ABK Case M7-coded secret witness Sertçelik: 'The prosecutor gave me a document stating I am not an organization leader'

Müyesser Yıldız - 12punto.com.tr

Serdar Sertçelik, the M7-coded secret witness in the Ayhan Bora Kaplan criminal organization case, alleged that when he returned from abroad, investigation prosecutor Mustafa Kaya gave him a document stating that there was no search or arrest warrant for him in the first operation, thinking he would accept the "found phone," and said, "You are not a leader of the organization anyway."

In today's session of the trial, which began to be heard again at the Ankara 32nd High Criminal Court at the Sincan Prison Campus following the partial reversal and consolidation decisions of the appellate court, the Presiding Judge stated that the response to the letter written to Interpol regarding Serdar Sertçelik had arrived. The letter reported that Sertçelik was in prison in Hungary between May 25, 2024, and January 30, 2026, and that he only had the opportunity to use a phone and the internet during the periods he was in a refugee camp.

Serdar Sertçelik, who was expected to make a defense regarding the "found phone," stated that he wanted to make a defense regarding the case previously opened against him for the charge of "influencing those performing judicial duties," and said the following:

“I was subjected to this accusation because I recounted the conversations I had with Şevket Demircan. However, it turned out that what I said was true through the correspondence between the police officers themselves and with the prosecutor and judge. While these correspondences are not wanted to be used as evidence, the fake messages on the 'bag phone' are being used as evidence. For God's sake, is this fair, is this just?”

When Sertçelik then began to read the police officers' WhatsApp correspondences one by one, the Presiding Judge warned him, saying, "There is no need for repetition. These are in the file. Wrap it up. It is enough to state the result and explain where these serve as a basis for the defense." While Sertçelik asked, "Do I not have the right to read?", his lawyer, Alperen Ekinci, requested a meeting with his client to determine the defense strategy.

After the break, Sertçelik stated that he would finish his defense today. As he continued to read the police officers' correspondences, he reacted to the insults directed at him with the words, "I am expressing it exactly as it is. May they be sacrificed to the soles of my mother's feet. My mother and father are known; is his own known?" The Presiding Judge intervened. Sertçelik replied, "I am using my right to self-defense; I am stating the insults he directed at me."

“I HAD SAID THAT IF I WERE ARRESTED, I WOULD TELL EVERYTHING”

Sertçelik also voiced the following claims through the police officers' correspondences:

“At the very first stage, before appearing before the Criminal Judgeship of Peace at the courthouse, I told Şevket Demircan and Ufuk Gültekin, 'If I am not released, if I am arrested, I will tell how you made me a secret witness.' House arrest was given. I was putting so much pressure on them that, in that panic, they told the prosecutor that I wanted my travel ban lifted, even though I had no such request. They tried to convince the prosecutor with this scenario. When that didn't work, they ensured my escape, first by getting a medical report and then by withdrawing the police officer at my door. In other words, I did not influence those performing judicial duties; I just wanted to tell what I experienced and our conversations, and to announce the illegalities committed against us. The ones who truly influence those performing judicial duties are the police.”

“HE WAS SO SURE THAT I WOULD ACCEPT THE FOUND PHONE”

Reiterating that his M7-coded secret witness statement was taken not by the secret witness prosecutor but by the investigation prosecutor Mustafa Kaya, Sertçelik continued:

“I definitely did not see the secret witness prosecutor; I do not know him. When I returned from abroad, when I said, 'Didn't you take my secret witness statement, didn't you make me press my fingerprint?', Mustafa Kaya replied, 'We checked the camera records, you stayed here for 3 hours.' I said, 'Put your hand on your conscience, tell the truth.' Meanwhile, they had written a writ to the secret witness prosecutor whose name they mentioned in the emails on the found phone. He sent the petition they had me sign in a hurry when I was made a secret witness. Because Mustafa Kaya thought I would accept the found phone, he gave me a document. This single document in my favor was that there was no search or arrest warrant for me in the first operation. Prosecutor Mustafa Kaya stated this and said, 'You are not a leader of the organization anyway.' When I asked, 'Didn't you write this indictment, why did you make me an organization leader?', he gave me this document, saying, 'You can present it to the court.'"

Following these claims, Sertçelik said, "If the secret witness statement is not included, there is no organization. The other secret witness, Ü5, does not see or know anyone; he only tells what he hears. Fine, you made me a secret witness, but can you make a secret witness on top of a secret witness? They had him confirm what they made me say."

In the afternoon session of the hearing, Serdar Sertçelik, who explained what he went through after fleeing abroad and why he returned to Turkey, stated that he was portrayed as a terrorist on television because anti-refugee sentiment was at its peak during the Orban era. He said that he stayed in a high-security prison for almost the entire time he was in Hungary, that he could only talk to his family on the phone, and that he could use the internet while in the camp, adding, "I definitely did not use a mobile phone. If I cannot prove that I did not use a mobile phone, or if they prove that I did, I will accept all accusations and will not even make a defense."

Stating that he decided to come to Turkey when he became aware of the found phone allegations, the Twitter accounts opened in his name, and that the prosecutor was frequently calling him to testify, Sertçelik continued:

“Prosecutor Mustafa Kaya told my mother, 'He listens to you, tell Serdar; it is clear that he is being threatened by the messages on the phone. Nothing will happen to him, let him come.' The moment I heard this, I said this phone is fake. Am I stupid? Don't I know if I'm being threatened? I also understood it was fake from Mustafa Kaya desperately calling everyone to testify. I guess they thought, 'Serdar won't come anyway.' If I hadn't come, they would have blamed everything on the fake phone on me. But I was afraid; I knew how ruthless these directors were. They could do anything. I also knew how much the Minister had it in for me. The Gendarmerie KOM came, they brought me to Ankara immediately. I wanted to meet with Prosecutor Mustafa Kaya; he accepted immediately. His clerk was with him. 'Prosecutor, this phone is fake. If you ask the Hungarian authorities, you will see that I was in prison the whole time. They were desperate because they thought I would accept it. There is also a secret witness in this file; he is going through this, saying, 'It won't be of any use if you benefit from effective remorse later.' He tried for hours to convince me that the phone was real. Finally, he said, 'Whether you accept it or not, I have proven it technically.' He had me call my family, he ordered pide with meat and cheese. Finally, he said, 'Think about it a little, let me take your statement in 10 days.' I told both my lawyer from the CMK and the gendarmes in the vehicle I was in while being taken to prison, 'Man, these guys made a fake phone.' While the prosecutor was trying to convince me, he had said, 'Let's give a copy of the file to the lawyer.' When the lawyer went two days later, he didn't give the file, saying, 'I understood, Serdar won't accept it.' He had said 10 days, but he called me to testify 7 days later. He increased the doses. I saw that Mustafa Öztaş's fingerprint was on it; I know him. I tried to convince him, saying, 'Look prosecutor, they are using you. The names here will cause you trouble one day too.'"

Why Did the Police Wait?

After asking, "If I sent the phone, why am I not accepting it now?", Sertçelik made the following claim:

“They are aware of everything, but they have no other choice; they are trying to acquit the police officers. Why do they deliver the phone to the prosecutor's office after waiting 12 days? The reason is not the fear of 'a new plot,' but they went to show it to the Headquarters and the chairman, but they were kicked out the door. Prosecutor Mustafa Kaya said so himself. After that, he started attacking me. On the first day, he had said, 'Serdar, if you accept this phone, I will not refer you for arrest.' You can hear my lawyer from the CMK as a witness.”

Upon this, the Presiding Judge stated that the lawyer could say this in his defense. Sertçelik asked, "Is it enough for him to say it in the defense?"

“That Witness Will Flee”

In the continuation of his defense, emphasizing that he was involved in a new plot with the found phone after his 19-page secret witness statement, Serdar Sertçelik stated that Prosecutor Mustafa Kaya did not consciously investigate the most important issues regarding the found phone, but that he was not surprised by this because he threatened him to make him accept the phone.

While accusing witness Mustafa Öztaş, whose name appeared as a top user in a document on the found phone and whose fingerprint was found, Sertçelik said, "Given the stage the file has reached, I think he will flee abroad."

Stating that he has never used such a number or this brand of phone in his life, Sertçelik denied the messages on the found phone one by one, noting the following:

“Cengiz Haliç is my lawyer to whom I gave power of attorney in 2018, and he is still my lawyer in a case at the Court of Cassation. However, in 5 years, except for holiday and new year greetings, we have not had as many messages as they created in a few months. Cengiz Haliç is a respected, very good criminal lawyer. Would someone like that write these messages that would be evidence against himself?”

While pointing out the irrationalities in the messages and criticizing the prosecutor for not questioning them, Sertçelik said, "This situation makes one even question a prosecutor's diploma."

When the Presiding Judge warned, "I have already read it. You don't need to read all the messages," Sertçelik replied, "Why are we in a hurry? My life is at stake. The prosecutor has put a verification on all these fake messages; am I not going to respond to them? They are mocking people's intelligence, and they are making the Turkish judiciary a tool for this."

To the Presiding Judge's question, "Did Cengiz Haliç or Önder Polat tell you to 'be a secret witness'?", Sertçelik replied, "No."

Messages Regarding MHP Members

Regarding the messages in which the names of MHP's Ulvi İzzet Yönter and Necmi Yıldırım are mentioned, Serdar Sertçelik said the following:

“Involve Necmi Yıldırım and Mr. Ulvi İzzet Yönter in these slanders too. Have Cengiz Haliç or I ever come together with these people; do we have any calls or messages; no.”

When it was understood that Sertçelik's defense would not end, the Presiding Judge asked the prosecutor for his opinion regarding the detention status of Bora Kaplan and Sertçelik.

The prosecutor requested that the detention of both individuals continue.

In response to the prosecutor's opinion, Bora Kaplan said, "I am already in detention, how will I flee? But I want justice to be served. It has been revealed that this phone is fake. Release me from this file so that we can believe in justice," while Serdar Sertçelik said the following:

“This phone is definitely fake. Since I came from Hungary on my own, could there be a possibility of me fleeing? As for the reason of evidence tampering; those who create fake evidence from scratch are outside, being tried without arrest, while I am in detention.”

Lawyer Alperen Ekinci also stated that although the Ministry and the media claimed he was "brought," Sertçelik came of his own free will, saying, "We are in a file where the salt has rotted." Bora Kaplan's lawyer, Yakup Ekinci, said that the three grounds for detention did not exist.

The court decided to continue the detention of Kaplan and Sertçelik. Sertçelik and his lawyers will make their defense in tomorrow's session.

Müyesser YILDIZ

June 9, 2026

News Source: Müyesser Yıldız