Footage shows Turkish academic before FETO-tied murder

By Serdar Acil and Baris Kilic

ANKARA (AA) - Anadolu Agency obtained CCTV footage of a supermarket which showed Turkish academic Necip Hablemitoglu shortly before he was killed in 2002. Hablemitoglu had branded the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) as a criminal organization in his books.

Ankara University's Hablemitoglu, known for his research and books on FETO, was killed in 2002 in front of his house, but the murder was never solved.

The footage, which was also included in case files in the Turkish capital Ankara, is from a supermarket near Hablemitoglu's house in Ankara. He was seen walking between the aisles while shopping.

On Monday, a suspected murderer and fugitive linked to FETO, the terror group behind the 2016 coup in Turkey, was arrested in Ukraine.

Sought by a Turkish warrant and Interpol on Red Notice since May, Nuri Gokhan B. was first arrested this July in Ukraine for possible extradition, but won the right to house arrest with electronic monitoring.

Now in custody again, the suspect is expected to be extradited to Turkey following a decision by Ukrainian authorities, said sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

In 2015, prosecutors in Turkey’s capital Ankara launched an investigation into FETO's involvement in unsolved murders committed between 2000 and 2013.

The murders include those of Behcet Oktay (2009), the head of Ankara police's special operations department, judge candidate Didem Yaylali (2013), and the killing of a member of Turkey’s Council of State (2006).

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup on July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.