What is the Ayhan Bora Kaplan case? Everything about the process. By Müyesser Yıldız

Müyesser YILDIZ/ 12punto.com.tr

Following the secret witness's claim that the police chiefs who conducted the Kaplan operation were trying to include numerous AKP names in the file, the incident was likened to the December 17/25 operations and characterized as an attempted coup against the government.

The first politician to speak on this issue was the leader of the MHP, a partner in the People's Alliance, Devlet Bahçeli. In yesterday's group meeting, Bahçeli used the following expressions:

“It is seen that ignoble and crypto gangs nested within the police and judiciary are once again making calculations over Turkey... We are following all those who use pawns and hide behind cover. We are aware of all the illegal contact and relationship networks that are taking place. A conspiracy that cannot be brushed off with the suspension of a few police chiefs is in motion; indeed, the target is the Nationalist Movement Party, the AK Party, the People's Alliance, and ultimately Turkey...

Whoever protects and serves the conspiracy to smear honorable names with secret witness testimonies and seeks to overshadow the manifested national will is a traitor, a hashshashin; the police, judiciary, and media extensions must be cracked down upon.”

It is interesting in itself that Bahçeli placed the MHP at the top of the list when ranking the targets of this “conspiracy.” It seems he knows a lot.

But wasn't it already written and drawn when the Bora Kaplan operation was first carried out that former Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu was actually being targeted? Indeed, Aytunç Erkin from Sözcü reported today that Soylu, who met with Erdoğan last Saturday, said, “I do not think the conspiracy intended to be set up against me and other friends is limited to just three police chiefs. Who or who is behind it? These must be uncovered.”

It was also noteworthy that, unlike Bahçeli, Erdoğan evaluated the event today in a lower tone and implicitly, settling for saying, “We will not allow bureaucratic tutelage. Whoever goes outside the law and has a grievance is definitely held accountable on the basis of the law.”

WHY WAS THERE SILENCE WHEN IT WAS SAID 'THE TARGET IS SOYLU'?

The questions are these:

First; why was there silence when it was voiced from the very beginning that Soylu was being targeted? Was he not also a member of the government? Did the secret witness need to mention 8-10 more AKP names for the oddities we wrote about regarding this file to be noticed?

Second; how reliable is this secret witness? What is the guarantee that they are not being used by any intelligence agency? But let us note this immediately; during the hearings held between April 15-26, both Ayhan Bora Kaplan and other defendants claimed that the police put a list of 40-50 people in front of them and asked them to slander them. Why then did neither the authorities nor the court wonder about these names and put the file under the microscope, and only after the secret witness's revelations was the incident pursued?

THE CLAIM IS 'COUP ATTEMPT' BUT THE POLICE DETENTION IS A RIDDLE

As is known, some chiefs and supervisors who took part in the Kaplan operation were suspended, and administrative and judicial investigations were launched against them. The night before last, we heard that these police officers' homes were raided and their digital devices were seized.

Then Bahçeli made those harsh statements. Immediately after, the claim that the police were detained was voiced; but it was reported that Ministry of Interior sources did not confirm this.

There is talk of a “coup against the government,” but not even a detention procedure is carried out... Isn't that very interesting?

Yet, at the same hours, it was being discussed that the police were first taken to the prosecutor's office, then referred to the Criminal Judgeship of Peace with a request for their arrest, but as a result of someone intervening, they were released with a judicial control measure of a travel ban.

The clues to this claim or absurdity were also reflected in the news of the pro-government media as follows:

Abdurrahman Şimşek from Sabah said, “There was no arrest request for 3 police chiefs. Only a search was carried out and a travel ban was imposed,” while Yeni Şafak stated that “a travel ban was imposed on three police officers.”

One question: who would impose a travel ban?! Then; this evening, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office announced that 3 police chiefs and 1 commissioner had been detained.

THE NAME 'MENZIL' IN BRIBERY

Let's come to the other oddities in the Kaplan file, which is gradually turning into a tangled mess and where it is unclear whose hand is in whose pocket.

It was reported that it was discovered that one of the dismissed police chiefs received 300 thousand dollars from Kaplan, and that he made a defense saying, “I was collecting aid for Menzil. It was not a bribe, it was money taken for a charitable cause,” and that the MIT (National Intelligence Organization) detected this scandal.

According to the allegations, the incident occurred last March when these police officers went to İzmir to take Kaplan's statement for a money laundering case. Kaplan's lawyer, who delivered the money, also presented the invoice for a Rolex watch that another police chief had Kaplan buy for his lover.

Now let's go back to September, when Ayhan Bora Kaplan was caught. It was written and drawn that in the statement Kaplan gave at the Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Department (KOM), he said that a chief who served during the Süleyman Soylu era came to his venue with his lover and asked for a 250 thousand dollar bribe, but he did not give it. Likewise, the allegation that a Rolex watch was bought for this chief's lover also came to the agenda.

After these statements, the chiefs of the Soylu era, whose names were mentioned, were suspended and an investigation was launched against them through a file separate from the Kaplan case. Let us note that the invoice for the Rolex watch, for example, has still not arrived in this file, which is still at the Bureau of Crimes by Public Officials.

First; isn't it very strange that similar allegations are voiced for both the former police chiefs and the team that conducted the operation on Kaplan? The only difference is that 250 thousand dollars is mentioned in the first and 300 thousand dollars in the second.

Second; when the investigation was finished, the indictment was accepted, and the start of the trial was imminent, what could have been the reason for Kaplan to bribe the police?

On the other hand, while Kaplan's lawyer denies these accusations, it is being discussed in police circles that the 300 thousand dollar bribe is real, and that this was detected not by the MIT but by the General Directorate of Security Intelligence Department. There is more. After this detection, the incident is reported to the highest-level authorities, and they ask the Ankara Police; however, the answer “We trust our chief” is given. When another official asks the Ankara Police again why they did not open an investigation, this time it is said, “There is no mistake. They took aid for Menzil.”

In summary, when these allegations come to the agenda, no one pursues them. Only when the secret witness appears do these start to be talked about.

According to the interpretation of a person who knows the internal balances in the police; the reason for the Menzil defense is to block the operation that will be directed at them by thinking that the government will not dare to take on this community!..

WHAT DID THE SECRET WITNESS 'Ü5' TELL?

There are two secret witnesses in the Kaplan file. One is “M7”; that is, Serdar Sertçelik, whose identity was revealed by the revelations he made from abroad.

We had also reported the developments regarding the other secret witness, “Ü5.” On April 26, the last day of the Kaplan case hearings, while the Presiding Judge was announcing the interim decisions, he stated that the Police Witness Protection Branch Directorate had warned that an attempt was made to decipher the identity of “Ü5,” and upon this, they had heard him in a special hearing during the session, and that they would give the footage of that statement to the lawyers who requested it, and that if they had questions, they could hear “Ü5” again during the session if they submitted them in writing.

As we learned; while repeating the statements he gave during the investigation phase, this secret witness told the following in summary:

“My friendship with Bora Kaplan continued until 2016. After that, he stopped being a criminal organization leader and started operating the venues together with the police. We knew it was state-supported, police-supported. O.Ö., one of the chiefs of that period, was taking a profit share from one of Kaplan's venues. One venue also belonged to another police chief and his lover. KOM and Public Order were working together to ensure there were no police raids on Kaplan's venues.”

ARE THEY 'COLORED' FETO MEMBERS?

As can be seen, in terms of allegations regarding money and financial affairs in the police, there was no difference between the old period and the new period.

So, what is the reason why these relationships have now become a problem and are shaking Ankara? It is said that an attempted coup against the government was attempted by trying to include the names of some AKP members in the Bora Kaplan case.

According to the media, behind this operation are the “Nurcu-Okuyucu” group and some police officers connected to “FETO.”

In Bahçeli's words, since this picture cannot be the work of “a few police chiefs,” it means the problem is deep.

Let's return to what is being talked about in the police circles again.

It is pointed out that the mistake started with the appointments made to other Police Departments, especially Ankara, after Ali Yerlikaya took office.

For example, it is questioned how Engin Dinç, who experienced the Hrant Dink and Priest Santoro murders, the Ankara Train Station massacre, the Merasim Street and Güvenpark bombings, and finally the July 15 coup attempt during his tenure, was made the Ankara Police Chief.

Likewise, it is told that while there were only three chiefs loyal to Soylu in Ankara, 53 personnel were dismissed and “Nurcu-Okuyucu” colored “FETO members” were brought in their place.

Behind this structuring, it is claimed that there is a chief who was arrested for “FETO” in the past but was released and then acquitted in a controversial way in a very short time, and who holds Süleyman Soylu responsible for what happened to him, and two high-level names acting with him. Regarding the name in question, the reminder is also made: “It was he who brought one of the now-suspended chiefs to an important unit after December 17-25.”

Let's come to the most striking allegations regarding the understanding in the General Directorate of Security regarding the new structuring. It is said that;

“Nationalist names were liquidated. Criteria such as 'Does he drink alcohol? Is his wife's head covered? Does he pray?' were taken as a basis in appointments. So much so that when a high-level authority was asked, 'Will the people we appoint be successful?', he gave the answer, 'Nothing will happen to our list. We had 7 hocas (religious teachers) read over it.'”

Let's skip the truth or falsehood; isn't the fact that these are being talked about serious in itself?

DID THE POLICE HAVE THE SECRET WITNESS MEET WITH UĞUR DÜNDAR?

Before finishing, let us also note this:

One of the defendants in the Bora Kaplan case claimed that while in custody, the police had secret witness Serdar Sertçelik meet with Uğur Dündar, and we wrote this; however, we did not give Dündar's name and said “a famous journalist.”

Yesterday, Uğur Dündar called and said that he definitely did not have any meeting with either the police or the secret witness, and that HTS records could be checked.