'I believe my uncle is the messiah'

The first hearing of the case against Yaşar Kılıçkaya and Zeynep Abdullah, who damaged the Atatürk Monument in Kayseri with an axe, has been held. 

The defendant Kılıçkaya and his niece Abdullah were present at the first hearing held at the Kayseri 14th Criminal Court of First Instance. Denying that he used the phrases mentioned in the indictment such as 'Today is the festival of smashing idols' and 'Why are you worshipping this man of iron', defendant Yaşar Kılıçkaya stated, "I did not use insults directed at Atatürk's person. He is a human being like us. His affairs are left to God. I have no issue with him. I said, 'Do not worship a servant.' We did not receive instructions from any organization. I felt like doing something like this from within. Zeynep said, 'Uncle, I want to come too'.

'Don't do it; your child is small, you cannot handle it,' I said. I oppose everything that is followed other than God. Do not deify anyone other than God. Only believe in God," he said.

'IF I HAD KNOWN THEY WOULD NOT UNDERSTAND, I WOULD NOT HAVE CARRIED OUT THIS ACT'

Explaining that he has not received any psychological treatment, Kılıçkaya said, "I appeared before God and spoke with Him. For this reason, I see myself as the 'messiah'. This act was something we had thought about beforehand. I did not say 'Why are you worshipping this man of iron'. I did not know that people would distort these things so much. My purpose with this act was to show people the right path. It was to ensure that they do not see anyone other than God as supreme. If I had known they would not understand, I would not have carried out this act. My only goal was to lead people to the right path," he said.

'I BELIEVE MY UNCLE IS THE MESSIAH'

Zeynep Abdullah, who stated that she believes her uncle is the 'messiah', said, "We did not insult any object or person in any way. Taking Abraham as an example, we struck the idols. Just as I believe in and have faith in all the prophets, I also believe that my uncle is the 'messiah'. We only declared that there is no one supreme other than God, and that God's attributes cannot be attributed to others. Thank God, I have not received any psychological treatment. Because I read the holy books, I wanted to join my uncle's act. We said phrases like 'Do not attribute God's attributes to His servants' and 'There is no one greater than God'," she said.

CONTINUATION OF DETENTION DECIDED

With the interim decision made by the presiding judge, it was decided that the defendants be referred to the Adana Dr. Ekrem Tok Mental Health and Diseases Hospital to determine whether they have criminal capacity.

The judge decided to continue the detention of the defendants due to the fact that their actions caused public outrage and that the mental health reports had not yet reached the court, and adjourned the hearing.

News Source: 12punto