Bora Kaplan: 'The police officers who were Soylu's team persecuted me'

Müyesser Yıldız - 12punto.com.tr 

Crime syndicate leader Bora Kaplan attended the trial for the first time, in which police officers accused of taking bribes are being tried and he is also a defendant. Making notable statements regarding the police officers, Kaplan explained that after July 15, when "FETÖ members" and the opposition media began publishing reports about him calling him "The Reis's soldier, Soylu's mafia," these police officers, who were Soylu's team, began to persecute him, saying, "Let them say it's a lie if it's a lie."

DENIED BRIBERY ALLEGATIONS: IF THEY HADN'T TOUCHED THE MHP...

Kaplan also denied the allegation that he bribed the police, stating that he agreed to include this claim in the police officers' statements in order to save his wife and children.

Kaplan used the following expressions for the accused police officers:

"The conspirator Murat Çelik and his team brought these men who persecuted me and dumped them in my lap. If I say they took bribes, they will be punished. I don't care about these men, I don't like them at all, I don't care about them in the slightest; but I cannot lie." 

Bora Kaplan claimed that if they hadn't touched the MHP, Murat Çelik and his team would have continued as they were and would have caused 2-3 times the impact of the December 17/25 corruption investigations.

Upon Bora Kaplan saying, "Ask whether they persecuted me or not," the accused police officers admitted that they focused on Kaplan because he was in the foreground and on the agenda. The accused police officers stated that they did everything with the approval of the prosecutor's office and court orders. It was notable that former police chief Alp Arslan said, "But we did not use fake evidence, we did not use false witnesses."

To Kaplan's question, "Is it because my name was associated with Süleyman Soylu, is that correct?" former chief inspector Ercan Karagöz replied, "Yes, even if it were related to other politicians..."

During the questioning, Bora Kaplan said of Murat Çelik and the Organized Crime Bureau (KOM) who conducted the operation against him, "God tangled them up. They touched the MHP."

Following the testimony of some witnesses regarding the charge of "violation of the law on the declaration of assets" against the police officers, the court decided to continue the judicial control measure of a travel ban for Alp Arslan and adjourned the hearing to March 7, 2025.

News Source: Müyesser Yıldız