Balgat massacre

Balgat Massacre
Part of Political violence in Turkey, 1970s
Balgat massacre (Ankara)
LocationÇankaya, Ankara, Turkey
Coordinates39°55′28″N 32°53′08″E / 39.9244°N 32.8856°E / 39.9244; 32.8856
Date10 August 1978
TargetLeft-wing civilians
Deaths5
Injured14
PerpetratorsMustafa Pehlivanoğlu and İsa Armağan

The Balgat massacre (Turkish: Balgat katliamı) of 10 August 1978 was a mass shooting targeting 3 coffeehouses known with their left-wing customers in Çankaya, Ankara in which 5 died and 14 were injured. The massacre was ordered by Abdullah Çatlı. 2 people, Mustafa Pehlivanoğlu and İsa Armağan, were arrested related to the incident. Pehlivanoğlu was executed on 7 October 1980 and Armağan escaped from prison. He was caught in 1995 and was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment. However, he was released after 7 years. According to some idealist sources, Mustafa Pehlivanoğlu was a victim of false accusation and had no connections to the incident.