28.02.2025 18:22
Following the appellate court's decision to overturn the previous ruling, a verdict was announced in the case retried against 19 defendants, including Adnan Oktar, on charges of "forgery of official documents," "alteration and destruction of official documents," "smuggling," "qualified fraud," and "money laundering." Oktar was acquitted of three charges.
The decision was announced in the case where 19 defendants, including Adnan Oktar, were retried for the crimes of "forgery in official documents," "altering and destroying official documents," "smuggling," "qualified fraud," and "money laundering" following the appellate court's annulment decision.
Adnan Oktar and 14 defendants, along with their lawyers, attended the hearing held at the Istanbul Anatolian 1st Heavy Criminal Court. Some defendants connected to the hearing via the Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS). The public prosecutor, presenting the opinion on the merits, stated that according to the declaration of the defendant Özkan Mamati, all documents for 21 containers that arrived at Haydarpaşa Port on November 4, 2013, were destroyed at the stage of departure from China, and instead, fake documents were created by TGL HKN Logistics Company, which was established in China by them.
Defendants Özkan Mamati, Uğur Şahin, Çağlar Keşkek, Ayşe Osma, Alev Babuna, Aylin Atmaca, Ayşegül Hüma Babuna, Fatma Ceyda Ertüzün, Bora Yıldız, Halil Hilmi Müftüoğlu, Yeliz Aksoy, İbrahim Tuncer, Sinem Hacer Tezyapar, Mehmet Noyan Orcan, Merve Büyükbayrak, Murat Yeşiltuna, Tarkan Yavaş, Adnan Oktar, and Ulviye Didem Ürer were accused of committing acts of forgery in official documents and violating the smuggling law in unity of thought and action. According to the report prepared by an expert witness, it was stated that the products in the declaration subject to the trial physically entered the country and were put into free circulation based on the red line criteria, and no determination could be made regarding deficiencies or excesses in the products or inconsistencies in the documents.
PROSECUTOR REQUESTED SEPARATION OF 2 CHARGES IN THE OPINION In the opinion, it was requested that the trials for the crimes of "smuggling" and "forgery in official documents" be separated from the case being tried. Considering the existing documents, minutes, and the expert report obtained, it was stated in the opinion that there was no determination of irregularities during the red line process before the goods subject to smuggling and forgery in official documents entered free circulation, and that the fact that both companies operating in China, which were the recipients of the imported products, were of Chinese origin did not cause a tax loss. It was requested that the defendants be acquitted of these charges separately.
ADNAN OKTAR'S ATTENTION-GRABBING DEFENSE In his defense against the opinion, Adnan Oktar stated, "Our friends are explaining the issues, but there is nothing complicated. It is not possible for the Islamic world to unite outside of the Mahdism. The reason for taking Syria is also for the Mahdi. It is because the Mahdi will be there. The Mahdi is awaited in three religions. Deism and atheism have exploded. It was not like this in my time. Explaining the truths of faith is a talent. There have been things that more than 90 Mahdis will emerge. Jesus and the Messiah are on duty, and the Mahdi is also on duty. I have no such claim. I am not the Mahdi, but I will announce. There is no such thing as smuggling. It has been done to undermine reputation. There is an open conspiracy. I am a disciple of the Mahdi. I am 70 years old, I don't even have a traffic fine. Suddenly, I became a person who committed 30 crimes. Lies, there is no basis for it. Our state is not a state that acts arbitrarily. It has depth. The state wants to test the bravery and courage of our youth, and our youth have proven themselves. Whatever the state does, it does for good," he said.
OKTAR ACQUITTED OF 3 CHARGES The court, announcing its decision, ruled for the acquittal of Adnan Oktar, Alev Babuna, Aylin Atmaca, Ayşegül Hüma Babuna, Bora Yıldız, Halil Hilmi Müftüoğlu, İbrahim Tuncer, Mehmet Noyan Orcan, Merve Büyükbayrak, Sinem Hacer Tezyapar, Tarkan Yavaş, Ulviye Didem Ürer, Özkan Deniz, Fatma Ceyda Ertüzün, Murat Yeşil Tuna, and Yeliz Aksoy of the charges of "forgery in official documents," "altering and destroying official documents," and "smuggling."
The panel, which decided on the acquittal of defendant Ayşe Osma for the charge of "misuse of duty," ruled for the acquittal of defendant Çağlar Keşkek for "smuggling" and "aiding forgery in official documents," and Uğur Şahin for "smuggling."
The panel, considering that according to the second paragraph of Article 17 of the Law on Combating Smuggling, cases of smuggling cannot be tried together with cases of other crimes, except for the crime of forgery committed together with the crime of smuggling, decided to separate the charges of "qualified fraud" and "money laundering" against the defendants from this case.
WHAT HAPPENED? The case against Adnan Oktar, which involved 215 defendants, 72 of whom were detained, regarding an armed criminal organization, was concluded by the Istanbul Heavy Criminal Court on November 16, 2022. The court panel sentenced the defendant Adnan Oktar, who was considered the leader of the organization, to a total of 891 years in prison for the crimes of "leading a criminal organization," "sexual exploitation," "obstruction of the right to education," "torture," "deprivation of liberty," and "recording personal data." The panel held Oktar responsible for the crimes of other defendants due to his position as a leader, sentencing the other defendants to a total of 8,658 years in prison.