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Mehmet Kemal Ağar (born October 30, 1951, in Çankaya, Ankara) is a Turkish bureaucrat and politician. He served as Director General of Security, Elazığ Member of Parliament, and held ministerial positions. Between 2002 and 2008, he was the leader of the True Path Party and the Democrat Party. | Mehmet Kemal Ağar (born October 30, 1951, in Çankaya, Ankara) is a Turkish bureaucrat and politician. He served as Director General of Security, Elazığ Member of Parliament, and held ministerial positions. Between 2002 and 2008, he was the leader of the True Path Party and the Democrat Party. | ||
==Life== | |||
Life | |||
Ağar was born on October 30, 1951, in Çankaya Mansion in Ankara, where his father was on duty. Originally from Elazığ, Ağar's education took him to various cities due to his father's police chief duties. He started primary school in Şanlıurfa in 1957 and continued in Gümüşhane, Bolu, Adana, Ankara, and Erzincan. He began middle school in Erzincan and completed it in Kayseri, Diyarbakır, and Uşak. He started high school in Ankara and graduated from Haydarpaşa High School in Istanbul in 1968. In the same year, he enrolled in the Economics and Finance Department of Ankara University, Faculty of Political Sciences, with a scholarship from the General Directorate of Security, graduating in 1973. His first civil service positions were as a commissioner in the Public Order Department of the General Directorate of Security, followed by the Presidential Protection Directorate. | Ağar was born on October 30, 1951, in Çankaya Mansion in Ankara, where his father was on duty. Originally from Elazığ, Ağar's education took him to various cities due to his father's police chief duties. He started primary school in Şanlıurfa in 1957 and continued in Gümüşhane, Bolu, Adana, Ankara, and Erzincan. He began middle school in Erzincan and completed it in Kayseri, Diyarbakır, and Uşak. He started high school in Ankara and graduated from Haydarpaşa High School in Istanbul in 1968. In the same year, he enrolled in the Economics and Finance Department of Ankara University, Faculty of Political Sciences, with a scholarship from the General Directorate of Security, graduating in 1973. His first civil service positions were as a commissioner in the Public Order Department of the General Directorate of Security, followed by the Presidential Protection Directorate. | ||
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Ağar was elected as an Elazığ Member of Parliament from the True Path Party in the December 24, 1995 general elections. | Ağar was elected as an Elazığ Member of Parliament from the True Path Party in the December 24, 1995 general elections. | ||
==Political Life== | |||
Political Life | |||
In 1996, he served as Minister of Justice in the 53rd Government and as Minister of Interior within the 54th Government formed by the Welfare-Path Coalition. Ağar disapproved of Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan's trip to Libya and resigned from his post on November 8, 1996, in protest of this decision. In the 1999 Turkish General Elections, Ağar was elected as an independent Member of Parliament from Elazığ with 68,540 votes. | In 1996, he served as Minister of Justice in the 53rd Government and as Minister of Interior within the 54th Government formed by the Welfare-Path Coalition. Ağar disapproved of Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan's trip to Libya and resigned from his post on November 8, 1996, in protest of this decision. In the 1999 Turkish General Elections, Ağar was elected as an independent Member of Parliament from Elazığ with 68,540 votes. | ||
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Shortly after the results of the 2007 Turkish general elections began to be announced, around 7:30 PM, he announced his resignation from the party leadership through his press consultant, as it became clear that his party would not pass the election threshold. However, it was later stated that since he had not officially resigned, the party could not hold a congress to elect a new leader, and a written resignation letter was expected from him. | Shortly after the results of the 2007 Turkish general elections began to be announced, around 7:30 PM, he announced his resignation from the party leadership through his press consultant, as it became clear that his party would not pass the election threshold. However, it was later stated that since he had not officially resigned, the party could not hold a congress to elect a new leader, and a written resignation letter was expected from him. | ||
==Personal Life== | |||
Personal Life | |||
Mehmet Ağar married Emel Ağar in 1974, and they had two children, Tolga Ağar and Yasemin Ağar. | Mehmet Ağar married Emel Ağar in 1974, and they had two children, Tolga Ağar and Yasemin Ağar. | ||
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Mehmet Ağar was re-tried in November 2008. A decision of "lack of jurisdiction" was issued against Ağar, who could not attend the first hearing due to health problems. The charges against him were as follows for the period between 1993 and 1996: | Mehmet Ağar was re-tried in November 2008. A decision of "lack of jurisdiction" was issued against Ağar, who could not attend the first hearing due to health problems. The charges against him were as follows for the period between 1993 and 1996: | ||
==Forming an armed organization to commit crimes:== | |||
Forming an armed organization to commit crimes | |||
Failing to report the whereabouts of the absentee defendant Abdullah Çatlı to the authorities and helping him hide, despite knowing his location; | Failing to report the whereabouts of the absentee defendant Abdullah Çatlı to the authorities and helping him hide, despite knowing his location; | ||
Abusing his office by unlawfully granting weapon carrying permits to Abdullah Çatlı and Yaşar Öz and facilitating the issuance of special (green) passports to them. (He was providing identification for Grey Wolves members to travel with fake identification throughout the world to commit terrorism, including the attempted assassination of the Pope). | Abusing his office by unlawfully granting weapon carrying permits to Abdullah Çatlı and Yaşar Öz and facilitating the issuance of special (green) passports to them. (He was providing identification for Grey Wolves members to travel with fake identification throughout the world to commit terrorism, including the attempted assassination of the Pope). | ||
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Ağar was considered to have served 3 years of his 5-year sentence due to the enforcement law. He chose the Yenipazar district prison in Aydın province to serve the remaining two years. Ağar was released 361 days before the end of his sentence, benefiting from the supervised release provision in the law known as the 3rd Judicial Package, while he still had one year left of his two-year sentence. The Yenipazar district prison, where Ağar partially served his sentence in accordance with the laws, had been emptied under the pretext of painting before he surrendered to prison. During his conviction, Ağar stayed in a separate ward from three other prisoners in the district prison. | Ağar was considered to have served 3 years of his 5-year sentence due to the enforcement law. He chose the Yenipazar district prison in Aydın province to serve the remaining two years. Ağar was released 361 days before the end of his sentence, benefiting from the supervised release provision in the law known as the 3rd Judicial Package, while he still had one year left of his two-year sentence. The Yenipazar district prison, where Ağar partially served his sentence in accordance with the laws, had been emptied under the pretext of painting before he surrendered to prison. During his conviction, Ağar stayed in a separate ward from three other prisoners in the district prison. | ||
==Sedat Peker's Allegations== | |||
Sedat Peker's Allegations | |||
In his statements via his YouTube channel, Sedat Peker accused Mehmet Ağar of being the head of the "deep state." Peker pointed to retired Lieutenant Colonel Korkut Eken, who started working at the General Directorate of Security in 1993 at the invitation of then-Director General of Security Mehmet Ağar after retiring from MIT, in connection with the Kutlu Adalı Murder. Peker confessed that Eken had initially offered him the task of killing Kutlu Adalı. | In his statements via his YouTube channel, Sedat Peker accused Mehmet Ağar of being the head of the "deep state." Peker pointed to retired Lieutenant Colonel Korkut Eken, who started working at the General Directorate of Security in 1993 at the invitation of then-Director General of Security Mehmet Ağar after retiring from MIT, in connection with the Kutlu Adalı Murder. Peker confessed that Eken had initially offered him the task of killing Kutlu Adalı. | ||
Sedat Peker also alleged that Mehmet Ağar's son, Tolga Ağar, raped Yeldana Kaharman, a 21-year-old Kazakh woman living in Elazığ, and that Tolga Ağar was airlifted from the scene by his father. He further claimed that Kaharman was later found dead in her home and that the case was closed, allowing Tolga Ağar to escape the accusations. | Sedat Peker also alleged that Mehmet Ağar's son, Tolga Ağar, raped Yeldana Kaharman, a 21-year-old Kazakh woman living in Elazığ, and that Tolga Ağar was airlifted from the scene by his father. He further claimed that Kaharman was later found dead in her home and that the case was closed, allowing Tolga Ağar to escape the accusations. | ||
==Sources:== | |||
Sources: | |||
https://web.archive.org/web/20210513172352/https://www.indyturk.com/node/355431/haber/sedat-peker%E2%80%99den-yeldana-kaharman-iddias%C4%B1-mehmet-a%C4%9Far-helikopter-ile-ald%C4%B1r%C4%B1yor-k%C4%B1z | https://web.archive.org/web/20210513172352/https://www.indyturk.com/node/355431/haber/sedat-peker%E2%80%99den-yeldana-kaharman-iddias%C4%B1-mehmet-a%C4%9Far-helikopter-ile-ald%C4%B1r%C4%B1yor-k%C4%B1z | ||
Latest revision as of 18:23, 25 May 2025
Mehmet Kemal Ağar (born October 30, 1951, in Çankaya, Ankara) is a Turkish bureaucrat and politician. He served as Director General of Security, Elazığ Member of Parliament, and held ministerial positions. Between 2002 and 2008, he was the leader of the True Path Party and the Democrat Party.
Life[edit]
Ağar was born on October 30, 1951, in Çankaya Mansion in Ankara, where his father was on duty. Originally from Elazığ, Ağar's education took him to various cities due to his father's police chief duties. He started primary school in Şanlıurfa in 1957 and continued in Gümüşhane, Bolu, Adana, Ankara, and Erzincan. He began middle school in Erzincan and completed it in Kayseri, Diyarbakır, and Uşak. He started high school in Ankara and graduated from Haydarpaşa High School in Istanbul in 1968. In the same year, he enrolled in the Economics and Finance Department of Ankara University, Faculty of Political Sciences, with a scholarship from the General Directorate of Security, graduating in 1973. His first civil service positions were as a commissioner in the Public Order Department of the General Directorate of Security, followed by the Presidential Protection Directorate.
In 1976, he began his career at the Ministry of Interior as a district governor candidate in Ankara province. He served as acting district governor in İznik and Selçuk, and as district governor in Torul and Delice. In January 1980, he became assistant director of the Anti-Terror Branch of the Istanbul Police Department, and in May 1981, he became director of the Public Order Branch.
Between 1984 and 1988, he worked as Istanbul deputy police chief responsible for terrorism and public order. In 1988, he was appointed to the Ankara Police Department, in 1990 to the Istanbul Police Department, in 1992 to the Erzurum Governorship, and in July 1993 to the General Directorate of Security. While serving as the Governor of Erzurum, he was a wedding witness for Haluk Kırcı, one of the perpetrators of the Bahçelievler massacre, who was then a fugitive.
Uğur Dündar published Kırcı's statement given to the police and the State Security Court (DGM) in the Hürriyet newspaper on January 17, 1995. Kırcı described the wedding witness incident as follows:
"After benefiting from the Conditional Release Law and being released, I came to Erzurum. Before my wedding ceremony on August 1, 1992, the MHP provincial chairman and I went to Governor Mehmet Ağar's office. The provincial chairman introduced me to Ağar while handing him our wedding invitation and informed him. Ağar told his bodyguard to cancel another invitation he was supposed to attend on the wedding day and said he would definitely attend our ceremony. Initially, we did not intend to ask him to be a wedding witness. But when the city's governor accepted our invitation and came, we asked him to sit in the witness's chair."
In 1993, while serving as the Director General of Security, Mehmet Ağar made a statement regarding Hezbollah, saying, "Hezbollah refrains from actions against the state. Arresting organization members does not provide benefit."
Ağar was elected as an Elazığ Member of Parliament from the True Path Party in the December 24, 1995 general elections.
Political Life[edit]
In 1996, he served as Minister of Justice in the 53rd Government and as Minister of Interior within the 54th Government formed by the Welfare-Path Coalition. Ağar disapproved of Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan's trip to Libya and resigned from his post on November 8, 1996, in protest of this decision. In the 1999 Turkish General Elections, Ağar was elected as an independent Member of Parliament from Elazığ with 68,540 votes.
The years he served as Director General of Security, Minister of Justice, and Minister of Interior were periods of intense anti-terrorism efforts. At the 7th Ordinary Congress of the DYP held on December 14-15, 2002, he was elected the leader of the True Path Party by securing an absolute majority in the first round. He was re-elected as leader with 1071 votes at the 8th Ordinary Grand Congress held on May 14-15, 2005.
Shortly after the results of the 2007 Turkish general elections began to be announced, around 7:30 PM, he announced his resignation from the party leadership through his press consultant, as it became clear that his party would not pass the election threshold. However, it was later stated that since he had not officially resigned, the party could not hold a congress to elect a new leader, and a written resignation letter was expected from him.
Personal Life[edit]
Mehmet Ağar married Emel Ağar in 1974, and they had two children, Tolga Ağar and Yasemin Ağar.
Ağar is a member of the Galatasaray Sports Club.
Accusations and the Susurluk Case On December 27, 1996, ANAP Leader Mesut Yılmaz stated that he would provide the Parliamentary Inquiry Commission with two 90-minute video cassettes and audio tapes belonging to Hüseyin Baybaşin, a drug trafficker sought by Turkey and released from a Dutch prison.
According to allegations, in the tapes, Baybaşin confessed to those he met in the Netherlands how he freely traveled with police identities, police weapons, and green passports that he claimed Mehmet Ağar and Şükrü Balcı (former Minister of Interior) provided him since 1980.
On January 21, 1997, Judge Rolf Schwalbe, chairman of the 17th Criminal Chamber of the Frankfurt State Court, stated that based on evidence presented in the trial of three heroin traffickers, the court found "close ties between the Republic of Turkey and heroin traffickers."
Judge Rolf Schwalbe stated in his press remarks that members of two Kurdish tribes transporting heroin from Turkey had "excellent relations with the Republic of Turkey" and "personal communication with a female minister in the state." Later, due to pressure from Turkey, the judge disclosed that this woman was Tansu Çiller.
On January 26, 1997, Tom Sackville, the UK's Deputy Home Secretary responsible for drug trafficking, stated that they had recently identified Turkey as the most important transit point for heroin and had allegations and findings indicating the involvement of some individuals from the Turkish government and police in the drug trade.
In his written statement to the civil inspectors on March 20, 1997, he stated that he knew where and for what purpose the so-called "missing weapons" would be used and that he had given a written order to Korkut Eken in this regard, but that the matter was a state secret and therefore he could not provide further explanation.
The Istanbul State Security Court (DGM) Chief Public Prosecutor filed a lawsuit against Ağar, along with Sedat Edip Bucak, for "forming a gang to commit crimes, failing to report persons with arrest and detention warrants to the authorities, and abuse of office," seeking a heavy prison sentence of 6 to 12 years. Mehmet Ağar, whose immunity was lifted on December 11, 1997, gave a three-hour statement as a defendant at the DGM on January 10, 1998, after the Constitutional Court rejected his appeal. In his statement, Ağar claimed that the issue of missing weapons was a state secret and that he was serving as a minister at the time of the incidents, and therefore could only be tried by the Supreme Court (Yüce Divan). The DGM initially issued "lack of jurisdiction" and then "suspension of trial" decisions after the 8th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals overturned the decision on July 9.
On June 15, 2000, Ağar was acquitted by the Parliamentary Inquiry Commission formed against him on the charge of "forming an organization to commit a crime," with 8 votes against 6, deciding that there was no need to refer him to the Supreme Court.
In his statements to the DGM and the TBMM Susurluk Accident Investigation Commission, he constantly stated that he could not make an explanation because it was a state secret.
Mehmet Ağar was re-tried in November 2008. A decision of "lack of jurisdiction" was issued against Ağar, who could not attend the first hearing due to health problems. The charges against him were as follows for the period between 1993 and 1996:
Forming an armed organization to commit crimes:[edit]
Failing to report the whereabouts of the absentee defendant Abdullah Çatlı to the authorities and helping him hide, despite knowing his location; Abusing his office by unlawfully granting weapon carrying permits to Abdullah Çatlı and Yaşar Öz and facilitating the issuance of special (green) passports to them. (He was providing identification for Grey Wolves members to travel with fake identification throughout the world to commit terrorism, including the attempted assassination of the Pope).
On September 15, 2011, the Ankara Special Authorized 11th High Criminal Court ruled that Mehmet Ağar, who had served as Minister of Justice, Minister of Interior, Party leader, Governor, and Director General of Security, was the "leader of a criminal organization" and sentenced him to 5 years in prison in the Susurluk case.
Ağar was considered to have served 3 years of his 5-year sentence due to the enforcement law. He chose the Yenipazar district prison in Aydın province to serve the remaining two years. Ağar was released 361 days before the end of his sentence, benefiting from the supervised release provision in the law known as the 3rd Judicial Package, while he still had one year left of his two-year sentence. The Yenipazar district prison, where Ağar partially served his sentence in accordance with the laws, had been emptied under the pretext of painting before he surrendered to prison. During his conviction, Ağar stayed in a separate ward from three other prisoners in the district prison.
Sedat Peker's Allegations[edit]
In his statements via his YouTube channel, Sedat Peker accused Mehmet Ağar of being the head of the "deep state." Peker pointed to retired Lieutenant Colonel Korkut Eken, who started working at the General Directorate of Security in 1993 at the invitation of then-Director General of Security Mehmet Ağar after retiring from MIT, in connection with the Kutlu Adalı Murder. Peker confessed that Eken had initially offered him the task of killing Kutlu Adalı.
Sedat Peker also alleged that Mehmet Ağar's son, Tolga Ağar, raped Yeldana Kaharman, a 21-year-old Kazakh woman living in Elazığ, and that Tolga Ağar was airlifted from the scene by his father. He further claimed that Kaharman was later found dead in her home and that the case was closed, allowing Tolga Ağar to escape the accusations.
Sources:[edit]
https://www.aksam.com.tr/siyaset/mehmet-agarin-369-gunluk-cezaevi-macerasi/haber-200924
https://web.archive.org/web/20150212164139/http://www.radikal.com.tr/haber.php?haberno=35905