New claim from Serdar Sertçelik: 'They told me they would pin every unsolved crime on me'

Serdar Sertçelik, known as a 'secret witness' who is also alleged to be an associate of Ayhan Bora Kaplan—the leader of an organized crime syndicate arrested in Ankara—and involved in various criminal acts, has accused the police, stating, "They forced me to sign 19-page statements full of lies and slander."

According to Sözcü columnist Saygı Öztürk, Sertçelik returned to Turkey from the TRNC after being told by Deputy Police Chief Murat Çelik—who was recently suspended and is under investigation—"Just come and answer a few questions correctly. You will be released." Sertçelik claims that a secret witness statement was fabricated in his name under duress.

"AS IF I HAD EXPERIENCED THINGS I NEVER LIVED THROUGH..."

Sertçelik said, "My secret witness statement was created in 19 pages by the Deputy Chief of the Organized Crime Bureau, Mr. Şevket, Commissioner Mr. Ufuk, and three other police officers whose names I do not know, in Commissioner Ufuk's office. They created it within a framework they designed themselves, without ever asking me, talking among themselves and saying, 'This event happened like this, that event happened like that,' and they made it look as if I had experienced and recounted things I had no knowledge of and never lived through, all against my will."

Explaining that he was placed in a witness protection program with an electronic ankle monitor the day after giving the statement, but was still able to go wherever he wanted, Sertçelik alleged that "the operation against him was a sham and he was allowed to flee abroad."

Sertçelik stated, "There is no section in my statement regarding AK Party figures. I had already gone abroad. I was going to return when the trial began. They told me these names would be included in an additional statement to be taken when I returned. There are audio recordings regarding this. I have shared some of them."

Police officials, however, said, "The secret witness statement was not taken by the police, but by Public Prosecutor Mustafa Kaya. Serdar Sertçelik is not telling the truth."

"IF I DO NOT AGREE TO BE A SECRET WITNESS..."

According to Öztürk, Sertçelik described that process as follows:

"On October 6, 2023, N.K., who went to see Deputy Police Chief Murat Çelik, who is responsible for the Ankara Organized Crime Bureau, called me and said that Çelik wanted to talk. I accepted. Çelik said, 'There is no situation involving you. Just come and answer a few questions correctly. You will be released. I guarantee it.' I was convinced, and that same evening, plainclothes police officers affiliated with the Turkish police in the TRNC picked me up and put me on a plane to Ankara. The organized crime team met me in Ankara and brought me to the police station. From the very first moment, I was put under pressure and forced to become a secret witness. They wanted me to be a secret witness regarding issues and events I had no connection, knowledge, or observation of. In the so-called secret witness statement they forced me to sign, they even made me slander myself regarding an incident where I was the victim. They told me that if I did not agree to be a secret witness, I would never get out of prison and they would pin every unsolved crime on me."

"I AGREED TO BE A SECRET WITNESS"

Chief Murat told me that if I became a secret witness, I would not be arrested, I would be given a new identity, I would undergo facial reconstruction surgery, he would have a decision of non-prosecution issued for me, and the state would look after me. I accepted.

My secret witness statement was created in 19 pages by the Deputy Chief of the Organized Crime Bureau, Mr. Şevket, Commissioner Mr. Ufuk, and three other police officers whose names I do not know, in Commissioner Ufuk's office. They created it within a framework they designed themselves, without ever asking me, talking among themselves and saying, 'This event happened like this, that event happened like that,' and they made it look as if I had experienced and recounted things I had no knowledge of and never lived through, all against my will. On October 9, 2023, they took me to the Ankara Courthouse to see the prosecutor in charge of the investigation, Mustafa Kaya. They took the statement that the prosecutor was supposed to take, created it in the way they had planned, and put it in front of him. The prosecutor also read it quickly and had me make a few corrections. They printed it out and made me put my thumbprint on all 19 pages.

"THEY LET ME ESCAPE"

The next day, I was released under judicial control with an electronic ankle monitor on my leg. At the same time, I was placed in the witness protection program. Even though I had a monitor on my leg, I could leave the house whenever I wanted. On November 21, 2023, I had gone to a soup restaurant with a female friend. A dispute between two intoxicated people, which had nothing to do with me, turned into an armed clash. I was shot. I received treatment at the hospital and was discharged. Chief Şevket and Commissioner Ufuk, on the instructions of Murat Çelik, came to detain me as a show. They told me, 'We are going to conduct an operation, but since you are wounded, we will have a hospital report prepared and we will not be able to detain you. You should just flee and go abroad. We will bring you back when the trial starts.' I went abroad through illegal means. The organized crime bureau knew where I was. They were calling me, but I was not returning. Because I saw that they had forced me to sign 19-page statements full of lies and slander and had a lawsuit filed against me for managing an organization. I am going to send a letter to the Presidency of the 32nd High Criminal Court regarding what was done to me."

"THOSE NAMES WOULD BE IN THE ADDITIONAL STATEMENT"

I reminded Serdar Sertçelik that he was not asked questions in his statements regarding the AKP and some former ministers. I asked what he had to say about this. He gave the following answer:

"There is no section in my statement regarding AK Party figures. I had already gone abroad. I was going to return when the trial began. They told me these names would be included in an additional statement to be taken when I returned. There are audio recordings regarding this. I have shared some of them."

DENIAL FROM THE POLICE

Regarding Sertçelik's allegations, police officials stated the following:

"Serdar Sertçelik said he wanted to come to Turkey but did not want to go to prison, and that he could be a secret witness for this. In our phone conversations, we told him that by law, he had to recount some unknown events in order to be a secret witness. We asked him what he would say in his statement. We took notes and investigated them. It was understood that most of them were true. It was assessed that Sertçelik possessed more information. In the 19-page secret witness statement, as alleged, the names of neither Süleyman Soylu, nor Bekir Bozdağ, nor Hasan Doğan, nor the AKP were ever mentioned. The statements are in court. These can be seen. The secret witness statement was not taken by the police, but by Public Prosecutor Mustafa Kaya. Serdar Sertçelik is not telling the truth. He is also not coming to surrender to justice."

News Source: 12punto