Former senior MİT member dies, leaves behind pile of secrets

Mehmet Eymür, the former head of the National Intelligence Organization's (MİT) Counterterrorism Department, has lost his life at the age of 81, leaving behind a career marked by numerous question marks and secrets in the Turkish political landscape.

Suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Parkinson's and dementia, Eymür was admitted to a hospital in Istanbul's Başakşehir district on Dec. 13, 2023, and had been undergoing intensive care treatment since Dec. 15. Due to his deteriorating condition, he was intubated.

Local media announced that he died on Jan. 13 at 8:55 a.m., describing his demise as a departure marked by the veiled curtain of his unrevealed secrets.

Throughout his life, Eymür remained a prominent figure with his disclosures and accusations regarding a large number of key events in Turkish political history. With insights believed to involve crucial political figures, Eymür consistently found a substantial place in the spotlight.

Notably, his father had served as a high-ranking intelligence official at the National Security Service (MEH) that would later transform into MİT.

Eymür, born into the intelligence environment in Istanbul in 1943, at a time when his father held a significant position in the intelligence unit MEH, joined MİT at the age of 23 in 1966. Despite the prevailing trend of selecting individuals with military backgrounds, MİT Director Fuat Doğu at the time created ample space for young individuals without a military past. Eymür, surrounded by his father's former students and colleagues, climbed the ranks within the organization.

In 1971, during the revelation of a socialist-inclined "coup" planning and the subsequent announcement of a manifesto by right-leaning generals on...