transferred to Ankara from Kahramanmaraş, which meant a new in-depth investigation focusing on "deliberate manslaughter."
