The unspoken details in the arrest of Nasuh Mahruki and 9 youths

There is no need to introduce the former head of AKUT, Nasuh Mahruki. The rescue efforts he led during the 1999 Marmara and Düzce earthquakes are still fresh in our minds.

He is now in what was formerly known as Silivri, and is now called the Marmara Prison!..

His crime is the one that has become the “catalog” crime of recent years: “publicly disseminating misleading information in a way that creates fear, panic, and anxiety among the public, and disrupts public order and internal and external peace.”

Of course, his 557,470 followers (as of yesterday) on his social media account did not rush to the streets to set things on fire, but let us summarize the post Mahruki made and the subsequent developments.

On the evening of November 12, at 18:40, after stating that the CHP could not win any election without conducting a real census and finding and cleaning up the fraud in the records, he drew attention to election fraud, starting with the example of “using the dead to vote, a tactic learned from FETÖ,” and noted that the YSK (Supreme Election Council) could not be trusted.

That same evening at 19:09, he said: “Great Turkish nation, you must be very careful and vigilant. The government and the YSK are setting up a scheme to steal the elections one last time. The Chamber of Computer Engineers must have the authority to audit on your behalf in an early Presidential election. If they are not audited, they will steal our votes, replace them with fakes, and win the election illegally again. This would be the end of the Republic of Turkey, and this end would be more terrifying than anything you could see in your worst nightmares.”

Exactly 3 hours later, at 22:09, he wrote this:

“Dear Friends, I am having dinner with a group of friends at a kebab restaurant this evening. 7-8 police officers, who said they were police in plain clothes, came to my house and said they had come to take me. I am now leaving the restaurant and going home. Just so you know, please follow the process.”

After two days of silence, on November 14, his wife Mine Mahruki announced that Nasuh Mahruki was not in custody because no document, notification, or prosecutor's file had been sent to him.

Six more days passed. On November 20, Nasuh Mahruki shared the information: “I came to the prosecutor's office this morning and gave my statement. The meeting went very well, but I have been referred for arrest. I am waiting to appear before the judge.”

And on the same day, he was arrested for that “template” crime.

14 days later, the day before yesterday, his indictment was completed. In the indictment accepted by the court, it was requested that Mahruki be sentenced to 1 to 3 years in prison for the crime of “publicly disseminating misleading information.” It also emerged that a separate investigation is being conducted against Mahruki, who is set to appear in court on December 26, for the crime of “publicly insulting the Government of the Republic of Turkey and the judicial organs of the state.”

DID SOMETHING FALL ON MAHRUKİ'S HEAD?

From what we have described so far, it seems as if Nasuh Mahruki was just bored and decided to make those posts that annoyed some people, right?

Let us say “not at all” and get to the unspoken detail, or in the words of the Turkish Penal Code, the “instigator.”

On the night of November 11, on the program titled Taksim Meydanı with Gürkan Hacır on Tv100, Sinan Burhan recounted the statement made to him by YSK President Ahmet Yener regarding the “electronic election system.”

This statement became news in almost all media the next morning and caused a stir. The statement Burhan made, attributing it to YSK President Ahmet Yener, was as follows:

“A historic event in the history of the Turkish election system. We met with Mr. Ahmet Yener. In his speech, Mr. Ahmet Yener said, ‘We have examined the Russian elections, the Azerbaijani elections. We have examined the American elections. Now, change, development, and technology are being used at the highest level in the world. We are also working with Ankara University. We have made all our preparations regarding the electronic voting system. The decision rests with the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.’ This is truly a historic statement. This will be highly debated. The infrastructure is ready, they have completed the work with Ankara University and scientists. Technologically, support has been received from both TÜBİTAK and informatics agencies. The R&D work is currently being carried out at Ankara University.”

Naturally—as Sinan Burhan stated—the debates began, and everyone became anxious.

A short while later, a written statement on the subject came from the YSK. In summary, the statement reminded that there is an article in the Law on Basic Provisions of Elections and Voter Registers titled “Voting by overseas voters in an electronic environment,” and emphasized that “except for the situation where our citizens abroad can vote in an electronic environment, there is no legal regulation for any type of election held within the country, and there is no current work by the YSK regarding electronic voting methods for elections held within the country.”

In short; Sinan Burhan was refuted!..

According to this picture, isn't the one who is “publicly disseminating misleading information” actually Sinan Burhan? The reason Nasuh Mahruki made those posts is clearly the statement Sinan Burhan made on behalf of the YSK President.

If there is a crime, shouldn't they grab Sinan Burhan by the collar before Mahruki?

Is the reason for this privilege, and even the fact that his name is almost never mentioned in the incident, that he heads a media organization close to the government, writes in the pro-government media, and was even elected as a municipal council member from the AKP?

MAHRUKİ SHOULD BE EXILED TO CHIOS ISLAND

I just learned; Kaptan-ı Derya Ali Pasha, who suppressed the Chios Island rebellion—the first major uprising started by the Greeks against the Ottomans in 1822—was Nasuh Mahruki's 5th-generation great-grandfather. Ali Pasha was martyred there by being burned along with his soldiers. Following this painful event, the family took the surname “Mahruki,” which means “burned in fire,” with the Surname Law in 1934.

Now, what is the connection, you ask?

8 days before Mahruki's arrest, on November 12, was the 112th anniversary of the liberation of Chios Island from Ottoman rule. At the ceremony held for this, which was also attended by Greek Minister of State Makis Voridis, the priest of Chios Island, Markos, challenged Turkey as follows:

“Turks, listen well, do not get your hopes up; the islands and islets are ours.”

The meaning and significance of this delusion is this; that priest is affiliated with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in Istanbul, which is a Turkish institution according to the Treaty of Lausanne. So much so that in the first week of September, Patriarch Bartholomew, who is a Turkish citizen according to Lausanne, went from Çeşme to Chios Island with the title of “Ecumenical,” the Greek flag was hoisted on the boat, and he was welcomed in Chios with the protocol of a “head of state”!..

As is known; no matter what Greece does, the government does not let it harm “friendship”… But Nasuh Mahruki is in Silivri prison because of two posts. Might as well transfer Mahruki to a prison on Chios Island!..

FOR WHAT CRIME WERE THE 9 YOUTHS ARRESTED?

Let us come to the arrest of the 9 youths who protested trade with Israel while Erdoğan was speaking at the TRT World Forum event.

Erdoğan got angry, saying, “My child, do not be the tongue and mouth of the Zionists here. No matter how much you try to provoke this place by being the tongue, mouth, and eyes of the Zionists, you will not get results. The Zionists in the world know very well where Tayyip Erdoğan stands. But you still haven't understood.”

The detained youths were arrested three days later for “violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations.” A judicial control decision was given regarding the accusation of “insulting the President.”

Isn't the reason for the arrest interesting?

Since all officials, especially Erdoğan, said that trade with Israel was absolutely terminated, shouldn't these youths have been arrested first for the crime of “publicly disseminating misleading information”?!

Was there a fear that the debates on “trade with Israel is continuing/not continuing” would be revived?

In short; the government has a goal like establishing a “more just order” in the world.

What if someone comes out and says, “Establish that just order in your own country first.”?!

Note: After I sent my article, the news of Nasuh Mahruki's release arrived. Get well soon. With the hope that all those who are imprisoned unjustly and unlawfully, especially the 9 youths, will also regain their freedom...

Müyesser YILDIZ

December 6, 2024