Bora Kaplan trial: Police chiefs – Sabah newspaper feud

Müyesser Yıldız - 12punto.com.tr

The cross-examination of Şevket Demircan continued during the morning session of the trial, which is being held at the Sincan Prison complex by the Ankara 32nd High Criminal Court.

After stating that Serdar Sertçelik's brother and family had been threatened by the organization, the prosecutor asked what measures had been taken for their safety and whether these had been documented in a report.

Demircan explained that his superiors had been informed about this threat and that Sertçelik's brother had been asked to contact them if any trouble arose, but that no official report had been filed.

The prosecutor also asked Demircan whether he had been in contact with Serdar Sertçelik, either directly or through intermediaries, after he was arrested and subsequently released. Demircan replied, "It did not happen, and it is not possible for it to have happened."

Both Serdar Sertçelik and his lawyer, Alperen Ekinci, objected to the prosecutor's question regarding the threat, noting that they had not had such a conversation with Şevket Demircan and that Sertçelik's only fear was that his brother would be detained unlawfully. They requested that the prosecutor ask, "Did you threaten to detain his brother?"

The Presiding Judge asked the question in this manner, and Demircan stated that there was absolutely no such thing.

Hundreds of questions were also posed to Şevket Demircan by the defense lawyers regarding his own WhatsApp conversations, such as: "Did you make false reports to mislead the judiciary and did you give or receive bribes? Who is the member of parliament that Nurullah Özgür Kopuk was going to meet? Did you want to have Kopuk meet with Uğur Dündar and Erk Acarer? Did Kopuk connect to a live broadcast while inside the Police Department with your knowledge? Are you the manager responsible for the media regarding this operation? Is it a coincidence that no news about this case has been published since you were arrested? Is your WhatsApp group still active? Did you continue to message the prosecutor after the found phone?" Demircan, who did not answer any of them, only replied "I don't know him" to the question of whether he knew Erk Acarer.

Bora Kaplan's lawyer, Umut Köroğlu, asked Demircan, "What was the reason for your animosity and hostility toward Bora Kaplan?" Upon the Judge's question, "Do you think there is a specific reason?", Attorney Köroğlu answered "Yes" and read the instruction Demircan gave to Ufuk Gültekin for the Esenboğa operation: "Throw him to the ground, use reverse handcuffs, crush his head." He asked what the reason was for having this done, for sitting and watching the hearing on the complainant's side with nearly 20 of his personnel during the first trial of the case, and for messaging the Presiding Judge during the hearing, and whether they did these things in every operation. Continuing, Attorney Köroğlu stated that Halit Turan from Sabah newspaper should be heard as a witness as it would affect the legal classification of the crime, and began to read the statement Turan made today regarding Şevket Demircan and Murat Çelik. After asking if the statement in question was made today, the Presiding Judge stated that there was no need to read the whole thing and that they would evaluate the witness issue anyway. Kaplan's other lawyer, Rıdvan Şahin, also asked Demircan whether he had met with Uğur Dündar, Abdurrahman Şimşek, Zihni Çakır, Nedim Şener, and Halit Turan.

The lawyer for the complainant/defendant Ufuk Gültekin asked Demircan whether he regretted preparing this file after what they had been through and whether he saw this as a blow that discouraged law enforcement. Demircan replied, "This file is incomplete; if we had the means, we would have done more. Developments that discouraged law enforcement definitely occurred. Such a withdrawal is more of a blow to the law than to law enforcement."

DID THE POLICE INVESTIGATE MHP MEMBER EYYÜP YILDIZ?

Bora Kaplan also directed numerous questions to Demircan based on WhatsApp conversations. Emphasizing that Demircan called him a "bastard" in one correspondence, Kaplan said, "Thank God, my mother and father are known," to which Demircan replied that the message did not belong to him and was sent by someone else. Kaplan reacted by saying, "Are you lying here just as you denied all your statements?" and then asked whether he had ordered any research or investigation regarding Eyyüp Yıldız, the Chief Advisor to MHP Leader Devlet Bahçeli. Upon the Presiding Judge's warning that this had no relevance to the charged crimes and therefore did not need to be read, Kaplan insisted on reading it. The Presiding Judge said, "Go ahead, read it, and get it off your chest." Kaplan replied, "I need to read these to reveal that they are lying."

10 TIMES THAT OF SUSURLUK

The afternoon session of the hearing began with the defense of Şevket Demircan's lawyer, Recep Öksüz. Öksüz explained that his clients had carried out an operation, that an operation was then carried out against them, leading to their arrest, and that they were subsequently tried with an empty indictment, emphasizing the following:

"In my 40-year legal career, I have never seen a situation where a criminal organization and those who captured this organization are tried together. This organization is like an octopus; it is a powerful organization based on the media, the judiciary, the streets, and the Police, and it also has a political structure. It is an organization that will cause a scandal 10 times the magnitude of the Susurluk scandal. My clients' only goal is to create a clean society. I thank them because they have contributed greatly to Turkey's removal from the grey list."

REQUEST FOR RECUSAL OF JUDGE BY BORA KAPLAN

As Attorney Öksüz's defense ended and the defense of Commissioner Ufuk Gültekin, who connected via SEGBİS from Antalya, began, the Presiding Judge asked Attorney Öksüz, "Would you like to make a statement regarding the found phone? How did it come about, what happened?" and asked if he would like to testify on this matter. Attorney Öksüz replied, "We will do so if the court wishes. It could be as someone with knowledge rather than as a witness." Upon this, the Presiding Judge first said, "Let's make a brief assessment," and then stated that they would evaluate this issue in the later stages while witnesses were being heard.

Meanwhile, Rıdvan Şahin, one of Bora Kaplan's lawyers, who requested the floor, said that they had a request for the recusal of the judge because he had said "The organization and those who operated against the organization are being tried together" at the very beginning of the hearing, had not provided the digital evidence despite all requests, and had cut off Kaplan's effort to read the messages. Bora Kaplan also spoke as follows:

"Our only wish was a fair trial. But you persistently rejected our digital requests. While rejecting them, you said you would read them during the trial. However, you neither read them, and when I read them, it turned out you had never examined them. The meaning of this is 'our decision is already made.' What is the reason for the reversal by the Regional Court of Justice (BAM)? Whether there is fake evidence or not, whether the secret witness statement was taken in accordance with the procedure or not; it was requested that these be investigated. As long as the digital evidence does not emerge, we have no chance of reaching the truth. That is why we are requesting the recusal of the judge."

The prosecutor, whose opinion was asked, requested the rejection of the request because no evidence was presented regarding the reasons for recusal and because the request was intended to prolong the trial. The court took a 15-minute recess to make a decision on this matter.

The court decided to reject Kaplan's request for the recusal of the judge and continued the hearing.

Commissioner Ufuk Gültekin, one of the complainants/defendants, stated that he did not move a finger without judicial instruction from beginning to end in the investigations, and explained that the prosecutor had taken Serdar Sertçelik's statement as a secret witness; he stated that the allegations that they had taken this statement and forced him to write it were absolutely untrue. Gültekin also explained the "secret witness statement" text on his computer with the words, "This was an information note we prepared at the prosecutor's request. In police jargon, we don't call it taking information, we call it a statement."

Denying the allegation that they examined the former Chief Prosecutor's financial movements, Ufuk Gültekin noted the following:

"We conduct research based on data from the Revenue Administration, MASAK, and banks, and with a prosecutor's or court warrant. Data for a person named Kürşat was obtained from the Revenue Administration. Interior and Justice inspectors conducted a detailed examination. There is not a single political name in the file. We have nothing to do with politics; the file we prepared is about the organization. No one uses the names brought to the agenda except Serdar Sertçelik and the lawyers. If we wanted to include these names in the file, we would have had them added to his statement then. Why would we do it 3-4 months after the indictment was prepared?"

During cross-examination, Bora Kaplan's lawyer Ufuk Köroğlu asked Ufuk Gültekin questions regarding Şevket Demircan's instruction, "Throw him to the ground, use reverse handcuffs, crush his head," such as, "Isn't this against the law? Do you have hostility toward Bora Kaplan?" Gültekin said he would not answer questions about digital evidence obtained unlawfully. Upon this, after asking whether the court had permission to examine his phone, Attorney Köroğlu said, "If you don't have the intention of protecting Serdar Sertçelik and helping him escape abroad, why did you get that report from the doctor?"

When Gültekin did not answer any questions, the Presiding Judge asked if he would answer other questions. When Gültekin said, "I will not, Mr. Judge," Attorney Köroğlu reacted with the words, "How will we proceed this way? We cannot collect evidence for or against."

After these discussions, the Presiding Judge, who made an interim decision, ended Ufuk Gültekin's interrogation and moved on to the defense of his lawyers.

When one of Gültekin's lawyers, Sultan Penez, called the alleged criminal organization a "criminal organization," Bora Kaplan shouted, "We are not a criminal organization. There is no verdict given. Speak correctly."

After the defense of the lawyers, the hearing was adjourned to continue tomorrow.

Müyesser YILDIZ

April 13, 2026