Askar Simitko
Askar Simitko, alternative spellings use "Asgar" and/or "Smitko", (1953–January 28, 1995) was a Kurdish Iranian spy operating in Turkey. He was found tortured and shot dead by unknown persons in Istanbul.
Simitko was born 1953 in Urmia (West Azarbaijan province) in Iran as a son of Tahirhan.
As of September 1985, he was dwelling in Istanbul, and along with his father he secured communication between members of the Barzani organization.
In the same period, he had connections to persons from the Iranian intelligence organization (SAVAMA), who requested from him to collect information regarding names and activities of followers of the former Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and members of the People's Mujahedin of Iran. An official report on the Susurluk scandal authored by Kutlu Savaş, a high-ranking civil servant, states that in addition to his illegal activities, he submitted information on the Iranian government's opponents causing the execution of many.[1]
In 1993, he applied for asylum in a third country.
On January 15, 1995, he and his friend Lazım Esmaeili, were abducted by unknown persons when they left the casino of Polat Renaissance Hotel in Yeşilköy, İstanbul at local time 03:45. On January 28, 1995, villagers found the corpses of the two in Kerev Creek, Silivri, about 60 km (37 mi) far from İstanbul. They were tortured, ears cut and shot multiple times to death. According to the "Second MIT Report" authored by Mehmet Eymür, the incident's motive was not political but drug trafficking in connection with the Susurluk scandal gang.[1]
References
- 1 2 Berberoğlu, Enis (2000-05-22). "İranlı ajanın ölümü". Hürriyet (in Turkish). Retrieved 2010-08-30.
- "1998 Report" (PDF). Human Rights Foundation of Turkey. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-02-05. (contains the Susurluk reports in English)