İbrahim Şahin

İbrahim Şahin (born 20 August 1956) is a Turkish ultranationalist and co-conspirator in the murder of the Armenian journalist Hrant Dink. He led General Directorate of Security's special forces unit, the Special Operations Department and, following dismissal in 1996 for associating with ultra-nationalist drug trafficker and contract killer Abdullah Çatlı, was tarnished by complicity in the wide-ranging government conspiracy which became known as the Susurluk scandal. The event, which began with the November 1996 car crash which killed Çatlı and other prominent individuals, resulted in Şahin's arrest and subsequent acquittal. His career, however, was effectively ended, and there were additional weapons-related charges in 1999, with a six-year prison term imposed in 2001. In 2008 he suffered a memory-impairing traffic accident and, in 2009, was among 37 highly placed officials named in the government investigation of deep state organization Ergenekon.

Tansu Çiller, Turkey's first female prime minister, who served from June 1993 to March 1996, requested Şahin's return to the police force and said that he was owed an apology. However, on 27 January 1997 a warrant was issued for his arrest and although he initially eluded capture, on 6 March he was charged with 5–9 years in jail for felony and surrendered within five days later, ultimately being acquitted six months later, on 12 September. After a passage of eighteen months, in March 1999, he was charged for up to year's imprisonment for allegedly losing weapons donated to the police. Nine years later, on 28 March 2008, he was in a serious traffic accident and lost his memory. On 14 April he was sentenced to one year in jail for negligence. His deposition in May was ineffectual because of his memory problem. He and his subordinate Korkut Eken were initially handed a six-year sentence. This was later reduced to 486 days. Şahin's plea to president Ahmet Necdet Sezer to pardon the rest on account of his ill health was granted. The Turkish police said the round-up was triggered by orders Şahin gave to assassinate twelve Armenian community leaders in the provincial capital of Sivas Province.

A map describing the location of an arms cache was found in his house. A team of excavators found the following in Gölbaşı, Ankara: 9 mm caliber bullets boxed explosive ignition mine plastic explosives two lightweight anti-tank weapons 10 hand grenades whose serial number had been deleted 10 smoke bombs used in training with colored smoke According to the police, the weapons were wrapped in newspapers from 2004. Excavations in other parts of Ankara have been launched.