Turkey: 14 indicted for 2015 murder of prosecutor

By Muhammed Enes Can, Murat Kaya

ISTANBUL (AA) - A Turkish court has approved an indictment of 14 suspects in the high-profile 2015 murder of a prosecutor in Istanbul, a judicial source said on Friday.

Istanbul’s 21st Heavy Penal Court accepted the indictment, which seeks jail terms for the 14 suspects -- nine of whom are still at large -- on charges of attempting to change the constitutional order by force and intentionally killing a person for performing public service.

The suspects are also accused of knowingly and willfully aiding a terrorist group, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on talking to the media.

The trial is set to begin this November, the sources added.

Mehmet Selim Kiraz was martyred after being taken as hostage in his office at Istanbul’s Caglayan Courthouse by two far-left DHKP-C terrorists, who had gained access to the building by posing as lawyers.

After hours of negotiations between Turkish police and the two hostage-takers, Kiraz was shot in the head by his captors and later died.

The Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front, or DHKP-C, is responsible for a number of terror attacks in Turkey including the 2013 attack on the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, which left a Turkish security guard martyred and a Turkish journalist injured.

The far-left group is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the European Union.