The 'Ece Ronay' detail in the ABK investigation: Sertçelik stayed there...

A notable development has occurred in the Ayhan Bora Kaplan case, one of the most closely followed trials alongside the Sinan Ateş case that shook Turkey's agenda.

Halk TV columnist İsmail Saymaz stated in his column today that the case's secret witness, Serdar Sertçelik (M7), stayed at the home of social media influencer Ece Ronay before fleeing abroad.

TRIAL DATE IS JULY 17

The relevant section of Saymaz's column is as follows:

"The indictment regarding the former police officers who were detained on charges of attempting a coup while conducting the Ayhan Bora Kaplan investigation has been accepted by the Ankara 13th Criminal Court of First Instance.

There are 12 defendants.

Among these defendants are Ankara Deputy Police Chief Murat Çelik, who was responsible for the Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Branch, Organized Crime Branch Manager Kerem Gökay Öner, Deputy Manager Şevket Demircan, and commissioners Ufuk Gültekin, Metehan İlkyaz, and Gökhan Karaca.

Except for Öner, the others are in custody.

They are charged with attempting to influence witnesses, disclosing secrets related to their duties, and misconduct in office.

Nurullah Özgür Kopuk, one of the witnesses in the ABK case, is also a defendant. Serdar Sertçelik, who fled abroad on November 27, 2023, while wearing an electronic ankle monitor, is also among the defendants. He is accused of violating confidentiality and influencing those performing judicial duties.

Sertçelik is known as Secret Witness M7.

His father Erdoğan, who helped Sertçelik escape, Kılıçdaroğlu's advisor Ramazan Kubat, Kubat's friend Mustafa Çotuk, and Adem Kaçan will be tried for harboring a criminal.

July 17 has been set as the date for the hearing.

THEY HAD AN IRREGULAR REPORT WRITTEN

The indictment states that the accused police officers took a protective stance toward Sertçelik 'before the secret witness decision was made and throughout the investigation process, despite having no duty or authority to do so.'

It is explained that Sertçelik, who was given a second detention order, planned to go abroad, thinking he would be arrested.

It is noted that in order to prevent the detention, the police directed the physician to state that Sertçelik, who was shot on November 20, 2023, could not be detained, and obtained an irregular medical report. Thanks to the report, the decision to detain Sertçelik was not carried out.

However, it is stated that the prosecutor's office gave instructions for Sertçelik to be made available on November 27, 2023. It is stated that Sertçelik, learning of this situation, fled.

THEY SAID 'WE COULD NOT FIND HIM' DESPITE KNOWING

A scandal emerged in an audio recording dated November 26, 2023, between Sertçelik and Commissioner Ufuk Gültekin, which was obtained.

It is explained that Sertçelik declared to Gültekin and Karaca that he would go abroad, and that his direct superiors Demircan, Öner, and Çelik, as well as İlkyaz, were aware of this situation.

According to WhatsApp correspondence between Öner and Demircan dated November 29, 2023, it is understood that they messaged each other about Sertçelik going to Istanbul after fleeing Ankara. It is stated that although they knew Sertçelik was in Istanbul, they drew up a report stating he could not be found, thereby shielding the secret witness.

After Sertçelik went abroad illegally on December 4, 2023, the accused police officers continued to contact the secret witness irregularly, speaking with him by phone multiple times and recording the conversations.

It was understood that they gave instructions to Sertçelik on how to testify in court, what changes to make in his statements, and whom he should add.

HE MET WITH ECE RONAY

The manner of Sertçelik's escape has also been clarified.

According to the indictment...

On November 27, 2023, Sertçelik told his father, "Let's go for a dressing."

Sertçelik drove the car.

Then he gave the steering wheel to his father.

He got out of the vehicle on the way and spoke on the phone.

His father recounts:

"He sent his location to the person he was talking to. Half an hour later, a bearded, burly individual arrived by car."

This person was the fugitive Adem Kaçan.

Kaçan dropped the father and son off at an apartment in Eryaman.

Father Sertçelik left.

Sertçelik told his close friend Mustafa Çotuk that he was looking for a rental car to take him to Istanbul. Çotuk asked for help from Kubat.

They set off in Kubat's vehicle.

They dropped Sertçelik off at the bungalow houses in Şile, Istanbul, where social media celebrity Ece Ronay was staying.

Çotuk:

"His girlfriend Ece Ronay was calling him, asking, 'Haven't you left yet?' Sertçelik (asked) Kubat if he would take him to Istanbul to his girlfriend, saying, 'If you take me, I rented a bungalow, you can stay there for a few days too.'"

Explaining that they dropped Sertçelik off at the bungalows, Çotuk said, "His girlfriend Ece Ronay met us at the door."

However, Ronay is not among the defendants.

Sertçelik had been shot at a soup restaurant he went to with Ece Ronay on November 20, 2023, while he had an electronic ankle monitor on his leg."

News Source: 12punto