Bora Kaplan trial: He thinks he is the Mahdi

As defense arguments continue in the Ayhan Bora Kaplan organized crime organization trial, lawyers have issued harsh criticisms regarding the time allotted for the prosecutor's opinion and procedural errors. The defense, which presented footage of the detention at Esenboğa Airport to the court, alleged that police reports were filled with forgery and criticized the confidentiality order, stating that they had been following the investigation through fugitive journalists. This significant trial was covered by 12punto writer and veteran journalist Müyesser Yıldız.

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Bora Kaplan trial: He thinks he is the Mahdi

Müyesser YILDIZ 12punto.com.tr

Defense arguments against the prosecutor's opinion on the merits, which began last week in the Ayhan Bora Kaplan organized crime organization trial involving 61 defendants, 17 of whom are in custody, continued.

The session of the trial, held by the Ankara 32nd High Criminal Court at the Sincan Prison complex, began today with the defense of the lawyer for non-custodial defendant Hasan Aslantaş.

WE FOLLOWED THE INVESTIGATION THROUGH FETÖ MEMBERS

The second person to present a defense, Umut Köroğlu, one of Bora Kaplan's lawyers, stated, "My intention is not to tense up the court, but..." before noting that he felt compelled to say that their right to defense had been restricted because they were given only 29 days following the prosecutor's opinion in an 80-volume case, and that Bora Kaplan had been involved in a money laundering trial for a week during this period.

While showing footage of Bora Kaplan's detention at Esenboğa Airport, Attorney Köroğlu pointed out that although Kaplan got out of the vehicle immediately, the police prepared a report "full of lies and forgery" claiming that he resisted and that they had to use force. He further alleged that one of those police officers said, "We would have shot him if he had lifted his head," when he came to İzmir.

Noting that they were given no information due to a confidentiality order, Attorney Köroğlu stated that they began preparing their defense by following the investigation through fugitive journalists who have arrest warrants against them, and said, "I ask you to implicitly understand the logic here."

Attorney Köroğlu continued as follows:

"The prosecutor calls the irregularities in the investigation process 'speculation.' Why are the police officers being tried at the 13th Criminal Court of First Instance? If those are speculation, what are these here; a movie, a theater play? We expect the prosecutor to correct this statement. I swear to God, I don't know how to explain it. Şevket Demircan wrote exactly 3750 messages. Oh, and if the other one [Deputy Chief Murat Çelik] had just given the password to his phone. That chief said, 'Bora won't give his password.' You didn't give yours either. Please, bring the digital evidence from these police officers."

INVESTIGATION INTO THE SEIZURE OF DIGITAL EVIDENCE

After a 15-minute break in the hearing, the Presiding Judge stated that the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office had reported that an investigation had been opened because the digital evidence in the 13th Criminal Court of First Instance, where the police officers are being tried, had fallen into the hands of unrelated persons.

Upon this, Attorney Umut Köroğlu spoke as follows:

"We are not accusing the police just for the sake of accusing them. The concrete evidence is there. What they are being tried for and what they are accused of is concrete. Now an investigation has been opened because 'it fell into someone's hands.' It didn't fall into my hands."

DID UMUT GO TO FRIDAY PRAYERS?

When it was noticed at the beginning of the afternoon session of the hearing that Attorney Umut Köroğlu had not arrived, the Presiding Judge asked the bailiff to call Attorney Köroğlu. Meanwhile, it was heard that Bora Kaplan said, "He went to Friday prayers." The Judge replied in surprise, "Umut?!" Bora Kaplan also said that Attorney Köroğlu goes to Friday prayers.

Continuing his statements after the defenses of the two defendants' lawyers, Attorney Umut Köroğlu asked the Prosecutor to change his opinion, saying, "No water will come out of this door, it won't work from here."

OUR NEWS WAS DISCUSSED

Nazmi Kobal, the lawyer for former AKP Ankara Provincial Vice Chairman Barış Kurt, stated in his defense that the complainant Erkan Doğan, who claimed his teeth were pulled out with pliers by the Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Department (KOM), was kneaded like playdough and shaped into squares, rectangles, and triangles as desired. Noting that they had proven that Erkan Doğan, who gave 10 different statements, was lying, Attorney Kobal brought up the news we wrote on November 17 and said the following:

"Before Erkan Doğan testified in court, he alleged that Barış Kurt's relatives offered him a bribe and had the audacity to present a recording of this to your court. But the person in the video called journalist Müyesser Yıldız and explained that this was entirely Erkan Doğan's fabrication."

Barış Kurt's other lawyer, Bilal Veske, compared the case in terms of events, facts, and methods to the cases opened with unlawful evidence during the period when FETÖ was most active and shaping politics, saying, "Our only request is for a dismissal decision to be made in this case."

Judge: We Cannot See Our Way Forward Either

Upon the lawyers' questions, the Presiding Judge made the following statements:

"We have heard 32 defendants and 39 lawyers. We will continue tomorrow. Let us know if they are not coming, so we can act accordingly... We cannot see our way forward. If they don't come, we will close it. We thought about doing it on Sunday; but we decided not to, let's rest. If no one comes, we will continue on Monday. If we see no one is making a statement, we will evaluate the requests for expanding the investigation. We will probably leave it for the next day. We need to withdraw for deliberation anyway."

The hearing continued with the statement of Deniz Urcan's lawyer, Sidar Yurtçicek. Stating that all kinds of lawlessness have been experienced in the case since the investigation period, but that the public and judicial officials who committed them still enjoy immunity, Attorney Yurtçiçek said, "This case is the state where the salt has gone bad." Reading the correspondence in the WhatsApp group established between the prosecutors and the police, and explaining that these came to light because God was on their side, Attorney Yurtçiçek said to the Presiding Judge, "They tricked you. We researched you; we know you are an honorable, respectable, moral, and upright person who prays five times a day. Act righteously, do not allow this fabrication."

While Attorney Yurtçiçek claimed that so many people were being sacrificed just to sentence one person, he said, "He has been kept in a cell for 1 year, they are not even allowed to buy a kettle. Someone lost their mind in the cell, he thinks he is the Mahdi."

Finally, Ayşe Özgün İnce, the lawyer for non-custodial defendant Police Chief N.A.Ç., alleged that the complainant Erkan Doğan, who led to her client's accusation, was not of sound mind and said that N.A.Ç. was included in this case to add color and to find a police leg to the case.

After Attorney İnce's defense, when Tarık Teoman, one of Bora Kaplan's lawyers, stated that he wanted to present his defense on Monday, the Judge decided not to hold a hearing tomorrow and then asked the Prosecutor for his opinion regarding the release requests. The Prosecutor requested the continuation of the detention status. The court decided to continue the detention status and for the hearing to continue next week.

News Source: 12punto