Strange claim in coup trial: 'The country's last President will be the Reis'

Following the Court of Cassation's reversal of the verdicts regarding 199 defendants, in the retrial of the July 15 General Staff headquarters case, former presidential chief aide Ali Yazıcı stated that he was the 30th and final chief aide, saying, "You will see, the last President of this country will be the Reis, and there will be no successor."

In today's session of the trial held by the Ankara 17th High Criminal Court at the Sincan Prison Complex, the defendants were asked for their statements regarding the reversal decision before moving on to their defense arguments.

Levent Türkkan, a former lieutenant colonel and aide-de-camp to the then-Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar, reacted to the reversal of the acquittal decision on charges of political and military espionage as follows:

"I thought a lot about what to say, but I couldn't find anything. The crime attributed is so great that I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. My life has been spent in the service of the state. It is impossible to accept such an accusation. There is not the slightest evidence. The President, the Minister, and the Chief of General Staff have spoken a lot, but they haven't said a single thing about this. I have already been given hundreds of aggravated life sentences; I don't understand what the purpose is or what is being plotted. Stand by this acquittal. Let us not make ourselves look this ridiculous."

''I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE IN BAKIRKÖY, BUT I AM HERE''

One of the defendants, former presidential chief aide Ali Yazıcı, stated that he did not understand the reversal decision but wanted to be arrested in this case as well. He targeted numerous names, from Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş to Zeki Üçok, and from Özgür Özel to Ekrem İmamoğlu, making the following claims:

"The President chose me. I am from Maçka, Trabzon. These things happened to me after a creature named Zeki Üçok, who is also from there, claimed I stole the questions. It is said that he is neither Turkish nor Muslim. That doesn't concern me; but he threw a lot of filth at me on those TV channels... I may be a rough person, but I have suffered a lot. I am not angry at the honorable President even today, and I am still at his command. You will not hear a single word from me about the President, so be at ease. What bothers me are those who are his 'dogs' and bark as he puts it. Binali... Oops, it slipped out. I don't care who accuses me of what. I served the state for 30 years and always had a clean record... Hulusi Akar and the President both chose me. No matter what anyone says, I am the 30th and final chief aide. And you will see; the last President of this country will be the Reis, and there will be no successor. We will have a new child, but I don't know what will be established. I won't open those topics."

Ali Yazıcı claimed that he had been tortured for 6 months, sexually harassed, and denied contact with his family, and that these treatments were continuing, while also explaining the following:

ÖZEL'S OFFICE, THE PALACE'S STRATEGY

"I wrote a letter to Numan Kurtulmuş about my situation and asked him to send a delegation here. I received a two-line response from Derya Yanık. You, the snotty Speaker of Parliament, you were crying; say a word for us too. Ekrem İmamoğlu is my fellow countryman, he is acting like he is not in prison, no one listens to me. I wrote an 8-page letter to İmamoğlu in November, saying, 'Özgür Özel will have you arrested.' If he understood. Is there no presidential candidate with a valid diploma in this country? The Palace's strategy is based on lies, slander, and montage. Özgür Özel shouldn't make me talk about his offices in the Palace. Özel should send one of his dogs to listen to us... When I told them what I went through, someone exposed me, saying, 'He will get a report of insanity and get out.' If this hadn't happened, I would be in Bakırköy, but I am here. You will endure it. If I had thought about an assassination at the Palace, I wouldn't have left anyone alive in the Palace; what assassination of the President? I give him his water, I pour his cologne... The President has taken an oath three times, come and take care of your citizen. Please turn me into a normal human being, let me see my family, and lift my isolation."

Ali Yazıcı's lawyer, Ayten İzmirli, requested that the Court President address the defendants as "you" (formal), stating that otherwise, she would file a complaint against him for intending to crush the defendants.

The lawyer for the intervening Presidency, Süleyman Ayhan, also reacted to the defendants making statements as if they were presenting a defense against the reversal decision and using insulting language, warning, "If this continues, I will intervene in these irregularities."

One of the defendants, former staff colonel Ramazan Gözel, who was the private secretary to the then-Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar, explained that many things regarding July 15 remained in the dark and requested that Akar, who was not heard in court, and O.K., who was said to have reported the coup to the MIT, be heard as witnesses.

THE PEACE AT HOME COUNCIL RIDDLE

At the beginning of the afternoon session, the Court President announced that the request for exemption from attendance for Thursday, made by defendants whose statements had not yet been taken, would not be accepted, noting, "We need to take statements on Thursday to comply with the reversal."

Defendant Halil Gül said in his statement, "I didn't even read the Court of Cassation's decision, I don't care. I came because you called me." Meanwhile, Doğan Öztürk stated that 68 compensation lawsuits had been filed against him on the grounds that he was a member of the so-called Peace at Home Council, and then asked the Court President to clearly state whether he was a member of the Peace at Home Council.

Upon the President's response, "The explanation for this is in the reasoned decision," Öztürk said, "I didn't get a clear answer. Then you don't know either." Regarding the Court of Cassation's notification, he said:

"I reject the decision entirely. Whether it is positive or not. I am not saying resist. Because the 17th High Criminal Court's decision is not of a nature to be resisted. Even if it is not a fair trial, I want a retrial by ensuring minimum trial conditions."

When defendant Furkan Çetiner criticized Oğuz Dik, a member of the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation and former president of the 17th High Criminal Court, and Muhsin Şentürk, the former president of the 3rd Criminal Chamber and current Prosecutor General of the Court of Cassation, with harsh expressions, the Court President warned, "Do not use derogatory words about judicial members and institutions."

'INCITER' ACCUSATION AGAINST ZEKAİ AKSAKALLI

Halit Kazancı, who stated that he did not accept the Court of Cassation's reversal decision, claimed that they were showered with sentences based on decisions made elsewhere without ballistic examinations of their weapons or swab tests, and continued as follows:

"Many of the witnesses were not called to court, or could not be called. Those who were called did not come. Zekai Aksakallı did not deign to come here, citing his busy schedule. He no longer has such an excuse; he is retired. He is among the torturers and is the inciter of the Semih Terzi murder; I want him to be heard. They sacrificed the devoted personnel of the Special Forces Command (ÖKK) without blinking an eye."

"THE REIS WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SAVE ANY OF YOU"

Defendant former staff lieutenant colonel Mehmet Şahin stated that he had been on trial for 9 years, that during this process the state had forced him to graduate from law school through coercion and violence, and that he now wanted his diploma. He explained that everything in the indictment except his name was wrong, saying, "We started with these mistakes, and we are continuing with mistakes. Let it be. These will pass." After reciting some verses, Şahin said, "On that day, there, the Reis will not be able to save any of you, anyone."

At 17:00, the session was adjourned to continue on Thursday, as tomorrow is April 23.