Defense statement of arrested Zeydan Karalar revealed: 'He is slandering to gain freedom'

The defense statement made by Zeydan Karalar in court before his arrest has been revealed. In his defense, Karalar states that he is being slandered.

Journalist Barış Pehlivan shared Karalar's final defense statement prior to his arrest.

Karalar's statement is as follows:

"I have previously given a statement on this matter and I repeat that statement exactly; I never had such a conversation with the individual named Baki Nogay who is slandering me, and such a thing is impossible. We have worked with hundreds of contractors over 12 years; we have never had such conversations with any of them. He claims he won the tender in the 5th month of 2016 and left the company in 2016. He had been working with the municipality in periods prior to ours as well. He says he held a meeting to collect his receivables; he wins the tender and receives payments regularly for 1.5 years. Why would someone who receives payments regularly have a need for such a conversation?

He claims the meeting was between 3 people; he is slandering to gain his freedom under prison conditions. The person he is being directed by says Zeydan Karalar did not give such an instruction. There is nothing extra in the payments; they continued to be paid in the same way as they were paid before. We believe this case is political; the investigation should have been in Adana. Today, a similar file was sent to you and the person was released under judicial control.

I am the President of the Union of Municipalities of Turkey and the president of the earthquake region. We are trying to carry out the road, sewage, and water network works in those areas. It is unacceptable that the honorable prosecutor, while referring me here, referred one of the individuals of similar nature in the same file for judicial control while referring the other for arrest. I swear in the presence of Almighty God that the alleged conversation never took place, and there is no evidence of it. If he had not received payment for 4 years, why didn't he initiate enforcement proceedings? Because he received the payments in a routine manner. I have been referred for arrest here based on the statements of someone whose psychology has deteriorated and who is slandering to get out of prison.

There is no evidence I could tamper with, and I am currently not the mayor of Seyhan. The request is flawed in every aspect. My health is at risk; my doctor said I need to be careful. Do not let my service to my country be hindered. Adana is a very large place and suffered serious damage in the earthquake. We have a lot of work to do; I want to serve my country. I do not accept the crime I am accused of. I request to be released," he said.