Investigation completed into Zengin, who threatened Public Prosecutor Engin in his office: Statements from the 'Newborn Gang' case revealed

The statements of suspects Mustafa Kemal Zengin and Aylin Arslantatar, who face a total of 36 to 72 years in prison each for 8 separate crimes, including 'attempted premeditated murder of a person due to their public duty' and 'establishing an organization for the purpose of committing crimes,' have been revealed in the indictment.

In his statement included in the indictment, complainant Public Prosecutor Yavuz Engin explained that suspect Aylin Arslantatar told him she would come to his office with Mustafa Kemal Zengin, stating, "Since I could not express myself otherwise and had no other evidence, I recorded the incriminating conversation. The recording is on my phone.

I am also filing a complaint against the person or persons who came with the lawyer I am complaining about. Given the gravity of the death threat I received, and having concluded that evidence could not be obtained by other means, I request an investigation into how the personal information of the people making the threat was accessed and how information regarding my close circle and family was obtained," he said.

"THE INCIDENT STEMMED ENTIRELY FROM GOOD INTENTIONS"

Suspect Mustafa Kemal Zengin, whose statement was included in the indictment, said, "I have a criminal record. I have ongoing investigations against me for threats, insults, fraud by promising influence over public officials, and violation of the obligation to pay debts. I have known the person named Aylin Arslantatar for 3-4 years; we have a romantic relationship, she is my girlfriend. I do not know Tuğçe Toptemel personally; I learned that Toptemel was detained as part of an investigation through Yavuz Çelik, who is both a relative and a friend of mine.

Yavuz Çelik asked me if I knew a good criminal lawyer, saying that they had appealed Tuğçe Toptemel's detention, that the appeal was rejected, and that the duration was therefore extended.

Upon this, I said, 'I have a lawyer friend I know, I will talk to her and give you information.' I explained the matter to my friend Aylin Arslantatar, who is a criminal lawyer. I also told her that Yavuz Çelik was a person of some standing on the streets, that he could harm the prosecutor, that they had obtained information about the prosecutor's family, that they were following the prosecutor's social media, and that these individuals were mafia-type figures from the past.

Aylin Arslantatar told me she would look at the file and get back to me. Two or three days later, in my conversation with Aylin, she said, 'The prosecutor looking at the file is a close friend of mine; it would not be appropriate for me to take the case, find another lawyer,' and she did not accept the case. Upon this, I said, 'If the prosecutor is your friend, warn him; these types are troublesome, they could harm the prosecutor and his family.'

2-3 weeks after this conversation, Aylin Arslantatar told me that she had spoken with her friend, the investigating prosecutor, and that she had last written to him via social media, and that the prosecutor had told her he was uneasy and anxious about this file and had received many threats regarding it. She said the prosecutor wanted to meet with her. Upon Aylin saying to me, 'Let's go to the prosecutor together, you tell the prosecutor what you know,' I accepted because the prosecutor was Aylin's friend, and on October 1, 2024, in the afternoon, I went to the Büyükçekmece Courthouse with Aylin Arslantatar. I entered the prosecutor's office with Aylin Arslantatar," he said.

Claiming that his conversations were intended to protect the prosecutor, the detained suspect Zengin said, "My purpose in going there was to convey what I had heard from my relatives and what I had heard about these men from my circle regarding Tuğçe Toptemel, who is detained as part of the investigation. I definitely did not threaten the prosecutor during the meeting inside; the meeting already took place in a very sincere atmosphere.

I did not receive instructions from anyone to meet with the prosecutor, and I am not anyone's spokesperson. When you watch the entire video, there is no threat in the conversations I had; it is for the purpose of protecting the prosecutor. I heard the information I mentioned about the prosecutor's family from my friend Yavuz Çelik. I am a citizen loyal to my state and nation, and I have served my state and nation for years. I would never stoop so low as to threaten a public prosecutor of the state; I realized that I made a stylistic error due to the sincerity during the meeting and was misunderstood. I am regretful; therefore, I apologize to the Turkish nation and to the honorable prosecutor. The incident stemmed entirely from my good intentions," he said.

"MY ONLY GOAL IS TO PREVENT HARM TO THE PROSECUTOR AND HIS FAMILY"

Suspect Aylin Arslantatar stated in her testimony that she knew Mustafa Kemal Zengin, saying, "I even introduced him to my family. He would come and go to our place from time to time. He had introduced himself to me as a retired undersecretary. He even said that he was in very close contact with state officials, that he was currently a business person, and that he had a factory in the Hadımköy region. My relationship with him is limited to business and social friendship due to my being a lawyer. I do not know the person named Tuğçe Toptemel, who is the subject of the investigation. Public Prosecutor Yavuz Engin is a close friend of mine whom I have been seeing for about 7 years. We have written and spoken with each other from time to time, both face-to-face and via social media applications.

He even knows my family. Our correspondence on social media can be checked to prove that we are close. I had heard from Mustafa Kemal that Yavuz Engin was being threatened due to an investigation he was following. I met with the prosecutor to warn him and ensure he took precautions. Because he is a close friend of mine, I was very scared by what Mustafa Kemal Zengin told me, and because the thought that harm would come to prosecutor Yavuz Engin and his family formed in my mind, I panicked and started looking for ways to ensure precautions were taken as soon as possible. My only goal here is to prevent harm to the prosecutor, who is my close friend, and his family.

We did not know that there was an audio and video recording device in the prosecutor's office during our meeting. Since a sincere atmosphere was created inside, we spoke without straining ourselves and without any ill intent. During the conversation, Mustafa Kemal Zengin spoke to the prosecutor about the file he was following. However, this was not a planned conversation. The meeting took place entirely through a well-intentioned dialogue," she said.

In the indictment, a prison sentence of 36 to 72 years each was requested for organization leader suspect Mustafa Kemal Zengin and managers Aylin Arslantatar and Gökhan Güler for 8 separate crimes, including 'attempted premeditated murder of a person due to their public duty' and 'establishing an organization for the purpose of committing crimes.'

The prepared indictment was sent to the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office for evaluation.

News Source: İHA