Alparslan Arslan

Alparslan Arslan (1977) is a Turkish criminal convicted for murdering Council of State member Mustafa Yücel Özbilgin, and wounding four others. He also took part in the bombing of the newspaper Cumhuriyet along with Osman Yıldırım, İsmail Sağır, and Erhan Timuroğlu. All of these events took place from 10–17 May 2006.

Biography

Arslan comes from a conversative family. He graduated from Marmara University's law school in 1998. Later on he met fellow Ergenekon suspect Sedat Peker and engaged in financial fraud.

Council of State attack

On 17 May 2006, Arslan killed Council of State member Mustafa Yücel Özbilgin. His stated motive was that the Council disrespected the devout, citing alleged oppression of women who cover their hair; a wedge issue at the time. Allegations surfaced that this was a false flag attack by neonationalists, and Arslan was recruited for the job.

After the attack, the newspaper and his family reported conflicting information over his motives, with progressives blaming conservatives and vice versa. His father, İdris Arslan, also made inconsistent statements to the press.

He was said to have been incited by retired captain Muzaffer Tekin. When his arrest warrant was issued, Tekin attempted suicide. Also detained was major Zekeriya Öztürk. After recuperating, Tekin admitted knowing Arslan, and together attending a 2004 meeting of the...
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