Background
Ahmet Cem Ersever was born in Erzurum on 6 June 1950. A retired gendarmerie major, he is described as one of the founders of the gendarmerie intelligence unit JİTEM. After the death of Eşref Bitlis he resigned on 17 March 1993 together with about 30 colleagues. In his resignation letter he wrote that a grouping within the authorities was hiding the true scale of events in the region from the public.
What happened
Military prosecutors opened an investigation into Ersever over an interview he gave to the newspaper Aydınlık. He travelled to Ankara for a hearing on 26 October 1993 and was never heard from again. Neval Boz, linked to him, was found dead in Çamlıdere on 1 November, and Murat Demir in Polatlı on 2 November 1993. Ersever’s body was found by gendarmes in Elmadağ, Ankara, on 4 November 1993.
He was buried at Cebeci Military Cemetery.
Investigation and where it stands
The case remains officially unresolved. The JİTEM archive he kept at home is reported to have disappeared. Former police official Hanefi Avcı named a man called Mahmut Yıldırım in his book, while a former JİTEM member said he suspects Veli Küçük gave the order; these are claims that have not been proven in court.
The fact that the case file refers to Ersever as a retired major of the ‘JİTEM Group Command’ was read as a de facto acknowledgement by the gendarmerie that JİTEM existed.