Did he give the unpublished interview to the chief prosecutor?

Especially in terms of its “FETÖ” connection, the assassination of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Necip Hablemitoğlu has not only remained unsolved, but the case itself has also been left virtually abandoned.

Yesterday, we wrote about the testimony given in court by Sabah Newspaper News Coordinator Abdurrahman Şimşek, who had conducted an interview with Nuri Gökhan Bozkır, a former Special Forces Command member and suspect in the Hablemitoğlu assassination, two years before Bozkır was captured in Ukraine and brought to Turkey. Şimşek did not publish the interview at the time, but rather published a portion of it only after Bozkır was brought to Turkey, presenting it as if it had been conducted recently.

To summarize: in court, Şimşek stated that when he went to meet with Bozkır, he had information obtained from open sources and documents from the 2002 investigation in his possession. He claimed he did not receive information from any prosecutor other than the prosecutor of that period, Necip Cem İşçimen, who was conducting the investigation in 2017, that he did not suggest any names to Bozkır, and that he did not share that unpublished interview with anyone.

Şimşek further alleged that Nuri Gökhan Bozkır “off the record” spoke about Levent Göktaş and provided the names of Mustafa Özcan, Enver Altaylı, Mehmet Narin, and Aydın Köstem, and claimed that Tarkan Mumcuoğlu had made contact with Hablemitoğlu using a code name.

To better understand the statements in the interview we are about to share, let us note the following:

In 2020, when Abdurrahman Şimşek met with Nuri Gökhan Bozkır, the HTS records of the suspects in question, sent by the MIT, had not yet been added to the file. Even if they had been, it would have been impossible to know about them due to the confidentiality of the investigation.

Names such as Levent Göktaş, Mehmet Narin, and Aydın Köstem were only included in the investigation and arrest warrants were issued for them after Nuri Gökhan Bozkır was captured and brought to Turkey, following the mention of "the names he provided in his statement."

Indeed, in those days, a report was published with the headline "Sabah reveals the suspects of the Necip Hablemitoğlu assassination for the first time" byline Abdurrahman Şimşek, which read as follows:

"The assassination order was given by Mustafa Özcan, the number two of FETÖ and the fugitive Turkey imam. The order was delivered to the 6-person assassination cell by Enver Altaylı, who is currently imprisoned for FETÖ ties. Nizamettin Avşar, at the head of the cell, contacted the Special Forces Command through Aydın Köstem. The person Köstem met with was Nuri Gökhan Bozkır. Bozkır was in contact with Mehmet Narin, İrfan Birkan, and Birol Ercan, who were in the region during the murder. The person who pulled the trigger has not yet been identified."

The report stated that the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office reached this conclusion based on collected evidence, testimonies, and HTS records of mobile phones, while also including the following detail regarding Nuri Gökhan Bozkır:

"It was determined that two hours before the Hablemitoğlu murder, Bozkır turned off the phone containing the SIM card registered to his brother and did not turn it on until the next day. It was discovered that after turning the phone back on, Bozkır inserted the SIM card of a non-commissioned officer from the Special Forces into his device and kept his own SIM card turned off for a month."

THE LETTER BOZKIR SENT TO THE PROSECUTOR FROM UKRAINE

After this background information, let us come to the important details in the 1-hour and 17-minute interview that Abdurrahman Şimşek conducted with Nuri Gökhan Bozkır in February 2020. At the beginning of the interview, Bozkır recounts his life story and explains that in 2015, through journalist Zihni Çakır, he contacted the Istanbul Anti-Terror Branch (TEM) and, "Investigate these." After repeating the names he provided, he says that he again contacted Prosecutor Zafer Ergün, who was conducting the new investigation, via email through Zihni Çakır and gave the same names, only to suddenly find himself a defendant. 

Following this, the following dialogues took place between Şimşek, his cameraman, and Bozkır, summarized by their main headings: 

Şimşek: Do you remember which operator you used?

Bozkır: I had a Turkcell line I used, and I also used Vodafone in the later period. Honestly, I don't even know which operator I used. It might have been in my own name; I don't remember the number, sometimes I would get them in my mother's name.

Şimşek: Were you on duty on December 18, the day of the murder, or not?

Bozkır: I was on duty, I remember that very well.

Şimşek: What exactly was your duty at that time?

Bozkır: I was the deputy team commander.

Şimşek: Who was the team commander? 

Bozkır:He was a commander we value, who is still in service. 

Şimşek: Speak freely, we will handle these things. What was his name? We will take care of the name issue.

Bozkır: Hakan Büyükçulha. He is currently the aide-de-camp to our Minister of Defense.

Şimşek: Who was in your team? With their ranks. For example, who is the team commander?

Bozkır: If you see fit, I would rather not give the names of these individuals. I would prefer not to disclose them right now as some are still on active duty.

Şimşek: We will not publish these as names. Let me just... You have a letter for the Prosecutor.

Bozkır: This is not a letter. I wrote it to the Prosecutor personally to clarify the incident, in the presence of a Turkish consular official and security personnel, to make it official. I first sent the emails to the Ankara Counter-Terrorism Department (TEM) via Mr. Zihni Çakır; they later stated they had not received them. I even sent them using a friend's email address here to ensure it gained full official status.

Şimşek: In the letter, you mention Tan Dervişoğlu, Altan Bora, Bülent Kutsal, and Ahmet Tarkan Mumcuoğlu... you are talking about these names. However, the information we have received is that these individuals categorically deny this incident. We have heard that you are slandering them. Could you explain the content of that letter to us again?

Bozkır: Let's not call it a letter; let's call it an information note or a tip-off note... I stated that the movements of these individuals before and after that period were outside the scope of normal Special Forces duties.

DID THEY MAKE CONTACT WITH HABLEMİTOĞLU UNDER A CODE NAME?

Şimşek, after asking for details one by one regarding the names in the Special Forces Command that Bozkır mentioned, the interview continues as follows:

Şimşek: You had said something about them preparing a report. What exactly is this?

Bozkır: No, I definitely did not say such a thing to Zihni Çakır.

Şimşek: You have a statement like this; they made contact with Hablemitoğlu using a code name... Who made contact?

Bozkır: I never stated that they established contact regarding this matter. But I know that they talked about German foundations among themselves.

Şimşek: No, it's like this; Zihni Çakır [claimed] that these were some pieces of information [given] to the Hodja by the Fikret Emek group...

Bozkır: I did not make such a statement to Çakır. I absolutely did not say that, absolutely.

Cameraman: Didn't your statement mention that Tan Dervişoğlu was providing information and documents to Hablemitoğlu?

Bozkır: It wasn't passing.

AND THOSE NAMES

Another excerpt from the interview:

Şimşek: There is an impression that Zihni Çakır was told at the Istanbul Counter-Terrorism Branch that the instigators of this incident were contracted out to this team by Mustafa Özcan and Enver Altaylı. 

Bozkır: I heard it from you. I definitely have no such... I don't know Mustafa Özcan, I'm not familiar with him; I heard it from you for the first time today. Or rather, I heard it on news programs. I don't know Enver Altaylı, but I know of him.

Şimşek: Well, regarding the fact that he heard the names Enver Altaylı and Mustafa Özcan from you, and that they were the instigators... Why might he have given such a statement?

Bozkır:I don't know; I mean, I have presented all my messages and everything regarding Zihni Bey to you, I even created a PDF file and sent it.

Şimşek:He assesses that you said this face-to-face.

Bozkır: Absolutely not.

Şimşek: Do you specifically remember the name Mehmet Narin? What kind of connection do you have?

Bozkır: Mehmet Narin is a member of the Special Forces... I have no connection whatsoever... Because he is a non-commissioned officer, I have never gone on a mission with Mehmet Narin.

Cameraman: So, you were not very close with Mehmet Narin, is that correct? Well, does the name Aydın Köstem sound familiar to you?

Bozkır: Yes, I have heard of him.

Cameraman: What did you hear him as?

Bozkır: Someone who lived in our area, who even came to me in 2011, saying he wanted to do business with me after leaving the army... I know him as someone who defrauded the MIT.

Şimşek: Can you tell us about Aydın Köstem? His son is doing some things in the defense industry around Afghanistan and Pakistan. You were friends with his son.

Bozkır: I met his son, he introduced us once. He said he was involved in the defense industry, that his English was very good, and that he worked at the United Nations. Aydın Köstem was a person who wanted to do business with me, but he was not very reputable.

Cameraman: He wasn't a very reliable person, right? So, what kind of relationship does he have with Mehmet Narin?

Bozkır: I don't know that.

Şimşek: So, could Mehmet Narin have been the one who introduced you?

Bozkır: No, no, no, no. Mehmet Narin did not introduce me to Aydın Köstem. It was completely coincidental; he found me himself. Honestly, I don't remember who introduced us, but I met him after prison.

The Question: "Who Was the Best Shooter on the Team?"

THE QUESTION: 'WHO WAS THE BEST SHOT IN THE TEAM?' 

Contrary to what Abdurrahman Şimşek claimed during his testimony, let us point out that Nuri Gökhan Bozkır never mentioned Levent Göktaş throughout the interview and move on to another important section:

Şimşek: Are you left-handed or right-handed? The one who hits the bullseye.

Bozkır: No, I was below standard. I wasn't very good at shooting.

Şimşek: Who was the best shot in the team?

Bozkır: They wouldn't take me to shooting demonstrations anyway. Let me be clear, there was a specific person: Tarkan Mumcuoğlu. He would already come to work with two or three guns.

HTS/CELL TOWER RECORDS AND THE SIM CARD ISSUE

At the beginning of the article, we stated that the suspects' HTS/cell tower records were not added to the file in 2020, and even if they had been, it would have been impossible to know about them due to the confidentiality of the investigation. Now let's look at the questions and answers regarding this.

Şimşek: Coming to the day of the murder...

Bozkır: I don't even remember that day.

Şimşek: Did you follow Hablemitoğlu months before the incident, 6 months before?

Bozkır: Never. I neither followed him nor... I have no information.

Şimşek: Why did you turn off your phone on the day of the incident? There is information that you turned off your phone on the day the incident occurred.

Bozkır: I don't even remember. I don't believe that, I don't know. I only turn it off in the morning due to work hours. I don't even know about my phone that day; I don't know whether I turned it off or not.

Şimşek: Do you remember when you turned on your phone?

Bozkır: Goodness, I don't know, I don't remember; I don't even remember if I turned it off. Believe me, I don't know.

Şimşek: You turn off your phone on the day of the murder, and a day later you insert the SIM card into another non-commissioned officer's phone. It gives a signal in Gölbaşı.

Bozkır: I don't remember. Did I do that?

Şimşek: If you were asked such a question, you don't remember...

Bozkır: I don't remember, I don't know, 20 years have passed. I never saw Hablemitoğlu in my life. I neither followed him, nor saw him, nor did anything.

Şimşek: But your phone is signaling at that exact spot.

Bozkır: It cannot, it's impossible. They call it an HTS record there. Just because a phone I don't remember signaled there, I am guilty? If I had committed this act, why would I expose myself?

Şimşek: It is not just one. How do you know there is only one?

Cameraman: Before the incident, after the incident, and in the following days...

Şimşek: It is not just one, but you are collectively giving signals in that region at certain intervals.

Bozkır: Look, it is said that FETÖ members used to destroy HTS records during that period. Now you are saying there is an HTS record report.

Şimşek: Let's not say it wasn't destroyed, let's say a portion of it wasn't included in the file. In other words, no written request was made to the operators.

QUESTIONS REGARDING MUMCUOĞLU, REFERRED TO AS THE 'TRIGGERMAN'

Let us underline once again that the interview was conducted in 2020, while Tarkan Mumcuoğlu, who is alleged to be the 'triggerman' in the Hablemitoğlu assassination, was arrested in June 2022, and continue.

Şimşek: Who pulled the trigger?

Bozkır: I don't know, if I knew...

Şimşek: Could Tarkan have pulled the trigger?

Bozkır: I don't know.

Şimşek: Who in that team is likely to be the one who could pull the trigger?

Bozkır: I am currently being slandered, and I do not want to cast blame on anyone else.

In this section, where long dialogues took place between Şimşek, the cameraman, and Bozkır, Bozkır expresses his fear, stating that although he was not at the scene, he was made to appear as if he were in the HTS records, that reports are easily altered, and that he does not believe he will receive a fair trial. Abdurrahman Şimşek responds as follows:

“You are telling the truth. It was determined that Tarkan Mumcuoğlu was in Turkey on that date, and it is known that he was in that region on the day of the incident.”

The Claim That “The Prosecutor Has ByLock”

THE CLAIM THAT 'THE PROSECUTOR HAS BYLOCK'

Following this, the following conversation takes place.

Bozkır: How will I explain myself?

Cameraman: However, you can only explain it by telling what you know. As long as you do not tell, a process like this will unfold: We will not publish this interview because it is no different from the one previously published. Therefore, what you say will have no meaning, and there will be more pressure on you. While speaking on the phone, we also “Please, do not let it be like the previous interview; share what you clearly know with us.” we said. You can also more or less guess how much we have a grasp of the situation.

Şimşek: Is there a name you did not mention in the petition? Say something sincerely. It is clear that you know something. If you are worried about your safety, think again; we can come again. Do not be afraid, the Republic of Turkey is a great state, it is fighting against FETÖ.

Bozkır: Look, if you publish this, and I hope you do, I don't know, I also want the honorable Prosecutor to be investigated. I mean, our honorable Minister of Justice, the President of the HSK, says, “If you have information, provide it.” And I say, go ahead, I want it to be investigated whether the honorable Prosecutor, Zafer Ergün, also had ByLock.

Şimşek: Is this information certain?

Bozkır: Certain. A screenshot arrived.

Şimşek: We will accept what you have said as a formal report and inform the relevant authorities, do not worry.

'I WILL HAND IT OVER TO CHIEF PROSECUTOR YÜKSEL KOCAMAN'

And now we come to the final part of the interview. Let us present it without commentary.

Cameraman: Under what conditions would you speak? We have been here for an hour; you have some anxieties, I can feel it. What would need to be provided for us to hear more?

Şimşek: Let this not be published... For example, to send a message to the Chief Public Prosecutor, or I will give it to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. I will hand over what you say now, the current footage, to Chief Public Prosecutor Yüksel Kocaman. What would you like to say?

Bozkır: My dear Prosecutor, please, Chief Public Prosecutor Yüksel Kocaman, I do not believe these HTS reports. These are fabricated, all of them are fabricated. If there were a real prosecutor who is not a FETÖ member, a prosecutor without any cloud of suspicion, plus what I have... I cannot bargain with my state. 

Şimşek: When your safety is guaranteed...

Bozkır: I am ready to tell him everything I know once my safety is guaranteed.

Cameraman: So, are you admitting that you know more right now?

Bozkır: It is not about this murder; I know what else that team has done.

CRIMINAL COMPLAINT TO BE FILED FOR PERJURY

The latest development on the matter is as follows:

The defendants in the Hablemitoğlu assassination case are preparing to file a criminal complaint against Abdurrahman Şimşek for "perjury," by transcribing this interview and comparing it line by line with the statements he gave in court.

Müyesser YILDIZ

September 16, 2024