Müyesser Yıldız reports: 5 aggravated life sentences, 10 acquittals, 2 releases in the Sinan Ateş case

Müyesser YILDIZ

The session of the Sinan Ateş murder trial today began with defendant Suat Kurt's insults directed at CHP Chairman Özgür Özel. Before the hearing, Kurt wanted to speak with his lawyer. When the gendarmerie prevented this, Kurt used the following expressions regarding Özgür Özel:

“Özgür Özel has come out and is talking nonsense. He has sold his dignity to the PKK. You scoundrel.”

Upon this, the gendarmerie commander ordered that Suat Kurt be taken to the detention room and brought back with Doğukan Çep when the panel arrived.

When the panel took their seats at 09:15, the lawyers explained the dispute to the Presiding Judge and requested that if a report was to be filed regarding Suat Kurt, a report should also be filed against the gendarmes who prevented their meeting. The Presiding Judge said, “There is no need to make a big deal out of it, they are also trying to do their duty,” and allowed Suat Kurt to go to the back and speak with his lawyer.

'I HOPE THEY WILL BE THE SUBJECT OF OTHER CASES'

Following these developments, lawyer Aziz Bingöl, representing former Murder Bureau chief Mustafa Ensar Aykal, presented his defense against the opinion on the merits. Stating that the reason they requested the hearing be held in closed session was not to put on a show but to explain their grievances, Attorney Bingöl said regarding Tolga Şardan, Asuman Aranca, Timur Soykan, Şule Aydın, Turhan Çömez, and Attorney Mehmet Saral, whom he claimed had published news and statements against Aykal: “I hope they will be the subject of other cases, not this one.”

Denying the allegation that Mustafa Ensar Aykal gave Sinan Ateş's address to Tolgahan Demirbaş, he spoke as follows:

“Let's assume we gave it. But the addresses put into the file are not Sinan Ateş's address. Many people in the Police Department know Tolgahan. Why are their names not mentioned? Why are these 13 police officers not asked what they discussed with Tolgahan?”

Attorney Bingöl stated that the person who prepared the expert report was a former police officer, that he had prepared documents regarding the 13 suspects in this file while on duty, and then returned to act as an expert witness, after which he requested the recusal of both the expert and the report.

May the US Crack It, Let It Be a Precedent for Traitors

Regarding the fact that Mustafa Ensar Aykal did not provide the password for his phone and that the US was asked to crack the password, Attorney Aziz Bingöl said the following:

“We know our password. We said, ‘Tell us the reason, and we will give it.’ We asked the prosecutor if he would include everything that came out of the phone. He could not say ‘No’; he spoke about the expert, saying, ‘He is the person who handles the state's most confidential matters.’ We saw the expert. It is a good thing we did not give it. I hope the US responds, it gets cracked and comes back. There are a bunch of traitors, it will be a precedent for them.”

In Whose Custody Was He Taken?

While Attorney Bingöl claimed that defendant Attorney Serdar Öktem was being targeted, he noted that when Öktem came to the Police Department to meet with suspects as a lawyer, he was not allowed inside, and was later taken into custody while with the president of a major sports club, but this was not written in the report, and asked, “Are we responsible for this too?”

Attorney Bingöl requested his client's release with the following statements:

“This man does not bear the burden of a single tear of Sinan Ateş's two daughters. I am requesting house arrest, not release. He will not violate it, he will not flee or cause anyone to flee, he will not hide fleeing or causing to flee. If he does or causes these things, he is a coward. He will show the honorable stance he has here, there as well.”

Could He Have Prevented Eray Özyağcı?

Fuat Saatçioğlu, one of the lawyers for Suat Kurt, who is requested to be sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment, also made this interesting defense:

“The work Suat did was reconnaissance, acting as a lookout. There is nothing here that has a functional effect. He only informs Doğukan Çep that Sinan Ateş is going to the mosque, and he informs Eray Özyağcı. Now Eray knows; even if Suat left, the murder would be committed. The only valuable information Suat gave was that Sinan Ateş was going to the mosque. Could he have prevented the murder? There are two ways. One is moral, persuasion; the other is physical. We saw how Eray considers Doğukan a role model; he calls him ‘Brother.’ If Suat said, ‘Stop,’ and Doğukan said, ‘Shoot,’ or if Doğukan said, ‘I gave up, turn back,’ and Suat said, ‘No, let's shoot,’ which one would Eray, who is so attached to Doğukan, listen to? Furthermore, Suat does not know that Eray is there and that the murder will be committed, and he is not at the scene of the incident. He has no chance to prevent a subject he does not know. I am not thinking of Suat's acquittal, but he is being tried under the wrong articles of referral.”

After Attorney Saatçioğlu completed his statement, the hearing was adjourned for a lunch break.

ATTACK OUTSIDE

During the lunch break, a fistfight broke out between non-detained defendant Zekeriya Asarkaya and one of the complainants.

It was learned that the incident started yesterday, that during a break given yesterday, a person who said he was a former branch president and the person with him told Zekeriya Asarkaya, “We will come to your house,” and that Asarkaya, who saw that person today, said, “All of Turkey learned about my situation. There is a family at home, if he is coming, let him bring his mother too,” and upon this, that person punched Asarkaya, and Asarkaya punched him back, and the police intervened and filed a report.

Zekeriya Asarkaya, who is the person Suat Kurt stayed with when he came to Ankara, had said, “I was deceived,” and was released at the hearing in July.

In the afternoon part of the hearing, Suat Kurt's other lawyer, Demet Saatçioğlu, presented her defense. Criticizing the fact that the footage of the murder was not examined seriously, Attorney Saatçioğlu said, “Are the 22 men here not worth as much as a football match that this footage in the VAR system was not examined?”

Attorney Saatçioğlu also made the following assessments regarding the reactions of Sinan Ateş's family:

“So many curses were heaped upon the defendants that I am spiritually exhausted. Mr. President, why did you not prevent this? Four grieving women have come and are struggling; we said, ‘Let's not say anything to the family,’ but let us be sad for their children, but should we not be sad for Tolgahan Bey's and Hakan Bey's children? I keep Ayşe Ateş separate. She is sincerely and honestly pursuing justice, but the other members of the family are pursuing revenge. Revenge has blinded them so much that they have put the defendants, the lawyers, and the children all in the same basket and cursed us all. As for Selma Ateş, Sinan Ateş's sister, she should act like Sinan Ateş's sister.”

Final Words

As of 14:23, the defenses were completed, and the Presiding Judge asked the defendants for their final words. The defendants said the following:

Eray Özyağcı: “My intention was to injure. I wish it hadn't happened this way. I deserve every kind of punishment. But let the decision be made with justice, not with public perception. My intention was definitely not this. He died. We already had a lot of trouble, and we found ourselves here.”

Vedat Balkaya: “If I had known, I wouldn't have come. I came to help with a debt issue. A very different action was carried out. I helped unintentionally. I am content with the decision you will make. I request my release.”

Doğukan Çep: “The incident is my personal matter. I respect the decision you will make. If I have any rights over you, I forgive them.”

Tolgahan Demirbaş: “A setup was intended to be made against a community and me. As an Idealist (Ülkücü), I trust the Turkish courts and I take refuge in you.”

Aşkın Mert Gelenbey: “I did not bring Eray Özyağcı to Ankara to shoot anyone.”

Serdar Öktem: “In a period where trust in justice has decreased so much, where the President asks judges and prosecutors to be fair at their internship commencement ceremony, and where the sword of Damocles hangs over our heads, I believe you will make a decision for the manifestation of justice, not for political gain or to obtain a position somewhere.”

Emre Yüksel: “Even the family's lawyer, Süleyman Kavak, said there was no evidence against me. I do not want to be a victim of anyone's ambitions.”

The other defendants were content with requesting their release and acquittal.

After the final words, the panel withdrew for deliberation until 16:30 for the verdict.

ATTACK ON SINAN ATEŞ'S SISTER

While waiting for the verdict, a person, who was alleged to be a relative of one of the defendants, headed towards Selma Ateş in the cafeteria section. When Selma Ateş and some other people intervened against this person, a scuffle broke out. While the person was being taken into custody, mother Saime Ateş became ill and an ambulance was called.

The defendants' relatives, on the other hand, said that the person who attacked Selma Ateş was not one of them, but a visitor who came to the prison.

ATTORNEY ŞAHİN: WHY IS THERE SO MUCH POLICE?

After the attack, Ayşe Ateş's lawyer, Şeyda Şahin, made statements. Şahin said, "We were waiting outside for the verdict. Ms. Selma was sitting with her husband. The Chairman of the Nation Party (Milli Yol Partisi), Remzi Çayır, was also with us. Someone in a white hoodie, whom we later learned was a relative of a defendant, approached and physically lunged at Ms. Selma; her husband, who saw this, tried to intervene. Afterwards, there was already a scuffle. I don't understand why there is so much police? Why doesn't this much police intervene? Are they trying to wipe out the Ateş family? Saniye Ateş is currently in serious danger regarding her health. Selma and Sevda Ateş are currently healthy. These people constantly state that they do not have security. However, nothing is done about this. We will request that the camera recordings be found. We will express our complaint regarding the relevant person."

VERDICT ANNOUNCED

The verdicts announced after the deliberation are as follows:

Eray Özkaya, Vedat Balkaya, Suat Kurt, Doğukan Çep, and Tolgahan Demirbaş were sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment.

Emre Yüksel, Aşkın Mert Gelenbey, and Murat Can Çolak were sentenced to 18 years in prison, and Mustafa Uzunlar was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Alper Atay was sentenced to 2 years in prison, and the sentencing was deferred.

Since the process regarding the phone sent to the US would take a long time, it was decided to separate the files of Attorney Serdar Öktem and Mustafa Ensar Aykal, to release Öktem, and to continue the detention of Aykal.

It was decided to acquit Caner Güney but to file a criminal complaint against him for harboring a criminal; Zekeriya Asarkaya, Ufuk Köktürk, Hakan Saraç, Mehmet Yüce, Erdem Karadeniz, Osman Bayraktar, Umut Ersoy, Çağlar Zorlu, and Aytaç Ataç were acquitted.

News Source: 12punto