French prosecutors ask Turkey for details about Paris murder suspect connections

23 January 2014 /TODAY’S ZAMAN, ANKARA  – Paris prosecutors conducting an investigation into the assassination of three female members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) have asked Turkish officials to provide the names of the owners of 57 telephone numbers that the prime suspect, Ömer Güney, had called during his stay in the city.

In a news story reported in the Vatan daily on Wednesday, prosecutors Jeanne Duye and Christophe Teissier sent a rogatory letter, a special request to Turkish officials to solicit crucial information that the prosecutors have deemed highly relevant and necessary for the probe.

Sakine Cansaız, leader of the PKK’s European activities, was killed in Paris on Jan. 9, 2013 along with her two friends Fidan Doğan and Leyla Söylemez. A few days after the murders, French police detained Ömer Güney, Cansız’s driver. His computer and mobile devices were seized by the police and he was jailed pending trial.

In the letter, which was organized in three sections, sent by a Paris appeals court, Turkish authorities were requested to provide information on probe number 409/13/2.

In the first section, the letter shares some of the information that investigators gathered about Güney and clearly notes Güney’s connection to the guns used in the murders. The second section asks for information about Güney’s contacts in Turkey as well as the names of the owners of the 57 telephone numbers that Güney called frequently while in Paris. The last section requested answers to some specific questions.

In the second section, the letter outlined a number of the probe’s findings. It said Güney primarily used line number 06 58 46 **** for calls to 13 different numbers. Another phone was found in his lodging, a Nokia without a SIM card installed. In the device’s memory, multiple numbers had been saved. Police found another number used by Güney, 06 69 64 ****, which had been in communication with only one telephone number in Turkey. All in all, from a request through the Paris court, the prosecutors asked for personal details of the owners of 57 numbers along with the basic data of the phone bills attached to these numbers.

The third section of the rogatory letter asked for information about Güney’s family members, how frequently he had contacted his relatives, and when he met with them. The daily noted that the Ankara Public Prosecutors’ Office started to work on these questions and will likely send the requested information within the next couple of weeks. A number of news stories broke in the media last week with a voice recording, reported to be Güney, talking about his connections with the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) and how the spy agency encouraged and helped him assassinate the women. MİT has denied any involvement in the murders. – http://www.todayszaman.com/news-337356-french-prosecutors-ask-turkey-for-details-about-paris-murder-suspect-connections.html