ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The murders of three female members of the PKK in Paris five years ago were planned by Turkey’s intelligence service and would have received “high ranking” approval, according to statements attributed to two Turkish agents being held by the PKK in the Kurdistan Region.
Sakine Cansiz, Fidan Dogan, and Leyla Soylemez were killed in Paris in January 2013. The PKK has accused Turkey of being behind their deaths.
The only suspect, a Turkish citizen named Omer Guney, died in custody in December 2016, just a month before going to trial. He had denied involvement in the killings.
On Wednesday, the Group of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK), the PKK umbrella body, released statements from two Turkish intelligence (MIT) agents in their custody saying that the murders were committed by the MIT and received high level approval.
Approval would have to come from the director of the agency, captured MIT agent Erhan Pekcetin said, according to a statement published by ANF, a PKK-linked media outlet.
“I don’t think that he will decide himself, he will ask the president. Because these actions can create international problems,” he said, noting that peace talks between Ankara and the PKK were ongoing at the time of the murders.
Pekcetin also stated that Guney was involved.
Pekcetin and Aydin Gunel, “senior officials” from MIT were seized by the PKK in the Kurdistan Region last summer. The PKK released their photographs and details last week.
Thousands of Kurds held a march in Paris on Saturday demanding “truth and justice” for the deaths of the three women. Some also changed slogans against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who had met French President Emmanuel Macron in the city the day before.
Source: http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/turkey/10012018