The first hearing of the trial in which former Habertürk TV news anchor Veyis Ateş is being tried on drug-related charges has been held. According to information provided by journalist Muratcan Altuntoprak, Ateş appeared before the judge at the Istanbul Courthouse to present his defense regarding the accusations against him.
"WHY WOULD I HAVE SUPPLIED SOMETHING I DO NOT USE?"
Ateş, who did not accept the drug charges against him, denied the allegations that he went to Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s house and provided a place for drug use.
Ateş stated the following in his defense:
“I am asked if I went to Mehmet Akif’s house; the house mentioned does not belong to me. Then I am told that I provided a place for drug use. How could I have provided a place in a house that does not belong to me? Why would I have supplied something I do not use? Why would I offer drugs like handing out holiday candy to people I don’t even know and who are just Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s girlfriends? A person performs an action either because they hope for something or because they are afraid. What could I have hoped for from such an act? As someone who has presented news about people who use drugs for years, why would I commit such a crime?”
"HE TRIED TO WASH HIS HANDS THROUGH ME"
In the continuation of his defense, Veyis Ateş also made claims regarding the statements Mehmet Akif Ersoy gave as part of the investigation. Ateş alleged that Ersoy had accused him in a statement given under the scope of effective remorse and that he later apologized for this reason.
Ateş explained his claim with these words:
“Mehmet Akif Ersoy, who was arrested 10 days before my own arrest, did not mention me. Then, in his statement of effective remorse, he tried to wash his hands through me by saying, ‘I didn’t know what drugs were, Veyis Ateş introduced me to drugs.’ When we met during a lawyer visit in Silivri, he told me the following: ‘Brother, I am very sorry, I had to give a statement this way, please forgive me. If I hadn’t given a statement this way, they would have involved me in the Habertürk ownership change case as well. I don’t know what would have happened to me from there. I apologize.’ My lawyer Kerem Akyer, who was with me at that moment, also witnessed this.”
"HOW AM I TO PROVE WHAT DID NOT HAPPEN?"
Ateş also rejected the accusations of Osman Tıraş, who had made statements against him in the indictment. Stating that he had never been to the venues called Bebek Otel and Kütüphane, Ateş argued that the allegations regarding him supplying drugs did not reflect the truth.
Ateş, who requested his release, stated the following in his defense:
“Osman Tıraş said that he saw me go to the venues called Bebek Otel and Kütüphane and that I gave drugs to Umut Evirgen, the husband of artist Aleyna Boz, at the venue. I have never been to the venues called Bebek Otel and Kütüphane in my life. I learned from the media that there was a venue called Kütüphane. I have been thinking about these things in my cell for 9 months. How am I to prove what did not happen? My career, which I built on screens over 20 years, has been trampled upon. My economic life has been damaged. If there is a single piece of evidence against me, let it be presented.”
HIS FILE WAS SEPARATED, A SEPARATE INDICTMENT WAS PREPARED
Veyis Ateş had been detained and subsequently arrested as part of an investigation into the former editor-in-chief of Habertürk, Mehmet Akif Ersoy, on allegations of establishing a criminal organization.
Within the scope of the investigation, Ateş’s file was separated and a separate indictment was prepared against him. In the indictment, Ateş was charged with “trafficking or supplying drugs or stimulants” and “facilitating the use of drugs.” The prepared indictment was accepted by the court.
THE INDICTMENT INCLUDED STATEMENTS FROM THREE PEOPLE
In the statement of Dilara Yıldız, who is included in the indictment as a victim, it was alleged that Veyis Ateş brought cocaine to the address where they were with Mehmet Akif Ersoy and Ebru Gülan.
Serap Şaylan’s statement also included the allegation that Ateş supplied the same drug.
In Ebru Gülan’s statement, it was reported that Mehmet Akif Ersoy, who is defined as the leader of the criminal organization in the indictment, said, “Veyis will bring kokoreç now,” and it was claimed that Ateş brought the prohibited substance.
News Source: 12punto
