Turkey's far-right leader is targeting the mother of the former Gray Wolves leader and others over comments about her son's murder

Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), has targeted the mother of former Gray Wolves leader Sinan Ateş over comments she made accusing him of having links to her son's murder in 2022 during At the same time she hit an opposition leader. Some journalists questioned his party's role in the attack, Turkish media reported.

Ateş was fatally shot in Ankara on December 30, 2022. The killing has sparked widespread controversy because of his role as the former head of the ultranationalist Gray Wolves, a paramilitary wing of the MHP allied to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The ongoing trial involves 22 defendants, including the main suspects Eray Özyağcı, Vedat Balkaya and Suat Kurt, who are accused of premeditated murder and face life imprisonment. Other defendants, including former Gray Wolves officials, face charges ranging from incitement to murder to illegal possession of weapons.

The case was marked by allegations of political interference by MHP figures who were accused of orchestrating the murder.

Saniye Ateş, Sinan Ateş's mother, suggested that Bahçeli was linked to the assassination attempt through four MHP politicians while speaking to reporters after Monday's hearing in the ongoing murder trial.

“The names I point to [for responsibility in the murder] are clear: İzzet Ulvi Yönter, Semih Yalçın, Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım, Olcay Kılavuz. I'm not sure what her problem was. You should ask Devlet Bahçeli. You can’t even have a cup of tea without asking him,” the mother said.

Yönter is a four-term MHP legislator, while Yalçın is MHP deputy chairman. Kılavuz was an MHP MP at the time of the murder and Yıldırım is the current leader of the Gray Wolves.

Referring to Ateş's comments during his party's caucus meeting on Tuesday, Bahçeli said it was “unseemly” for a woman of her age to speak into every microphone that came her way and accused her of being “a pawn in a game of political provocation.”

“Everyone should know their limits and refrain from overstepping boundaries; “We will not tolerate hooting owls on our doorstep and we will not hesitate to rip off the wings of any flapping vulture,” the MHP leader warned.

Bahçeli also threatened Özgür Özel, leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), and four journalists who spoke about the murder trial during a broadcast on the opposition television channel Halk TV, over their claims that the real masterminds of the assassination would not be punished.

Özel told reporters after Monday's hearing that justice would not be served if the masterminds of the murder were not brought to justice, implicitly referring to the two MHP leaders.

The MHP boss told Özel on Tuesday that his allegations were “just as lazy as your personality.”

Bahçeli also warned CHP and Halk TV journalists to “be careful” and said he would not allow them to question the MHP about the assassination.

Ayşe Ateş, the slain leader's widow, was a vocal critic of the investigation and accused the MHP leadership of obstructing justice. Legal action was taken against her, including a criminal complaint filed by MHP officers after she accused them of being involved in her husband's murder.

Lawyers for the Ateş family have also criticized the prosecution for failing to address the alleged masterminds or the motive behind the attack, instead focusing on those directly involved in carrying out the crime.

Lawyers' criticism of the indictment underscores a broader accusation of government interference and a possible cover-up, suggesting that details were intentionally omitted from the indictment to protect certain political figures.