Lawsuit filed against Cihat Yıldız for aiding Adil Öksüz's escape

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has completed the investigation into the defendant Cihat Yıldız, who was arrested by the court after being caught attempting to flee from a vehicle stopped at a checkpoint by the Beylikdüzü District Police Department during operations targeting individuals active within the FETÖ fugitive and current structure.

The indictment prepared as a result of the investigation stated that the defendant Cihat Yıldız's account at Bank Asya showed an increase of 83 thousand 736 liras following the December 17-25 judicial coup attempt, and that he had records at various organizations affiliated with the group.

The indictment, which noted that the cryptographic communication systems "Kakao" and "ByLock," used by members of the organization, were detected on the defendant Yıldız's phone, also stated that he had contact with Mehmet Hanefi Sözen, one of the high-level executives of the terrorist organization.

SECRET WITNESS TESTIMONY REGARDING THE DEFENDANT INCLUDED IN THE INDICTMENT

The indictment includes statements made by a secret witness codenamed "Aksiyon," who served as a civilian element responsible for soldiers within FETÖ's so-called air force structure and benefited from witness protection provisions, regarding the defendant Cihat Yıldız in a statement given on March 27, 2018.

In the secret witness statement, it was reported that 3-4 days after Adil Öksüz arrived at their home, the defendant Cihat Yıldız, whom the witness knew by the codename "Bahadır," also arrived, and that Öksüz and Yıldız spoke in another room where the witness could not hear them.

Noting that the defendant Yıldız told the witness he would come to the house again in a few days to pick up Öksüz, the secret witness stated the following:

"I understood that a plan was being made to take Adil Öksüz to another place. On the second or third day of August, Yıldız came to take Adil Öksüz from my house. Bahadır (Cihat Yıldız) took Adil Öksüz's personal belongings, which were in a black suitcase, and left first. Then I left. A few minutes after me, Adil Öksüz left the house. When we went outside, two separate cars were waiting for us. In the front vehicle, there was a person I remember as Zafer, whom I could identify if I saw him, acting as the driver; furthermore, Bahadır and Adil Öksüz got into that car. Bahadır sat in the front, and Öksüz sat alone in the back. The front vehicle had tinted windows. I and another person named Alper, whom I could also identify and who had a role in the structure, got into the back vehicle. Alper was driving. After the vehicles started moving, the vehicle we were in passed in front of the other vehicle. We continued our journey in that manner."

The secret witness explained that they were dropped off from the vehicle on the connecting road from Altunizade in the direction of the July 15 Martyrs Bridge, and that the vehicle containing Öksüz continued on, stating: "I do not know where they went from there. Nothing was said to me about that matter. A few days after this incident, when I saw Rüştü, I asked him because I was curious about where they had gone that day; he made a 'hush' gesture with his hand and did not say anything, and he also warned me not to tell anyone anything."

DEFENDANT YILDIZ DENIED THE ACCUSATIONS

In the indictment, it was stated that in his testimony, the defendant Cihat Yıldız claimed he was not involved in organizational activities and denied the allegations that he met with Adil Öksüz after the treacherous July 15 coup attempt, stayed in the same house, and helped Öksüz escape abroad.

Claiming that he knew Öksüz because he had attended a lecture on exegesis (tafsir) given by him between 2010 and 2011, Yıldız offered the defense: "I have had no organic connection or communication with him other than that. On the day of the coup, I had already gone to Bursa. I returned to my home in Istanbul around 8-9 that evening. I learned that a coup was taking place from a friend of mine in Ankara who called me, whose name I do not wish to disclose."

Claiming that he only knew Adem Bora, in whose vehicle he was caught, because he had stopped him by hitchhiking and had no other communication with him, the defendant Yıldız stated:

"I know Mehmet Hanefi Sözen, who is said to be a top executive within the organization, because we live in the same neighborhood, frequently use the same mosque together, and because of the friendship that developed between us during this process. Both of our wives worked together at the same school. I have had family meetings and communication with this person. As I said above, I only know Adil Öksüz because I attended his exegesis lecture. I never went to the house where Adil Öksüz stayed for a while in Üsküdar Bulgurlu after coming from Ankara to Istanbul. I can say that not only did I not communicate with him during that period, but I also had no knowledge about the process. I know the provisions of effective remorse, and I will not be making use of effective remorse."

The indictment requests that the defendant Cihat Yıldız be sentenced to between 17 and 28 years and 6 months in prison for the crimes of "establishing and managing an armed terrorist organization" and "using another person's identity or identification information" on the grounds that he presented his brother Mustafa Yıldız's identification document when he was caught.

The indictment, prepared with the request that the defendant Cihat Yıldız's case be merged with the ongoing trial at the Istanbul 36th High Criminal Court where he is being tried in absentia, has been accepted by the court.

The defendant Yıldız will appear before the judge in the coming days.

News Source: AA

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