Ayhan Bora Kaplan to the presiding judge: The decision you will make is null and void for me.

```html

The trial of the Ayhan Bora Kaplan (ABK) criminal organization case, in which a total of 61 people, 17 of whom are detained, are being tried at the Sincan Penal Institutions Campus by the 32nd Heavy Penal Court of Ankara, began receiving defenses against the opinion on the merits today.

"YOU ARE A JUDGE WHO IS NOT IMPARTIAL"

Deniz Urcan's lawyer Sidar Yurtçiçek, one of the detained defendants, conveyed the WhatsApp correspondence between the Court President and the former Deputy Director of the Ankara Smuggling and Organized Crime Department, Şevket Demircan, stating, "We had requested to combine the ongoing case related to the police. However, it was rejected on the grounds that it was considered a request to prolong the case. Contact with the law enforcement can only be established through a written request. You are a judge who has established an abnormal relationship with law enforcement that is not impartial. These correspondences indicate that you have established abnormal relationships. Contact with law enforcement can only be established through a written request. You have communicated via WhatsApp. You have stepped outside the legal procedure and caused a security breach," he said.

"WHAT IS THE REASON FOR YOUR HOSTILITY TOWARDS ME?"

Following lawyer Yurtçiçek, Tansel Aktan, one of the defendants mentioned in the correspondence between the Court President and Deputy Director of the KOM, Şevket Demircan, stated, "It has become clear that you will not make a fair and impartial decision regarding me. What is the reason for your hostility towards me?"

"THE DECISION YOU WILL MAKE IS NULL AND VOID FOR ME"

Detained defendant Ayhan Bora Kaplan claimed that the Court President has been biased since the first hearing, stating, "You have been a police chief, Şevket Demircan has been your assistant. In the correspondences, you say 'God protect them' for the police officers. God protect them, may He give us trouble, right? You have clearly become friends with them. No matter what decision you make, it is null and void for me, it is invalid," he expressed.

The defendants and their lawyers requested the recusal of the judge. The prosecutor stated that it is normal for judicial members to be in contact with law enforcement and for the police to provide a vehicle to the protected judicial member, and gave an opinion to reject the recusal requests on the grounds that it was aimed at prolonging the trial.

REQUESTS FOR RECUSAL WERE REJECTED

The court panel stated that there was no illegality in the actions taken, and that the provision of a vehicle by the police chief to the president was a necessity of the service, thus rejecting the recusal requests. The lawyers' requests for the expansion of the investigation were also rejected. A break was given in the hearing.

After the break, the defendants who made their defense in the hearing stated that they were repeating their previous statements and requested the acquittal of their clients. The hearing will continue tomorrow at 14:30.