Striking claim from Erkan Doğan, the first witness heard in the Ayhan Bora Kaplan investigation: 'So that I wouldn't appear on television...'

At the start of today's session of the trial, held by the Ankara 32nd High Criminal Court at the Sincan Prison complex, the Presiding Judge stated that they would be hearing from complainants and witnesses this week, while also announcing that the secret witness “Ü5” had withdrawn their testimony, adding, “For your information.”

The first witness to be heard was Erkan Doğan. Doğan requested permission to read his statement from a written text, which the Judge granted. Reiterating his previous statements and comments made to the media, Doğan said that what he had experienced had irreversibly affected his life. Alleging that one of the defendants, former AKP Ankara Provincial Deputy Chair Barış Kurt, had engaged in irregularities in tenders, handled public business, and established certain relations with the Kimse Yok Mu Association, Doğan recounted that when he asked for money owed to him by Kurt, Bora Kaplan and his men beat and tortured him.

Meanwhile, when one of the defendants shouted, “He is lying,” Erkan Doğan said, “That is Muhammet Kaplan,” while the Presiding Judge warned, “I will have you removed, listen politely.” When the defendants laughed at Doğan's account, the Judge reacted as follows:

“If you are going to laugh and smirk, I will have you removed. There will not be a sound, or I will remove you all and listen to him alone.”

In the continuation of his statement, Erkan Doğan used these interesting expressions:

“I have read the defendants' statements. I know what I went through. After those experiences, I cannot remember what happened hour by hour, or how many of my teeth were pulled. I did not have a watch or a calendar; I may not be able to provide pinpoint information.”

Erkan Doğan also noted the following in summary:

“After what happened to me, seeing the connection between the police, the judiciary, and politics, I remained silent until 2023. I have a photo from the night of July 15. It was used in a music video by İbrahim Kalın and Yavuz Bingöl. Everyone is a martyr, I am the only one alive. I went out into the streets that night. I am someone who put his life on the line. Even though they want to establish a link to FETÖ in this file, what I did for the homeland is clear. This is the final path for me, the path of justice. God forbid, no one could touch them. They were aware of everything. Bora Kaplan did these things to curry favor with the politician Barış Kurt. He knows what I know. Bora Kaplan did these things to get close to Barış Kurt and to prove himself.”

At the end of his statement, in response to a question from the Judge, Erkan Doğan said, “I am a complainant, both in this world and the next. I want to join the case.” He then alleged that Barış Kurt's associates had called him to prevent him from appearing on TV, and that they had even offered him certain sums of money as recently as last night, claiming he had recorded these and could present them if requested.

BORA KAPLAN REMOVED FROM THE COURTROOM

The first defendant to question Erkan Doğan was Barış Kurt. A dispute arose when Doğan sought help from his lawyer while answering. While the Presiding Judge warned, “Answer without looking at or asking your lawyer,” he later intervened when Bora Kaplan tried to ask a question, saying, “Am I going to deal with you?” and had him removed from the courtroom. As the gendarmes took him by the arms to lead him away, Kaplan shouted, “Don't drag me.”

DID HE SEND A VIDEO TO CEVHERİ GÜVEN?

One of the defendants, Muhammet Kaplan, asked Erkan Doğan, addressing him as “my brother” and “my dear brother,” whether he had sent the video of the music clip featuring İbrahim Kalın and Yavuz Bingöl to Cevheri Güven. While Doğan stated that he had not, the Presiding Judge said, “This has no contribution to the merits of the case. Who did what on July 15 does not concern us.”

Erkan Doğan gave the following answers to other questions posed by Muhammet Kaplan:

Kaplan: We held you in the Akman Plaza. Then you climbed down from the 20th floor to the 19th floor with a rope and the police came and saved you. Didn't you tell those police that we were on the floor above? Why didn't they come and take us?

Doğan: They must not have thought of it in that atmosphere. Why are you asking me? Ask them. Maybe you arranged them too.

Kaplan: When did the police last reach out to you? I am going to request the HTS records anyway.

Doğan: Request them. I don't remember exactly.

Kaplan: Did they reach out in the last few days, within a week?

Doğan: What if they did?

Kaplan: They are directing you, that's why.

Doğan: Is the police directing me?

HE SHOOK HANDS WITH THE ARRESTED CHIEF

The following heated arguments took place during the questions of one of the defense lawyers, Sidar Yurtçiçek:

Atty. Yurtçiçek: Did you descend from the 20th floor of Akman Plaza to the 19th floor by helicopter?

Erkan Doğan: Did you do your military service?

Atty. Yurtçiçek: I did not. Why didn't you tell the police that those who tortured you were on the floor above?

Doğan: I barely saved my life.

Atty. Yurtçiçek: Did you blackmail or threaten Barış Kurt?

Doğan: No. He was too involved with the Kimse Yok Mu Association. He had relations with the General Manager of Iller Bank, who was dismissed due to FETÖ. I did not threaten him. He misunderstood my street-style way of speaking. He knows what I can do, and I know what he can do.

Atty. Yurtçiçek: Did you communicate with the arrested police chiefs, who are a gang from our perspective?

Doğan: I only spoke with police officer Resul Aydoğan. We spoke via WhatsApp with Aydoğan three days ago as well. He sent a message and asked, “Are you okay?” I said, “I am fine.” If you have this in your possession, then you are the ones who are the organization and the ones who staged the coup. How does Bora Kaplan know these things?

Atty. Yurtçiçek: Your Honor, please warn the complainant to correct his tone. I am asking if he spoke with the arrested police chiefs via WhatsApp or FaceTime.

Doğan: Let him name the arrested chiefs. Other than Mustafa Süvari, Resul Aydoğdu, and Çağlar, whose surname I don't know, I met Murat Çelik when I went to the police station, I only shook his hand.

When all the defendants applauded these final words of Erkan Doğan, the Judge had the first defendant who applauded removed from the courtroom.

Müyesser YILDIZ

May 20, 2024

News Source: 12punto