A Clean Bill for the New Leadership of DHKP/C

Musa Asoglu and Fehriye Erdal (left). Asoglu is considered the new DHKP-C leader after the death of Dursun Karatas [1] in prison

On February 7, 2008, Antwerp’s Court of Appeal acquitted seven members of the DHKP/C, accused of directing terrorist operations from their headquarters in Knokke-Heist, a quiet town on the Belgian coast. In other words, the judge envisioned the Knokke cell as a mere propaganda arm of the DHKP/C in Belgium, and not as a terrorist cell.

In raids conducted during 1999, police found weapons, ammunitions, false documents and propaganda material in a small apartment (La Libre Belgique, February 8). Although they had been convicted in two previous trials, the judge of Antwerp’s Court decided that the suspects were not directly related to any terror plot. Hence, four individuals—Sukriye Akar Ozordulu, Dursun Karatas, Zerrin Sari and Bahar Kimyongur—were completely discharged. Three others—Musa Asoglu, Fehriye Erdal, and Kaya Saz—were condemned to prison sentences ranging from 21 months to three years for illegal possession of weapons and production of false documents. But months later, the Belgian Court of Cassation rejected the acquittals, paving the way for a retrial. In its annulment ruling, the court said the defendants could be tried in Belgium for terrorist activities in other countries. It also defined the DHKP/C as “a terrorist organization, criminal organization and a gang.”

The appeals court in Brussels, later ruled that the crimes committed by the defendants in Belgium were not “terror activities,” and instead of calling the defendants members of a terrorist organization, the court used a lighter phrase, “gang,” as it didn’t find evidence provided by the prosecutor supporting its accusations against the defendants sufficient.

Fehriye Erdal and Kaya Saz were each handed a two-year deferred prison sentence, while Musa Asoğlu, described as “the gang’s leader,” was given a three-year deferred prison sentence, in light of the time they had already spent under arrest. Bahar Kimyongür, Şükriye Akar Özordulu and Zerrin Sarı were acquitted by the court, which didn’t take guns and documents possessed by the defendants into account.

Erdal, convicted in absentia, is a fugitive wanted in Turkey as the main suspect in the 1996 assassination of businessman Özdemir Sabancı. Erdal was arrested in Belgium in 1999, and she was later sentenced to four years in prison for relatively minor crimes she committed in that country. But Erdal, who was supposed to have been under house arrest in an undisclosed location in Belgium, disappeared just before the ruling was announced. She has been at large since then.

[1] Dursun Karataş (March 25, 1952,Elazığ—August 11, 2008, Netherlands) was the founding leader of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) in Turkey. Karataş founded Dev-Sol (Revolutionary Left, precursor of DHKP-C) in 1978, as an offshoot of the Turkish People's Liberation Party/Front. Karataş was jailed after the 1980 military coup. He escaped from prison and went into exile in Europe in 1989, allegedly under the protection of retired general Veli Küçük, who has been detained for involvement in the Ergenekon case.

Mavi Boncuk |

Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C)

Other Names : Dev Sol; Dev Sol Armed Revolutionary Units; Dev Sol Silahli Devrimci Birlikleri; Dev Sol SDB; Devrimci Halk Kurtulus Partisi-Cephesi; Devrimci Sol; Revolutionary Left

The Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) originally formed in 1978 as Devrimci Sol, or Dev Sol, a splinter faction of Dev Genc (Revolutionary Youth). It was renamed in 1994, after factional infighting. "Party" refers to the group's political activities, while "Front" is a reference to the group's militant operations. The group espouses a Marxist-Leninist ideology and is vehemently anti-U.S., anti-NATO, and anti-Turkish establishment. Its goals are the establishment of a socialist state and the abolition of F-type prisons, which contain one to three-man prison cells. DHKP/C finances its activities chiefly through donations and extortion.

Since the late 1980s, the group has targeted primarily current and retired Turkish security and military officials. It began a new campaign against foreign interests in 1990, which included attacks against U.S. military and diplomatic personnel and facilities. To protest perceived U.S. imperialism during the Gulf War, Dev Sol assassinated two U.S. military contractors, wounded an Air Force officer, and bombed more than 20 U.S. and NATO military, commercial, and cultural facilities. In its first significant terrorist act as DHKP/C in 1996, the group assassinated a prominent Turkish businessman and two others; the perpetrators fled to Belgium, where legal cases continue. DHKP/C added suicide bombings to its repertoire in 2001, with successful attacks against Turkish police in January and September. Since the end of 2001, DHKP/C has typically used improvised explosive devices against official Turkish targets and soft U.S. targets of opportunity. Attacks against U.S. targets beginning in 2003 probably came in response to Operation Iraqi Freedom. Operations and arrests against the group have weakened its capabilities. In late June 2004, the group was suspected of a bus bombing at Istanbul University, which killed four civilians and 21 other people. In July 2005, in Ankara, police intercepted and killed a suicide bomber who attempted to attack the Ministry of Justice. In June 2006, in Istanbul, the group fired upon and killed a police officer; four members of the group were arrested the next month for the attack. In January 2007, authorities raided DHKP/C safe-houses in Duinbergen, Belgium, and in Istanbul, Turkey, resulting in the confiscation of weapons, bomb-making material, documents, and propaganda material, and in the arrest of several members of DHKP/C. In the spring of 2007, the Belgian Supreme Court overturned, on procedural grounds, the conviction of several DHKP/C operatives, including the DHKP/C spokesman in Belgium, Bahar Kimyougur, and key figure Musa Asoglu, who had been convicted of membership in a terrorist organization, arms possession, and using forged documents.

Strength: Probably several dozen terrorist operatives inside Turkey, with a large support network throughout Europe.
Location/Area of Operation: Turkey, primarily Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, and Adana. Raises funds in Europe.
External Aid: Widely believed to have training facilities or offices in Lebanon and Syria. DHKP/C raises funds in Europe.

See Also: PKK many faces of kurdistan workers party