A criminal complaint against Erdoğan and ministers has emerged from the Bora Kaplan file!..

Judicial reporter Alican Uludağ, who has been in detention for 60 days, was taken into custody on charges of “insulting the President,” “publicly disseminating misleading information,” and “denigrating state institutions.”

One of his final posts on the day he was detained, based on the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office's announcement that detention warrants had been issued for nine police officers in the Casperlar criminal organization investigation, was as follows:

“The mafia doesn't just have members; it also has politicians, bureaucrats, judges, prosecutors, and police officers...”

Is there an insult to the President? No. Is there public dissemination of misleading information? No. Is there denigration of state institutions? No. When these “nothings” failed to lead anywhere, Alican's posts from the past year were scanned, a charge of “insulting the President” was extracted from them, and a detention order was issued. With the prepared indictment, a prison sentence of up to 20 years is being sought for him.

If one is looking for those who publicly disseminate misleading information or denigrate state institutions, the revelations spilling out of the recent Gülistan Doku file are more than enough for seven generations of us. If the allegations are true, the then-Governor of Tunceli, using the police under his command and state resources, acted almost like the leader of a criminal organization, providing false information to both his superiors and the nation while covering up the murder.

THE MEDIA WING FEUD

Another vivid example is the Ayhan Bora Kaplan criminal organization case.

As is known, this case began to be retried following a partial reversal decision by the Court of Appeals and the consolidation of the indictment regarding a found phone allegedly belonging to the secret witness codenamed M7, Serdar Sertçelik.

It was the same during the initial trials in 2024; however, in the hearings held over the last two weeks, the names of many politicians, high-ranking members of the judiciary, and police officers were once again flying around. To these, some journalists were added.

The police officers who conducted the Bora Kaplan operation, but who remained in detention for a time after MHP Leader Devlet Bahçeli declared them “coup plotters” and who are now being tried alongside Bora Kaplan due to the consolidation decision, accused Abdurrahman Şimşek, Halit Turan, Nedim Şener, Tolga Şardan, and İsmail Saymaz of serving the criminal organization, based on certain correspondence found on the recovered phone.

The first to react was Nedim Şener. Then, Halit Turan, News Manager of the pro-government newspaper Sabah, made a statement on behalf of himself and Abdurrahman Şimşek. But what a statement!.. It must be read line by line to understand who is pulling whose strings. He said;

“The police officers who are trying to cover up their own responsibilities regarding the Ayhan Bora Kaplan criminal organization and are constantly targeting others have been talking for days; now it is our turn to speak. I ask on behalf of myself and Sabah Newspaper News Coordinator Abdurrahman Şimşek: Murat Çelik; the Ayhan Bora Kaplan criminal organization was convicted for 3 actions. While these actions were being carried out, you were the deputy branch manager of the Organized Crime Bureau at the Ankara Police Department. What were you doing while the Ayhan Bora Kaplan criminal organization was killing people and committing crimes in the capital? Furthermore, why did you conduct the operation with the file prepared by your colleagues who had investigated this organization before you (which was closed by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office with a decision of non-prosecution), and why did you try to dismiss those colleagues as if they had done nothing? Şevket Demircan: We are also watching your ‘victimhood’ theater with astonishment. Mr. Director, has your memory weakened? You were the one who leaked information about the Ayhan Bora Kaplan organization and said ‘write a story’! Accusing the journalist you used as a source yesterday of a setup today is nothing more than a cheap tactic. You were constantly pressuring us to put it on Twitter. Are you now trying to use us as bait for FETÖ? If you are looking for a setup, look at those WhatsApp records you thought you deleted and your own notes; I have them all just as they were on the first day. Truth has one habit: It comes out sooner or later! Also, I do not leave my mobile phone in a bag somewhere like the fake phone that is evidence in the file. If necessary, I am willing to testify in the prosecutor's office and in court about the messages I had with you. Also, do not think we are unaware. You collected all our intelligence data in the background, Abdurrahman Şimşek's and mine, you looked at all our contacts and connections, and you could not get any results through this organization. The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office also examined all of Abdurrahman Şimşek's bank and land registry records. They checked his HTS records and could not detect any connection, remote or otherwise, with any member of this organization. A decision of non-prosecution was also issued for the file. Do not slander.”

DECISION OF NON-PROSECUTION REGARDING JOURNALISTS

Right in the middle of this feud, the decision of non-prosecution (KYOK) issued on February 19 by Prosecutor Mustafa Kaya, who prepared both the Bora Kaplan criminal organization and the found phone indictments, was served to the parties.

The investigation was opened in 2025.

The date of the crime is 2024, and the crime is “attempting to influence a fair trial.”

The complainants are the then-Deputy Ankara Police Chief Murat Çelik, the then-KOM Branch Manager Kerem Gökay Öner, and his deputy Şevket Demircan.

The suspects are Abdurrahman Şimşek, İsmail Saymaz, Nedim Şener, Tolga Şardan, and the person in charge of Odatv.

What is the reason for these details? Because there are two oddities in the KYOK.

First; the police chiefs should have filed a criminal complaint against these journalists for the news they published in 2024-2025, right?

But the decision states that the investigation was initiated “based on the suspicion of a crime that arose from the fact that certain members of the press were made to write news stories in accordance with the goals of an armed criminal organization in order to unlawfully influence the public case being heard at the Ankara 32nd High Criminal Court,” due to posts regarding the aforementioned journalists on the found phone—which Halit Turan described as a “fake phone”—that was allegedly left in a bag at the door of the office of KOM Branch Deputy Manager Şevket Demircan's lawyer, Recep Öksüz, on September 12 and delivered to the prosecutor's office exactly 14 days later. It continued as follows:

“In the open-source research conducted, it is understood that the suspects wrote news stories about the Bora Kaplan armed criminal organization at various times, but since there is no sufficient and convincing evidence obtained against the suspects that they did this personally within the scope of the activities of the armed criminal organization, under the direction of the armed criminal organization, and to assist the armed criminal organization, a decision of non-prosecution should be issued separately for each of the suspects...”

From this, it is understood that the prosecutor initiated an investigation into the journalists on his own initiative as soon as he found the correspondence on the found phone, concluded the investigation in 4.5 months, and determined the complainants himself, regardless of whether the three police chiefs had a complaint or not.

But more importantly; while the prosecutor prepared an indictment of approximately 100 pages with the conviction that the correspondence on that found phone was true, is he not, in a sense, saying that the correspondence is unreal with this decision regarding the journalists?

Indeed, Şevket Demircan's lawyer, Recep Öksüz, immediately objected to the decision and, after listing the news and posts made by Abdurrahman Şimşek, İsmail Saymaz, Nedim Şener, Tolga Şardan, and Odatv since 2024, along with the messages on the found phone, stated the following with the request that the decision be overturned and a public case be opened against them:

“They have engaged in a smear campaign of lies and falsehoods that knows no bounds and defies reason against other police officials, including my client. All suspects have acted as if they were pushed by a single button, as if they had reached a consensus, and by keeping the same issues on the agenda repeatedly, they have attempted to influence the court in the eyes of the public. All suspects have knowingly and willingly declared my client and his friends almost ‘traitors to the country.’”

EVEN THOUGH THEY DID NOT COMPLAIN ABOUT THE JOURNALISTS AND THE FOUND PHONE

The second oddity in the decision of non-prosecution is this:

Following these developments, two remarkable objections also came from Suna Öztaşdönderen, the lawyer for the then-KOM Branch Manager Kerem Gökay Öner. Attorney Öztaşdönderen, who submitted a petition to the Ankara 32nd High Criminal Court hearing the case, first drew attention to the following regarding the decision of non-prosecution:

“An impression was created that the client had filed a complaint against some journalists in the capacity of a complainant, and it was observed that evaluations were made in the public opinion in this direction. However, the client has no complaint against the suspect journalists mentioned in the scope of the investigation in question. This matter is clear and certain. Despite this, showing the client as if he had been included in the investigation file in the capacity of a complainant without any complaint, and making this subject to news content reflected in the public opinion, is of a nature that could lead to the client being targeted in the public eye and his reputation being damaged. It is clear that this situation results in creating a perception against the client and constitutes character assassination. On the other hand, although the client has no complaint, the legal basis for his inclusion in the KYOK decision in the capacity of a complainant cannot be understood, and this situation raises serious hesitations regarding the client's personal rights and legal security.”

Then she made the following statement regarding the found phone:

“The client did not participate in the criminal complaint regarding the phone allegedly belonging to Serdar Sertçelik, which was stated to have been found in a bag left in front of the law office belonging to Attorney Recep Öksüz on September 12, 2025, and the client was not informed while the criminal complaint was being filed. Regarding this incident as well, the client has no complaint, nor is there any capacity as a complainant.”

Ultimately, she requested that a copy of the complaint petitions, which were used as the basis for the complainant capacity in the file on behalf of Kerem Gökay Öner, be provided, and that the reason for showing Öner as a complainant despite having no complaint be asked of the relevant Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

WHEN THE POLICE SAID “WE CANNOT INVESTIGATE”

Since our subject is the mafia-politics-judiciary-media quadrangle, let us share another remarkable detail in the Bora Kaplan file.

As is known, in the report prepared by the Ankara Provincial Gendarmerie Command Anti-Cyber Crime Branch Directorate regarding the found phone, correspondence was included stating that the conversations between Attorney Cengiz Haliç and Serdar Sertçelik, in which the names of some MHP members were mentioned, as well as the claim that these names prepared the speech in which MHP Leader Devlet Bahçeli declared the police officers who conducted the Bora Kaplan operation “coup plotters,” had taken place, but this was not reflected in the indictment. Shortly after journalist İsmail Arı, who uncovered this detail, was arrested, there was almost an earthquake in the MHP.

As for the new detail; from the 70-folder investigation file regarding the found phone, a criminal complaint emerged that the People's Liberation Party (HKP) filed in May 2021 against Erdoğan, Süleyman Soylu, Mehmet Ağar, Tansu Çiller, Korkut Eken, Sadık Soylu, Binali Yıldırım, Erkam Yıldırım, Halil Falyalı, Sedat Peker, and Atilla Peker, with charges of “establishing, managing, and being a member of an armed organization for the purpose of committing crimes, assisting the organization, intentional homicide, manufacturing and trading of drugs or stimulants, facilitating the use of drugs or stimulants, and failure of a public official to report a crime.”

Not only that; it was seen that there were three interesting writs written by the investigation Prosecutor Mustafa Kaya to the KOM Branch in 2022.

The writs, whose connection to the HKP's criminal complaint could not be understood because the attached documents could not be identified, are as follows:

On April 11, 2022; it was stated: “In order to form the basis for the evidence collection process in this investigation file being conducted by our Chief Public Prosecutor's Office; the investigation document has been sent as an attachment to our writ. Accordingly; it is requested that research be conducted regarding the issues reported, that the research be recorded in minutes, and that the prepared document be sent to our Chief Public Prosecutor's Office urgently without leaving room for any reminders.”

Then, on May 23, the following letter was sent to the KOM Branch again:

“In order to form the basis for the evidence collection process in this investigation file being conducted by our Chief Public Prosecutor's Office; regarding the writ written on April 11, 2022, it was reported by the public officials tasked with fulfilling the requirements of the writ to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on June 23, 2022 (it is understood that the date was written incorrectly) that the names of parliamentarians were also mentioned in the petition submitted to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office orally by the complainant's attorney; and although it was reported that this issue created hesitation because parliamentarians are subject to a special investigation procedure; according to the examined document; as clearly stated in the writ dated April 11, 2022 and its attachments, it was clearly stated in the letter written by the Parliamentary Bureau of the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office that the document regarding the persons complained about by the complainant's attorney and who have the status of parliamentarian is being conducted by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, and that the file regarding the remaining complained persons was sent to our bureau for the necessary action, and since it is understood that the scope of the writ dated April 11, 2022 and this writ dated May 23, 2022 in terms of persons consists of non-parliamentarians; for the stated reasons, it is requested that no investigation process or research be conducted regarding the parliamentarians who are subject to special investigation procedures and about whom documents are being processed on the same subject, and that instead, the necessary research be conducted regarding the other non-parliamentarian persons mentioned by name in the complainant's attorney's petition, and that the result be recorded in minutes and sent to our Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.”

To summarize; the police came to the prosecutor's office, warned, “We cannot conduct an investigation regarding parliamentarians,” and the Prosecutor said, “Okay, the Parliamentary Bureau is conducting the investigation regarding them, you investigate the others.”

But afterwards, on June 3, he gave the following instruction:

“In order to form the basis for this investigation file being conducted by our Chief Public Prosecutor's Office; it is requested that our writs sent as an attachment to our letter be returned without processing.”

In other words, he requested all the writs back without any action being taken.

In this case, it remains for us to ask the following:

If it was not placed by mistake or intended to make the file look crowded; what is the HKP's criminal complaint doing in the Bora Kaplan file?.. If the writs dated 2022 are related to this criminal complaint; is there an investigation being conducted by the Parliamentary Bureau against Erdoğan and the ministers?.. Was the investigation against those who are not members of parliament abandoned; if so, what is the reason?

Let us also note that in Friday's hearing, Bora Kaplan presented the HKP's criminal complaint and those correspondences to the court, saying, “Look, this is how they work,” and filed a complaint against the prosecutor.

Müyesser YILDIZ

April 20, 2026