First statement from the lawyers of the arrested Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı! 'Legal rights will be exercised'

The lawyers for journalist Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı, who was arrested as part of an investigation into illegal betting and money laundering, have issued a written statement. The statement claims that the accusations leveled against Kütahyalı do not reflect the truth.

DEFENSE REGARDING ACCOUNT TRANSACTIONS

In the statement, the lawyers noted that Kütahyalı provided detailed explanations in his testimony regarding the account transactions included in the investigation file.

The following statements were used in the announcement:

"Our client explained in detail in all his testimonies that the account transactions shown to him in the investigation file were routine banking operations, and that he has no connection whatsoever with the alleged crimes or with other transactions and individuals considered suspicious; he also conveyed everything he knew to the investigative authorities with transparency in response to the questions directed at him."

“NO ILLEGAL MONEY ENTERED HIS ACCOUNT”

The lawyers argued that when the transactions in the file are examined, it is evident that the money entering Kütahyalı's account belonged to him.

The statement claimed that “there was no outflow of money from the client to any person connected with illegal betting or any other accusation,” and included the following assessment:

"Indeed, when looking at the transactions within the scope of the file, it is seen that the money entering our client's account was his own money, and that there was no outflow of money from our client to any person connected with illegal betting or any other accusation. In this context, it will be proven with concrete evidence during the trial process that our client does not have even the slightest connection to illegal betting, fraud, money laundering, or any criminal organization."

RESPONSE TO ALIMONY CLAIMS

The statement also addressed social media posts alleging that Kütahyalı has not paid child support.

The lawyers stated that these claims do not reflect the truth and used the following expressions:

"As a note, we would like to add that the news circulating on social media, parallel to our client's detention, claiming that he has not paid child support for his children, which is intended to damage his reputation, is also untrue. The alimony payments made by our client are visible even in the bank account transactions and MASAK reports, to which we have limited access due to the confidentiality order in the file."

The statement further alleged that these posts were “intentional” and “aimed at a perception operation.”

“LEGAL RIGHTS WILL BE EXERCISED”

Kütahyalı's lawyers stated that the public should refrain from making statements that could affect the course of the investigation.

The following statements were included in the continuation of the announcement:

"Furthermore, our client has two young daughters and his wife is pregnant. In this context, we remind the public of the necessity to refrain from any statements that would affect the presumption of innocence of our client and the integrity of the investigation, and we inform the public that all legal rights of our client will be exercised to the fullest extent against individuals and organizations that disseminate even the family matters our client mentioned in his defense regarding his daughters and pregnant wife in a way that violates the confidentiality of the investigation."