Kerimcan Durmaz released! His testimony has emerged

Social media influencer Kerimcan Durmaz, who was arrested on charges of encouraging people to gamble by advertising illegal betting sites, was released at his first court hearing.

HE WAS DETAINED ON JANUARY 7

An investigation was launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against social media influencer Kerimcan Durmaz on allegations that he engaged in activities such as placing advertisements within the videos and images he published, and that he extensively carried out activities encouraging and promoting illegal betting. Detained on January 7 as part of the investigation, Durmaz was referred to the courthouse the following day and was arrested by the Istanbul Criminal Court of Peace.

AN INDICTMENT HAD BEEN PREPARED

The investigation into the incident was completed and an indictment was prepared. In the indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the Spor Toto Organization Presidency was included as the 'aggrieved party', while Kerimcan Durmaz was included as the 'suspect'.

It was stated that by encouraging illegal betting and gambling, he had made them appear normal and ordinary in the eyes of society. The prepared indictment noted that Durmaz encouraged people to play betting or games of chance by appearing in illegal betting site advertisements filmed with his knowledge, and that the actions of Durmaz, who has a large number of followers on social media and appeals to a large audience, posed a danger, normalized illegal betting and gambling in the eyes of society, and caused harm to society.

"YOU KNOW, CASINOS AND SUCH"

The indictment also noted that although the suspect Durmaz stated that he did not accept the accusations against him, when the images in question were examined, the suspect turned his back while the illegal betting sites were being projected on an LED screen as an advertisement, and that it was contrary to the ordinary flow of life for him not to see the images projected on the LED screens in this state; furthermore, it was recorded that he made remarks such as 'you know, casinos and such' at that moment.

REQUEST FOR UP TO 5 YEARS AND 3 MONTHS IN PRISON

In the prepared indictment, it was requested that the suspect Kerimcan Durmaz be sentenced to imprisonment from 1 year and 3 months to 5 years and 3 months for the crime of 'encouraging persons to play fixed-odds or mutual betting or games of chance based on sports competitions through advertising or other means' in a chain manner.

HIS TESTIMONY HAS EMERGED

In his defense in court, Durmaz said, "My monthly income is 500 thousand TL, I am an artist. I received a call from my manager, who told me that I had received a concert offer from a nightclub in Malta. I accepted, I thought I could film content for my YouTube channel and I went to Malta with my friend Samet. I filmed YouTube videos, my stage time came, and when I was about to go on stage, I gave the USB to the staff so it could be projected onto the LED screens behind me. However, they projected an illegal betting advertisement image without my knowledge. I saw this from the posts made on Instagram tagging my name. I normally go to all the stage performances I do with my team, but I went alone because my team did not have visas. If my team had been there, they would have told me and taken me off the stage."

"THE CHAMPAGNE I WANTED DID NOT ARRIVE"

Kerimcan Durmaz continued his testimony as follows:

"Regarding my statement 'You know, casinos and such' mentioned in the indictment, what I wanted to say is this: I normally get a lot of champagne, but this time the champagne I wanted did not arrive. I learned that there was a casino in the hotel. I said something like 'You know, casinos and such?', but the part where I asked for the champagne I wanted was cut and put into the file. It was claimed that I saw the illegal betting advertisement behind me on stage, but I did not see it. The reason I turned my back was to thank the girls who brought my champagne. It was very late at night, I was very tired, I was dancing, I was singing. It was not in a place where I could technically see it anyway, it is not possible for me to deal with the technical part of the job at that moment. I have never played illegal betting in my life. I perform on stages in many countries due to my profession. I did not commit this crime, I request my release."