May 16, 2014
PARIS, France,— The name of Ruhi Semen has been mentioned in the escape attempt of Paris massacre suspect Ömer Güney. Semen, who is known as Güney's "former colleague in Germany", met Güney in Ankara prior to the murders of Sakine Cansız, Fidan Doğan and Leyla Şaylemez in Paris on 9 January 2013.
The French news agency AFP has reported that the murder suspect, Ömer Güney, made an attempt to escape from prison. According to information obtained, Güney's "former colleague in Germany", Ruhi Semen, wanted to free Güney.
He visited Güney at the beginning of January
According to a report in Yeni Özgür Politika, news of the incident emerged from explanations made by a journalist who went to Germany last month on behalf of a French TV company. Ruhi Semen's son was interviewed for a programme that will be broadcast in the coming days on a French channel. He said that after his father had visited Ömer Güney in January their house had been raided and his father questioned.
Questioned by German, French and Turkish authorities
Semen's son said his father had been questioned by German and French judicial authorities, and by a Turkish prosecutor dealing with the case.
In the AFP article the name of the person involved in the attempt to free Güney is not mentioned, but a judicial source said "there were items on the person's mobile phone confirming the escape plan". The same source added that Ömer Güney had contemplated using a firearm against the security forces in order to escape.
A source who works in the same workplace as Ruhi Semen in Munich has confirmed that Semen and his son were questioned and their house searched after they had visited the murder suspect in Paris in January.
The same source said that Ömer Güney and Ruhi Semen had previously worked together and that they had a very close relationship, adding: "They called Ruhi in for questioning. But I don't know why they detained him on the way to France. He could say he was going to see Ömer, but they are not related. One is from Eskişehir and the other from Sivas."
Ömer is not ill
The same source has denied that Ömer Güney has epilepsy, describing this as a fabrication. "I don't believe he is ill", said the source, who has known Güney for years.
ANF drew attention to the name Ruhi Semen
The name Ruhi Semen was mentioned in articles regarding the link between Güney and the MIT. The ANF obtained details of the rogatory letter the French court sent to Turkish judicial authorities regarding the investigation into the Paris murders. Ruhi Semen's name was in the document concerning telephone calls Ömer Güney made to numbers in Turkey. In the document was the following:
"It has been established that Ömer Güney continued his relationship with former colleague in Germany Ruhi Semen, and even visited him in Ankara on 19 December 2012." A German phone used by Semen in Turkey is mentioned, and the question asked as to whom the number 905076097050 belonged. A detailed bill from the dates 18 December to 21 December 2012 was requested and information pertaining to whom he was in contact was requested.
Kurdish activists Sakine Cansaız Fidan Doğan and Leyla Söylemez, were assassinated in Paris on Jan. 9, 2013. A few days after the murders, French police detained Ömer Güney, an ethnic Turk, Cansız's driver. His computer and mobile devices were seized by the police and he was jailed pending trial.
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