Ayhan Bora Kaplan's statement on his testimony: 'They were going to do something like December 17-25'

Müyesser YILDIZ 12punto.com.tr / EXCLUSIVE

Today's session of the trial, held by the Ankara 32nd High Criminal Court at the Sincan Prison campus, began with an objection to the Presiding Judge's decision to limit the number of lawyers per defendant in the courtroom to three. Defendant Barış Kurt's lawyer, Assoc. Prof. Sinan Kocaoğlu, reacted to the Presiding Judge, saying, "Are you above the law? You cannot do whatever comes to your mind. You are restricting the right to defense."

'THERE IS A GANG FORMATION, I WANT A RECKONING'

Following this debate, the Presiding Judge conducted an on-site inspection of the house where Semih Arslan—who is said to have been murdered by the organization—lived with his family, as well as the keys found on him when he died and the door cylinders handed over by his family. The inspection revealed that the keys and the cylinders were not compatible.

As the hearing continued, some witnesses were heard and the defendants' requests were taken. The first witnesses to be heard were the mother and sister of Mahfuz Tatar, who is alleged to have been murdered by Bora Kaplan. Mother Aslıhan Tatar and sister Vesile Tatar stated that they were complainants against the defendants and wished to join the case. Meanwhile, İlhan Tatar, the brother of Mahfuz Tatar, who was heard at the hearing last May, took the floor and claimed that Süleyman Soylu and Yüksel Kocaman were also involved in this incident and that they had closed the file, stating, "There is a gang formation within the state. I want a reckoning with them within the framework of the law."

During the statement of defendant Fethi Koyuncu, the Presiding Judge said, "You sent a petition from prison, you mentioned effective remorse and so on." Koyuncu replied, "There is no incident I am involved in. Even if there were, I wouldn't do it."

Defendant Tansel Aktan accused the police officers who conducted this investigation as follows:

"First, the culprit was caught, then evidence was fabricated and a file was created. The excessive power intoxication in law enforcement led them to commit illegal acts. They themselves are involved in crime and are being tried. The illegal things they did somehow came back to haunt them."

When the defense lawyers discovered that the petition of Fethi Koyuncu, who applied for effective remorse from prison, was not in the file, the Presiding Judge made the following statement:

"During the judicial recess, while I was away, the panel kept minutes and put it in the safe. It does not need to be in the safe. I have referred it to be included in the file; anyone who wishes can see it."

'IF I HAD SIGNED THE STATEMENT...'

In the afternoon session of the hearing, the number 1 defendant of the case, Bora Kaplan, was heard. Stating that he would describe the atrocities committed by the police who carried out the operation against them, Kaplan said the following:

"It was two or three police officers and one prosecutor who did the December 17/25 operation. If I had signed the statement they put in front of me, they were going to do something like December 17/25. Hasan Doğan, Bekir Bozdağ, Mücahit Arslan; there are so many others."

WHO DID THE POLICE CHIEF'S SON SEND MONEY TO?

Bora Kaplan, who said of the prosecutor and police officers who conducted the investigation, "They have no religion, faith, conscience, or fear of God. I couldn't understand which organization they belong to," also made the following allegation regarding the son of former Ankara Deputy Police Chief Murat Çelik, who was released last week after being detained for 3 months:

"Murat Çelik's precious son sent money to FETÖ members and those being tried for the assassination attempt on the President. Again, there are 500-some money transactions between his son and Nurullah Kopuk, whom Murat Çelik says he 'doesn't know'."

JULY 15 WEAPONS

While repeating that the police asked him where he got the weapons in his possession when he went to TRT on July 15, Bora Kaplan said, "They expected me to say, 'Süleyman Soylu sent them,' or 'Intelligence, MİT gave them.' I am not such a dishonorable person."

'MAY THE FRIDAY PRAYER STRIKE YOU'

Bora Kaplan, who requested that the trial of the police officers be merged with this case and said, "Let us be tried together," used the following expressions while reading some of the WhatsApp messages between the prosecutor and the police:

"May Friday, the prayer strike you. You come out of Friday prayer and fabricate fake evidence."

While requesting that the money laundering case opened against him also be merged with this case, Bora Kaplan said the following:

"They couldn't find the source of what they call money laundering. I brought 1 million dollars I won from gambling abroad into the country, and I am being accused of having 50,000 dollars with me while going abroad."

Regarding the secret witnesses, Kaplan used the expressions, "M7 is gone, God has cursed him. Ü5 is gone. He retracted his statement. May God curse him too."

Stating that he had filed a criminal complaint with the prosecutor's office against the police and with the HSK (Council of Judges and Prosecutors) against the prosecutor, and asking the court to inquire about the results of these, Bora Kaplan concluded his words as follows:

"May God make things worse for Murat Çelik and his team. May the Lord grant the same to Prosecutor Mustafa Kaya. Do not be under the pressure of the media. If you look at the media, we are monsters."

The audience applauded Bora Kaplan after he finished his statements.

A DEFENSE LIKE THIS HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN

After the defendants, the statements of their lawyers began.

The defense prepared by Mehmet Yaşar Bulduk, the lawyer for defendant Adnan Kaplan, made the Presiding Judge and the entire courtroom laugh. When Lawyer Bulduk said that he had recorded his defense on a CD, that he was speaking, and that a voice actor had also voiced it, and that he wanted to have it played, the Presiding Judge first laughed and said, "Let's not tire ourselves, let's listen to it in the car on the way home." Then he said the following:

"Make your own defense yourself, do not make us listen to it. There is no such thing as making a defense by playing an audio recording."

In response to this warning, Lawyer Bulduk suggested, "Turn the volume down, I will read it. People can read it from there too." Upon the Presiding Judge accepting this and saying, "Are you ready?", Lawyer Bulduk replied, "I have already memorized it."

After Lawyer Bulduk's defense was completed, the Presiding Judge decided to write a writ to the 13th Criminal Court of First Instance to request the indictment and hearing minutes of the case in which the police are being tried, and ended today's session to continue on Wednesday.