The final opinion on the merits has been presented in the trial of lawyer and former AKP Central Decision and Executive Board (MKYK) member Mücahit Birinci. The prosecutor requested that Birinci be convicted for the crime of "misconduct in office."
Birinci attended the second hearing of the case at the Istanbul 30th High Criminal Court. Businessman Murat Kapki, who is currently detained as part of the IMM (Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality) case, was brought from the Marmara Closed Penal Institution.
Birinci is being tried on allegations that he demanded 2 million dollars from Kapki in exchange for his release and forced him to provide false testimony. While Birinci denied the accusations, he argued that the meeting fell within the scope of his professional legal activities.
KAPKİ STATES HE MAINTAINS HIS COMPLAINT
Testifying at the hearing, Murat Kapki stated that he maintains his complaint. Kapki explained that Birinci visited him in prison on July 31, 2025, and that he had previously received word through a lawyer that he could be released if he granted power of attorney.
According to Kapki's allegations, Birinci arrived at the meeting with a two-copy document. Kapki claimed he was told that if he signed this document and presented the allegations within it as his own testimony, he would be released. Stating that 2 million dollars was demanded from him, Kapki said, "I negotiated over the 2 million dollar figure."
Kapki argued that the information in the document placed before him was not true. Stating that the document contained various allegations against Murat Ongun, Ekrem İmamoğlu, Özgür Özel, Hüseyin Köksal, Emrah Bağdatlı, and Fatih Keleş, Kapki alleged that he was asked to recount certain events as if he had experienced or heard them himself.
Stating that he told them, "I cannot slander anyone," Kapki said he had never seen Özgür Özel in his life and that what was written had nothing to do with him. Noting that he had previously testified to the prosecutor's office under the scope of effective remorse, Kapki stated that he refused to sign the new document for this reason.
In his defense, Mücahit Birinci did not accept the allegations. Stating that the preparation of the power of attorney, the meetings held over files and documents, and the prison visit should be evaluated within the scope of his duties as a lawyer, Birinci said he had not committed a crime and requested his acquittal.
Kapki's lawyers requested that the camera recordings of the sections where the prison meeting room is located be brought to court. The prosecutor also requested that Kapki's request to join the case be accepted and that the camera recordings be requested. The court rejected the request regarding the camera recordings on the grounds that it would not add anything new to the trial.
Following the final opinion on the merits, Kapki's lawyers requested time to make a statement regarding whether the act should be evaluated under the scope of "attempted fraud" or "influence peddling." Birinci, in response to the prosecutor's opinion, said, "I am innocent, I request my acquittal."
The court adjourned the hearing to January 22, 2027, at 10:20 AM, for the parties to prepare their statements against the prosecutor's opinion.
News Source: 12punto
