Bora Kaplan trial judge: “No one should doubt us”

Müyesser YILDIZ 12punto.com.tr

The trial of the Ayhan Bora Kaplan organized crime syndicate, involving 61 defendants, 17 of whom are in custody, continued with the defense statement of the number 1 defendant, Bora Kaplan, against the prosecutor's final opinion.

At the start of today's session of the trial, held by the Ankara 32nd High Criminal Court at the Sincan Prison complex, the Presiding Judge announced that the request for the recusal of the judge, filed by the defendants and their lawyers on November 18, had been rejected by the Ankara 33rd High Criminal Court.

Beginning his defense by saying, "I hope it ends today," Bora Kaplan responded to the accusation that he had pulled out the teeth of the complainant, Erkan Doğan, with pliers. Pointing out that no action was taken regarding the statements Erkan Doğan gave in the past, Kaplan said, "When our name came to the forefront with July 15, they embellished these statements and put them in front of us." he said.

DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THE SCRIPT?

Reading the WhatsApp correspondence between the investigation prosecutor and the former Deputy Chief of the Organized Crime Branch, Şevket Demircan, regarding the taking of Erkan Doğan's additional statement, Kaplan said the following:

"The prosecutor finds the sentence for torture and injury insufficient, so he wants elements like humiliating treatment, shaming, and mockery to be included in the statement to ensure at least four convictions. After these correspondences, a plot that would put movie scripts to shame was constructed, and Erkan Doğan recounted what was requested in his additional statement on September 28. Mr. President, do you not understand what kind of script this is? Even if we read it to someone passing by on the street, they would understand."

Kaplan continued:

"If Erkan Doğan had said, 'They raped me,' you would have convicted me for that too. Either they didn't think of it, or they said, 'This much slander is enough.' If this case were not the Bora Kaplan case and it came before you, you would have released the defendants at the first hearing and then issued an acquittal. Can a person have 10 different statements about the same event? We asked you to get a report from the Forensic Medicine Institute or an expert regarding Erkan Doğan's teeth, but you refused. It is clear that you will convict me for this as well. If we were sacrificed from the beginning, there is nothing to be done."

I SWEAR YOU ARE NOT LISTENING TO ME 

As Kaplan continued his explanations regarding the Erkan Doğan accusation, he claimed that the Presiding Judge was not listening to him and said, "I swear you are not listening to me. If it were evening, I would understand; I would think you were tired. But it is still morning, it is not even noon yet. Honorable members, I have no hope from the President, but at least you listen, for God's sake." he said.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE PROSECUTOR FOR THE 'WONDERFUL SCRIPT'

Bora Kaplan concluded his defense regarding the accusation on this matter as follows:

"Erkan Doğan described an event that never happened. Hypothetically, we are an organization; why would we kidnap this person? If we say it's for money or ransom, he is not a wealthy person; he is hungry and destitute. If we say it's because he threatened Barış Kurt; why would we kidnap him? And if we were going to kill him, why would we take him to Akman Plaza, in the middle of the city, where everywhere is full of cameras, and torture him for two days to indulge in fantasies? My mind cannot grasp it. Mr. Prosecutor, have some mercy! Erkan Doğan never said in any of his statements that he was held on the 21st floor of Akman Plaza. The police found him on the 20th floor. So how do you write that Erkan Doğan was taken to the 21st floor? Because you are trying to make the plot fit. You have to take him to the 21st floor so you can lower him to the 20th floor through the window. You have written a wonderful script, I congratulate you. At least call the person who owned this apartment on the 21st floor at that time; ask them if such a thing happened."

HE DOES NOT WANT TO COME ON THE DAY OF THE VERDICT 

During these statements, Bora Kaplan explained that Barış Kurt, whom he spoke to in the holding cell, did not want to come to the hearing on the day the verdict would be announced, and that he himself had replied, "The verdict is clear, I don't want to come either." and added, "The President wants the case to be finished and closed as soon as possible. There is no one trying to reveal the truth or thinking about our rights and our law." he said.

ARE YOU GOING TO SLAUGHTER US FOR POSITION AND RANK 

Frequently complaining to the court panel, "If you could just leave the computer for 10 seconds and listen to me, then continue your work on the computer... I am telling it to the SEGBİS (Audio and Video Information System) anyway." Kaplan also noted the following:

"You get uncomfortable when I react, but this oppression has reached the heavens. I am not asking for mercy from anyone, I just want justice. There is a mentality of 'Let's slaughter these people.' You are going to slaughter us. It is impossible not to throw the final opinion or bang one's head against the wall. Give me a gun; let it be over. I see that you are biased, but I still hope that the police deceived you. Be conscientious. Is it for a car, a position, a rank? You are slaughtering not only them but their families as well. Is it not a shame? What kind of organization is this from these people; can an organization be formed from valets? You have gotten to know me more or less; if I were to form an organization, could an organization be formed from these idiots?"

As the hearing was adjourned for a lunch break, the Presiding Judge asked, "Bora, you will finish today, right?" Kaplan replied, "I swear I am trying to finish it." he responded.

THE HEARING WILL BE EXTENDED, KAPLAN WILL NOT COME  

As the afternoon session of the hearing began, the Presiding Judge announced that the trial would continue next week after some lawyers requested more time for their defense. Meanwhile, Bora Kaplan asked whether they were required to attend, including the final verdict hearing. The Judge replied, "Submit a petition, and we will evaluate it. We are not going to bring you by force." he answered.

In this part of his defense, responding to the accusation regarding the murder of Mahfuz Tatar, Bora Kaplan stated that he did not know Tatar, that he heard about the murder from employees a day later, and that this accusation was directed at him through the false statements of secret witnesses and individuals who were not at the scene.

Emphasizing that he was not at the scene when the murder was committed, Kaplan claimed that the statements of those making this accusationwere written by Gökhan Karaca, one of the Organized Crime Bureau (KOM) police officers currently on trial at the 13th Criminal Court of First Instance, and said, “The goal is this: ‘Let’s load as many crimes as we can onto this Bora Kaplan; if he escapes one, he won’t escape the other.’ You should have just given a sentence without a trial, and both you and we would have been spared this.” he said.

Bora Kaplan noted that he had his lawyers upload the indictment and the prosecutor's opinion to artificial intelligence, and it was observed that they were 90-95 percent identical, down to the spelling errors.

THE PRESIDENT DOES NOT SPEAK LIKE THAT 

While repeating his claim that the police pressured and directed witnesses, Bora Kaplan used the following expressions for Murat Çelik, the former Deputy Chief of the Ankara Police Department responsible for the Organized Crime Bureau:

“You have met him. He sits in such a way, he speaks in such a way, that even the President does not speak like that. ‘We are the state, from now on we are in charge.’ he says.”

Accusing the police, the prosecutor, and the court panel once again, Kaplan said of the police, “They have no religion, faith, or fear of God,” and addressed the panel as follows:

“Police, prosecutor; you, none of you are impartial. Who are we going to tell our troubles to, what the hell are we going to do?”

JUDGE CHANGED HIS MIND

After the 15-minute break given to the hearing, the following dialogue took place:

Judge: Bora, you will finish today. If you finish, you finish; we will evaluate your situation accordingly.

Bora Kaplan: I am getting tired.

Judge: I would tell you to sit and speak, but we don't have a high chair. You keep repeating the same things. And you are reading. You don't need to read, summarize.

Bora Kaplan: I am reading so it goes on the record.

Judge: You are finishing today, accordingly.

Lawyers: Are we not going to continue next week?

Judge: It would be good if everyone adjusts themselves according to this week. Otherwise, I will reach a verdict in the absence of the lawyers.

Bora Kaplan: You got angry at us, you said, ‘Finish it today.’ I have been here on my feet since 09:00 in the morning. I am a human being made of flesh and bone after all, not a robot. After a point, it is difficult to read and perceive. I am trying to finish as much as my strength allows. If you don't want to, we can stop right now.

After these arguments, Bora Kaplan, who was presenting his defense against the accusation that he had Semih Arslan, who was alleged to have killed Mahfuz Tatar at his instigation, murdered and staged it as a suicide, denied this claim as well and said the following:

“Even though there is no such statement in the preliminary and final reports the court received from the expert, it is written in both the indictment and the prosecutor's opinion that the report says, ‘It is evaluated that the fall was not the result of an accident.’ If there is such a statement in the reports, I will accept all the accusations. You get angry and annoyed when I criticize you. But can there be this much copy-paste? You are oblivious to the file. Forget about us, you should respect your own work.”

ENDED WITH AN ARGUMENT

When it was 18:30, Bora Kaplan stated that his throat was very sore and he could not speak, but that he would continue. Upon this, the following arguments took place:

Judge: You are the one who chooses to make a defense in this way. You are the one reading the expert report and the statements line by line.

Bora Kaplan: My throat hurts, I cannot speak. Am I doing this for my own pleasure?

Judge: We have also been listening since the morning, continue.

Bora Kaplan: You are sitting. I am standing and speaking.

Judge: Read it by summarizing. It is up to you. We do not apply special treatment to anyone.

Bora Kaplan: No other defendant is being held responsible for 10 different incidents.

Kaplan's Lawyer: Let him finish by noon tomorrow. I will work until midnight if necessary.

Judge: How many more days will this continue like this?

Bora Kaplan: Itwill be finished by noon tomorrow.

Judge: Alright, you will finish by noon tomorrow. I am not intervening so as not to restrict the right to defense, but the right to defense also has its limits. We are adjourning until tomorrow.

Following these discussions, the Judge warned the defendants and lawyers as follows:

"Starting Friday, we will not accept requests for exemption from attendance. We may reach a verdict. All defendants must be present on Friday. If we do not accept requests for further investigation, we will conclude the trial."

Meanwhile, the Judge, who was chatting with some of the defendants, was heard saying, "Everyone should be at ease. We know what is what. We see both the righteous and the wrongdoer. Let no one doubt us."

The trial will continue tomorrow.