To appear in court today: What will Kılıçdaroğlu say in court? Barış Yarkadaş explains...

The 7th Chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP), Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, will appear in court today in a defamation case filed upon the complaint of AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

It is a matter of curiosity what Kılıçdaroğlu will say in court, as he faces up to 11 years and 8 months in prison and a political ban due to his remarks regarding the then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during the December 17-25 process.

Journalist Barış Yarkadaş provided important behind-the-scenes information regarding Kılıçdaroğlu’s political ban trial.

Barış Yarkadaş included the following statements in his speech:

“The 7th Chairman of the Republican People's Party, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, has a trial in Ankara tomorrow. Mr. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has a hearing in Ankara tomorrow. This hearing consists of the consolidation of speeches made by Kılıçdaroğlu regarding the December 17-25 process during his time as CHP Chairman. Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu will testify tomorrow for these 5 consolidated cases.

COURTROOM CRISIS EMERGED

There is a situation like this for tomorrow. First of all, there is a courtroom crisis. The courtroom where the 57th Criminal Court of First Instance, where Kılıçdaroğlu will be tried, is located, only has a capacity of 15 people. Today, Kılıçdaroğlu’s lawyer Celal Çelik first met with the judge and then with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor to request a larger courtroom. His justification is that ‘CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, Metropolitan Mayors, many deputies, many former deputies, and at the same time Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu’s family will attend this hearing.’ However, Celal Çelik could not get a result from his meeting with the judge. He met with the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, but the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office says that such powers belong to the Judge and that they cannot make the decision themselves.

“IT APPEARS THE HEARING WILL BE DELAYED”

Therefore, if the Ministry of Justice officials do not find a solution to this request this evening, it appears that the hearing, which is scheduled to start at 14:00 tomorrow, will be delayed. But if the judge uses her authority and opens a 200-person courtroom, which has no legal obstacle, then Kılıçdaroğlu can easily enter the courtroom.

WHAT WILL KILIÇDAROĞLU SAY IN THE HEARING?

According to the information I have obtained, Kılıçdaroğlu will stand by the speeches he made, especially during the December 17-25 process. He will defend these speeches. He will act with an attitude as if he is going to judge rather than be judged while going to court. Therefore, he is expected to give a message tomorrow. In his message, he will briefly say, ‘I am here to fulfill a great duty to the Turkish people.’ Apart from this, he will also give messages regarding current and political issues in the speech he will make in court. It is even expected that he will give messages regarding normalization.”