The Turkish judiciary is set to reopen the investigation into the armed attack on the Fenerbahçe team bus that took place in the Turkish city of Trabzon in 2015 and which nearly ended in tragedy, according to an announcement made on 27 May by Turkey’s Minister of Justice, Akın Gürlek, who stated that the aim is to identify those responsible for that serious incident in which the coach driver was shot twice.
In a post shared on his social media accounts, the minister noted that a decision had been taken to “overturn the ruling in the interests of justice” regarding the attack on the Fenerbahçe bus that took place on 4 April 2015 in Trabzon. “Our aim is to shed light on all aspects of this appalling attack, uncover any negligence, and ensure that those responsible are held to account before the law,” he stated.
Gürlek noted that the fact that the incident has not been fully clarified despite the passage of time, and that the investigation concluded with a decision not to prosecute, continues to trouble a section of Turkish society. “We have listened carefully to the justified reactions and demands for justice from our citizens. In this context, the case file was thoroughly reviewed by the Unsolved Crimes Investigation Department of our ministry. As a result of this assessment, the decision was taken yesterday to ‘overturn the ruling in the interests of justice’,” the minister said in statements quoted by Turkish media.
Gürlek was referring to the specialist unit recently created by the Turkish Ministry of Justice, dedicated to reviewing unsolved cases of significant social impact where the perpetrators have not yet been identified after several years, which has made significant progress in several homicide investigations. According to Turkey’s Justice Minister, the measure now adopted will allow for a legal reassessment of the previous decision to close the case regarding the shooting incident.
An attack that almost ended in tragedy and left the driver seriously injured
The attack took place on 4 April 2015, when the bus carrying the players and coaching staff of Fenerbahçe was heading to Trabzon Airport after playing a match against Çaykur Rizespor. At around 10.15 pm, the vehicle was fired upon several times whilst travelling along the road between Araklı and Sürmene, in the province of Trabzon.
The driver of the vehicle, Ufuk Kıran, was seriously injured by the gunfire – one of the bullets struck him in the face – although he managed to maintain control of the bus at the last moment and avoided a potential tragedy. In the wake of the attack, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) decided to suspend the football league over what Fenerbahçe described as a “terrorist act” and an “attempted murder”.
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Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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