12punto followed the Necip Hablemitoğlu trial step-by-step... Accusation against the prosecutor for 'hiding footage'

Müyesser YILDIZ 12punto.com.tr

The latest session of the trial regarding the assassination of academic and author Assoc. Prof. Dr. Necip Hablemitoğlu, who lost his life in an assassination in 2002, was held today. An interim ruling was announced in the case.

12punto writer and journalist Müyesser Yıldız followed the trial step-by-step.

Highlights from the trial:

The trial of academic and author Assoc. Prof. Dr. Necip Hablemitoğlu continued. Today's session at the Ankara 28th High Criminal Court began with the testimony of Aslıhan Uslu Yıldız, who worked as a security officer at the U.S. Embassy during the Hablemitoğlu assassination.

While answering questions from the presiding judge, Aslıhan Uslu Yıldız stated that she was on duty on the day of the incident on Portakal Çiçeği Street, where the embassy residences and Hablemitoğlu's house were located, and that she did not notice anything unusual. Since there were no other witnesses to be heard in today's session, the court moved on to receiving the requests of the defendants and their lawyers.

The prosecutor, in his opinion, requested the continuation of Nuri Gökhan Bozkır's detention and the judicial control of the other defendants, while also requesting that the population registration status of the case's deceased defendant number 1, Fetullah Gülen, be inquired with foreign authorities through the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

It was noted that although the expert report regarding whether there was a similarity between the defendants and the individuals suspected of monitoring Hablemitoğlu at the conference in Eskişehir and at Migros before he was killed arrived at the court last week, the prosecutor requested that the expert report be awaited.

PROSECUTOR PROTECTED KÖZ

After the prosecutor, Nuri Gökhan Bozkır, when asked for his requests, accused the indictment and trial prosecutor Zafer Ergün with the following statements:

“This is a murder trial. Although the prosecutor hid the footage, which is the only concrete evidence, your court found it; I thank you. It has been clearly understood that I am not among the individuals in this footage. I should not have been detained for even a single day. Yesterday, Kemalettin Özdemir, known as KÖZ, who is said to be the imam of the police, was heard. It is very interesting that the honorable prosecutor, who does not believe that Tarkan Mumcuoğlu was abroad, asks KÖZ a protective question such as, 'You were abroad between 2002-2008, weren't you?'”

Nuri Gökhan Bozkır, based on a WhatsApp message sent to him by journalist Zihni Çakır, alleged that the prosecutor was a Bylock user and also accused the prosecutor of not searching for the real perpetrators.

RESPONSE TO THE CURSE

One of the defendants, Enver Altaylı, also said the following about Prosecutor Zafer Ergün and journalist Abdurrahman Şimşek:

“I am saddened on behalf of my nation that this prosecutor sits in this position. The prosecutor is acting unlawfully; he is not worthy of this position. I leave the prosecutor to my Lord. He will surely receive the slap of my Lord. Do your worst, Mr. Prosecutor... Abdurrahman Şimşek is an ugly person who constantly lies.”

Upon Altaylı's curses, the presiding judge said, “There is a Creator. Furthermore, everyone will be held accountable in practice. Enough. Do not go into these matters again.”

Defendant retired colonel Levent Göktaş, after requesting the lifting of the travel ban outside the province, said that the photos of the suspects following Hablemitoğlu could be sent to the Kapan system to identify them. Providing information about the expert report they received regarding HTS records, Göktaş pointed out that the data relied upon by the prosecutor lacked a digital signature, timestamp, and hash value.

Defendants Fikret Emek, Tarkan Mumcuoğlu, Mehmet Narin, and Aydın Köstem also stated that it had been revealed through material evidence that no such organization existed and requested the lifting of their judicial control measures.

When defendant Aydın Köstem said that he had been wearing an electronic shackle for 1.5 years, which led to him being called by officials at inappropriate times, and that he had filed a complaint with CİMER, the presiding judge said, “It will come to us from there too,” and then stated that he would ask why the electronic shackle was applied only to Köstem and not to the other defendants.

REQUEST FOR CRIMINAL COMPLAINT AGAINST ŞİMŞEK

After the defendants, the requests of their lawyers were received.

Attorney Hülya Elmadağ emphasized that it had emerged that journalist Abdurrahman Şimşek gave false testimony in court and requested that a criminal complaint be filed against Şimşek for perjury.

3 JOURNALISTS ACT LIKE THE PROSECUTOR'S LAW ENFORCEMENT

Hacer Ural, one of Nuri Gökhan Bozkır's lawyers, also accused journalist Zihni Çakır, Abdurrahman Şimşek, and İbrahim Evrim Ayral, in addition to Prosecutor Zafer Ergün. Using the phrase “those who claim to be journalists but are seen to be working like the prosecutor's law enforcement” for these names, Attorney Ural spoke as follows:

“Does a journalist do an interview to publish it or to give it to the prosecutor's office? These people, who define themselves as journalists but whose true nature is clear, have acted with the prosecutor and manipulated the file; they have done the framing together. If this indictment were a script, no one would watch it after the 5th minute.”

Attorney Emrah Yücel stated that he thought “Zihni Çakır, Abdurrahman Şimşek, and similar people who do not know what they serve under the guise of journalists” also manipulated the prosecutor, and addressed Prosecutor Zafer Ergün, saying, “Zihni Çakır sold you out in his first statement, but you gave him law enforcement duties in an unlawful manner. You should have filed a criminal complaint against Zihni Çakır, but you did not.”

Attorney Yücel also used the analogy for the indictment and the trial: “The beginning is a disaster, the middle is a tragedy, and the final stage is treason.”

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE DEFENSE

Enver Altaylı's lawyer, Dilara Yılmaz, also criticized the prosecutor-journalist relations and said the following:

“I asked artificial intelligence about the situation. Regarding the intervention of journalists in files, it said, 'It is not ethical. They should not be involved in investigations.' It described the prosecutor assigning a journalist as 'very extraordinary.' It was said that artificial intelligence surpassed human intelligence; it was true.”

While Attorney Yılmaz was explaining these, it was seen that the presiding judge turned and looked at the prosecutor, while the prosecutor turned to the other side and slept.

During Attorney Ali Soykan's statement, this situation of Prosecutor Zafer Ergün was also discussed. Attorney Soykan said, “We do not turn our backs while the prosecutor is speaking or making his opinion. If this continues, I will turn my back from now on.” The presiding judge opened his arms and replied, “As for people sitting... We are not saying let them turn like that either.”

Despite these discussions, the prosecutor continued to sit in the same position for a long time.

Attorney Ali Soykan also directed the following criticisms to the prosecutor in summary:

“Since the HTS records, which he says are the most important evidence, are not in the relevant institutions, he may have written them himself. For some reason, the prosecutor answers the writs the court writes to the Police. Finally, you asked whether the Eskişehir and Migros footage was sent to the USA. It reported that there was no such thing. He is not telling the truth; he is committing a crime. There is a document; it was sent. I am filing a criminal complaint against this prosecutor who is committing a crime... Not only that. He also removed the camera recordings of the apartment overlooking Hablemitoğlu's house from the evidence list. Their whereabouts are unknown. You know, he hid the Eskişehir and Migros footage for a long time. Believe me, if my client had appeared in the footage, he would never have hidden it. The prosecutor goes to the Judicial Deposit, takes the evidence, and breaks their seals. If I did the same thing, I would be arrested immediately.”

Attorney Eren Turan, the lawyer for Tarkan Mumcuoğlu, who is alleged to be the hitman of the Hablemitoğlu assassination, reminded that a release decision was made when it was proven that Mumcuoğlu was in Kazakhstan on the day of the murder, but that judicial control was applied on the grounds that he might be among the people following Hablemitoğlu in Eskişehir and Migros, and said that it was finalized with the expert report on the footage that Mumcuoğlu did not follow Hablemitoğlu.

Attorney Turan stated that the judicial control of the defendants should be lifted “where the plaintiff's side is empty and the prosecutor turns his back,” and requested that at least the ban on traveling outside the province be applied as a ban on traveling abroad.

Pointing out that the indictment is based on the thesis that Hablemitoğlu was murdered because of his book 'Mole', but that what Kemalettin Özdemir, who was heard yesterday, told strengthens the allegations that Hablemitoğlu was targeted because of his work on German foundations, Attorney Eren Turan stated that the statements and interviews of Zihni Çakır, Abdurrahman Şimşek, and İbrahim Evrim Ayral reveal that these names and the prosecutor are conducting an investigation side by side or independently, and said, “Journalists took refuge in not disclosing the source when they were cornered. Yes, this right exists. But this does not give the authority to violate the confidentiality of the investigation.”

INTERIM RULING ANNOUNCED

An interim ruling was announced in the Hablemitoğlu assassination case.

The court decided to continue the detention of Nuri Gökhan Bozkır and the judicial control of the defendants who are being tried without arrest.

At the same time, the Necip Hablemitoğlu hearing was adjourned until January 2.

News Source: 12punto