Arrested senior member of outlawed PKK terror organization wants to reveal his identity in coup case. The secret identity belongs to non other than Şemdin Sakık, a top militant of PKK terror syndicate.

Istanbul / NationalTurk – The identity of a secret witness in Turkey’s continiuing Ergenekon coup trial was revealed as Şemdin Sakık, a former top militant terrorist of the outlawed PKK terror organization and a close aide of its convicted boss, Abdullah Öcalan.

The secret witness, referred to only as ‘Deniz,’ was to testify in the 255th hearing of the high-profile coup trial, whose suspects include main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputies Mustafa Balbay and Mehmet Haberal, as well as former Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ and other top military officers.

The coup trial has taken new dimensions as the secret witness demanded to reveal his identity and following the court’s approval, Semdin Sakık’s true identity was made public.

Semdin Sakık was captured in a special operation by the Turkish army in 1998 after he fled the PKK  ranks and took shelter in northern Iraq.

Butcher of Bingöl incident in 1993

In 1999, he was given the death penalty for his role in the murder of 253 people, including the killing of 33 unarmed soldiers in Bingöl in 1993, but the sentence was commuted to life in prison after capital punishment was abolished in Turkey. Former Chief of staff General Başbuğ was furious at Sakık being used as a prosecution witness.

“Today, the Turkish military’s fight against the PKK was put on trial in Silivri,” the former top general stated in a written statement released by his lawyer.

“On the one side are the commanders of the Turkish army who have fought against the PKK of all their lives sitting in the suspects’ benches facing unjust and unfounded accusations; on the other side on the witness stand is the former number two of the terror organization PKK that ordered the killing of 33 privates in Bingöl in 1993,” Başbuğ said in the statement. “A former Turkish chief of General Staff is accused of ‘founding and leading a terror organization,’ while a bloody-handed terrorist, the enemy of the accused, is heard as a witness. The decision belongs to the noble Turkish nation.”

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Yalova deputy Muharrem İnce, a recent stand-out voice of the party also noted the situation was unacceptable. “They are judging the patriots, intellectuals, journalists and deputies of this country based on the testimonies of PKK members, who testified as anonymous witnesses,” İnce said in a written statement.

Sakık claims soldiers were sent unarmed on purpose !

Semdin Sakık stated in his testimony that the he was not responsible for the 1993 killings of the 33 unarmed Turkish soldiers, which destroyed hopes of a solution at the time, although it was one of the crimes Sakık was convicted of. Instead, he put the blame on identified “planners.”

“These soldiers were sent without any precautions. Why did the security forces, knowing where we are and how many we are, ignore security?” Sakık told the coup court.

Sakık has been at the center of controversy before; in 1999, after he was captured, he reportedly testified that a number of journalists and nongovernmental organizations had provided the PKK with support in exchange for money, explicitly revealing these journalists’ names. Later, it was discovered that the list was based on an article under the title “Andıç,” prepared by then-Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Çevik Bir and General Secretary Maj. Gen. Erol Özkasnak, and that Sakık was forced to give such testimony.