Ahmet Özer's 'FETÖ tactic' statement: 'They cast slander and tell you to prove your innocence'

Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer issued a statement through his lawyers from Silivri Prison, where he is being held in custody.

SLANDER MESSAGE

Questioning the "secret witness", who was cited as one of the reasons for the rejection of the objection to his arrest, Özer asked, "If the secret witness statement entered the file before my testimony, why was the secret witness statement not asked of me at the police station, the prosecutor's office, or by the magistrate judge? If it was after, why did the secret witness wait until today?" He continued, "The effort to reach a conclusion with a secret witness is a FETÖ tactic from cases like Ergenekon, Balyoz, and similar ones. It is clearly seen that they declare you guilty first and then produce false evidence; when the file is empty, they put FETÖ tactics into play, casting a slander and then operating the logic of 'go prove your innocence'... We are facing a perception operation and character assassination," he said.

The objection to the detention filed by the lawyers of Ahmet Özer, who is being held at Marmara Prison in Silivri, was also rejected with a reference to the "secret witness." While preparations for the lawyers of Özer to apply to the Constitutional Court continue, CHP members hold a 'democracy watch' in Esenyurt every day.

Speaking to ANKA, Ahmet Özer stated that he was first slandered using FETÖ tactics and then told to 'prove his innocence'.

Evaluating the arrest and trial process, Özer noted the following:

'I WAS ARRESTED AT JET SPEED'

"We commemorated the founder of the Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, with respect and gratitude as always, just as we celebrated October 29 in the squares in a magnificent way one day before I was arrested. I addressed the crowd of tens of thousands there, saying; 'As Mustafa Kemal said, the Republic is especially the protector of the unprotected. We, as local administrators, have come to be the protector of the unprotected, and even if our names are different, our surnames are Turkey,' and I gave a message of unity, solidarity, and brotherhood.

The next day, I was detained in a clear setup that was a political operation and was arrested at jet speed, and by using the law, they seized the largest district of Turkey, which they could not win in the election. If this had not happened, our march and our services would have continued. Our duty is to democratize the Republic founded by Atatürk; this is true patriotism. It is not to use the government in an autocratic way by using the judiciary that one has seized. I was detained in a dawn operation in a manner contrary to the law and was put in prison by being arrested at jet speed on the same day.

'THEY STARTED PRODUCING EVIDENCE ACCORDING TO THEMSELVES'

In order to appoint a trustee to Esenyurt Municipality, they first had to declare me guilty, then they started producing evidence according to themselves. As a matter of fact, as a result of our objection to the empty and baseless allegations shown as the reason for the arrest, the criminal court of first instance stated that all the previous justifications were controversial and linked the continuation of the detention to a secret witness. It appears that when the allegations put forward in the file were empty, someone invented something called a confessor and a secret witness, which we are familiar with from cases like Ergenekon and Balyoz, to produce new evidence. Now we ask:

If the secret witness statement entered the file before my testimony, why was the secret witness statement not asked of me at the police station, the prosecutor's office, or by the magistrate judge?

If it was after, why did the secret witness wait until today? It is suspicious that they gave testimony immediately after my arrest. Even this situation alone shows that the incident is a political setup.

'THEY CAST SLANDER AND THEN OPERATE THE LOGIC OF GO PROVE YOUR INNOCENCE'

The effort to reach a conclusion with a secret witness is a FETÖ tactic from cases like Ergenekon, Balyoz, and similar ones. Just as these have been condemned in the public eye and before the law, those who resort to these methods will also be condemned in the eyes of the law and the public conscience.

It is clearly seen that they declare you guilty first and then produce false evidence; when the file is empty, they put FETÖ tactics into play, casting a slander and then operating the logic of 'go prove your innocence'. Moreover, how is it that even though we are unaware of this whole situation, it is published in advance in (some television channels) and some newspapers? We are facing a perception operation and character assassination. This situation is clearly a violation of the confidentiality of the investigation and the right to a fair trial."

News Source: 12punto