Defense of 10 detained defendants completed in Ayhan Bora Kaplan case: 'We have been left destitute'

Müyesser YILDIZ 12punto.com.tr

In the case heard by the Ankara 77th Criminal Court of First Instance at the Sincan Prison complex, involving 38 defendants, most of whom are being tried without arrest, Bora Kaplan faces a requested sentence of 24 years and 6 months in prison.

In today's first session of the trial, where Bora Kaplan's wife, siblings, and brother-in-law are also being tried, detained defendants Bora Kaplan, Barış Kurt, Cemil Kumaşçıoğlu, Fethi Koyuncu, Tansel Aktan, and Ersoy Yahyan were present in the courtroom, while 4 defendants connected via SEGBİS.

Following the identification of the defendants, Barış Kurt, a former AKP provincial deputy chairman who is alleged to be Kaplan's treasurer, gave his defense first. Explaining that the file covers companies established after 2016, but that he founded his own engineering company in 2013, Kurt said, "A trustee was appointed to the company I founded when no one was around, including Bora Kaplan. Ask me concretely, 'What is this money?' and I will account for it. I made all transactions through the bank. If I were going to hide it, I wouldn't do it through the bank." During his defense, Barış Kurt said, "My heart is burning," and struck the podium while speaking, prompting the Judge to warn him, "I advise you not to strike the podium."

Pointing out that the MASAK report also states that no connection could be established and that it is nothing more than interpretation, Barış Kurt said he was made an organization member with a single sentence added by police to the statement of secret witness Serdar Sertçelik. While requesting his release and the removal of the trustee appointed to his company, Kurt said, "We have been left destitute."

HE APOLOGIZED TO THE OTHER DEFENDANTS

After Barış Kurt, Ayhan Bora Kaplan's defense was taken. Kaplan began his defense as follows:

"I have never had dirty money. First of all, I apologize to all the defendants. They are all here because of me. The target is me and some state officials. The only crime of these people is that they are friends, acquaintances, or business partners with them. We have fallen victim to a setup."

Stating that he earned his wealth by working day and night for 20 years, Bora Kaplan claimed that he was targeted once again by FETÖ members because he went to TRT on July 15, then by Ankara Police Chief Servet Yılmaz, a man of former Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, and finally, that the newly appointed Interior Minister is attacking him.

When Bora Kaplan could not remember the surname while speaking of Servet Yılmaz, Barış Kurt said, "Yılmaz," and the Judge warned, "Do not prompt, do not intervene." Upon this, referring to the panel in the main case where he is being tried at the 32nd High Criminal Court, Bora Kaplan said, "I wish you had seen the prompting there, I wish you had come and watched. This trial is a complete disgrace. It is a case where the law is dragged through the mud."

CONDUCT OPERATIONS AGAINST THE SABANCIS AND THE KOÇS TOO

Arguing that all money movements were recorded but ignored because the MASAK report was prepared with hostility, Bora Kaplan continued:

"They say I have no assets registered to my name. How can that be? I have 4 vehicles. Let's assume I don't. Whose are the companies? Mine. Operations should also be conducted against the Sabancıs and the Koçs. Is everything registered in their own names? No, it is registered to their companies. Then they should also be told, 'You laundered dirty money, come here.' But they don't have the power to go after them, only us."

THEY GAVE TOO LITTLE

Regarding the accusation that the organization's dirty money was laundered through the gold gifts at his son's circumcision ceremony, Bora Kaplan said:

"I operated some of the most important venues in Ankara for a certain period. I became friends with artists, business people, and athletes. I didn't spend 5 cents for the wedding. I only bought the circumcision outfit. The venue, organization, food; my friends and family covered everything as wedding gifts. There were 5 thousand guests. I ran for everyone for 20 years. They came and gave gold, is that too much? I think they gave too little. If they had each given a large gold coin, it would make 100 million."

MINISTERS, BUREAUCRATS, STATE OFFICIALS

While repeating that there was a massive list consisting of ministers, bureaucrats, and statesmen in the statement they wanted him to give while in police custody, Kaplan said, "What are the names the secret witness gave after going abroad?"

HOW DID HE EXONERATE THE FORMER POLICE OFFICERS?

Finally, regarding the police officers in the team of former Ankara Police Chief Servet Yılmaz, whom he previously reported for demanding bribes from him, Bora Kaplan said:

"While I was detained, they took the women of my family into custody to force me to give the statement they wanted. I agreed to give the statement only against those police officers in exchange for them being given house arrest."

COMPARISON TO OTTOMAN DUNGEONS

The afternoon session of the hearing began with the defense of one of the detained defendants, Cemil Kumaşçıoğlu. Stating that he was released with judicial control conditions in the main case, and that his judicial control was later lifted, but that he was arrested in this file 4 months later, Kumaşçıoğlu explained that the police wanted to make him a secret witness. Kumaşçıoğlu said, "I have been lying in a cell for 8 months that would make Ottoman dungeons look mild. My only crime is that my business is thought to be Bora Kaplan's, but it is not."

Upon the Judge asking questions based on the statements of secret witnesses Ü5 and M7 code Serdar Sertçelik, the lawyers reminded that Ü5 had withdrawn from being a witness and that Serdar Sertçelik's witness protection measure had been lifted, requesting that these witnesses' statements be removed from the file and that no questions be asked from these statements. The Judge replied, "We asked as it appears in the indictment."

Defendant Erhan Aslan explained that he has been detained for 8 months due to the MASAK report and secret witness testimony, but that his name is not mentioned in any of them. Stating that he is retired, has two children, his salary is not enough, and that defendant Ersoy Yahya gave him a job, Erhan Aslan said, "May God be pleased with him. He asked me to take over his company, and I accepted."

Aslan's lawyer also noted that the accusations against the company belong to the period before this transfer.

Defendant Ersoy Yahya explained that it was claimed that the venues belonging to him actually belonged to Bora Kaplan, but that Bora Kaplan came to these places as a customer and paid the bill with a credit card, asking, "Would he pay if he were the owner of the venues? Why couldn't MASAK, which prepares reports with guidance and pressure, detect these payments by Bora Kaplan?"

His lawyer, Funda Şahin, pointed out that Ersoy Yahya was being tried without arrest in the main case at the 32nd High Criminal Court and said that Yahya was added to the file at the indictment stage without any detention process and without his statement being taken.

Bora Kaplan's brother-in-law, Hasan Çalış, also stated that he was not involved in any part of the organization case, claiming that this case was something the police did to arrest and ruin them.

Detained defendant Hıncal Alper Tansu explained that he grew up in the Fire Department Square, known as the Oxford of trade, and has been trading for 22 years, saying, "Why would I work on behalf of someone else? I am in prison due to gossip and slander. The only reason is that I am friends with Bora Kaplan."

HE DOES NOT HAVE THE ABILITY TO COMMIT THIS CRIME

While defendant Murat Abaz claimed that he was included in this case only because he was a partner of Bora Kaplan's brother-in-law, Attorney Soner Dalkıran said, "Everyone who says hello to Bora Kaplan is being tried. I don't think my client has the ability to launder dirty money. We tried to explain to him for months what dirty money is."

Ozan Can Yıldız, a geological engineer and owner of the Ayyıldız tunnel equipment company, explained that they carried out all the steel manufacturing for the Yusufeli Dam as the only domestic and national company in this field, that they started working for the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, and that they are among the top 500 exporting organizations, saying:

"Bora Kaplan has nothing to do with our company. I didn't take or give a single penny. I didn't launder anyone's money. I was outside for 6 months after a trustee was appointed to the company. If I wanted to, I would have fled. While I was a business person with 400 employees, I currently cannot pay my insurance, I cannot fulfill even the slightest duty towards my children. I am like a dead person."

Ozan Can Yıldız's lawyers also pointed out the errors in the MASAK report and emphasized that there is no criminal element other than the statements of secret witness Serdar Sertçelik and that Yıldız is not being tried in the organization file.

After the defense of 10 of the detained defendants was completed, today's session was concluded to continue tomorrow.