03.04.2026 17:29
In his statement, former prosecutor Muhammed Çağatay Kılıçarslan, who shot and injured a female judge in Istanbul, said, "There is no need to pull the slide with every shot. I could have fired until the bullets in the magazine ran out. If I intended to kill, I could have done it with a single bullet to the head. I am a prosecutor; I know what the crime is."
The trial of former prosecutor Muhammed Çağatay Kılıçarslan, who shot female judge Aslı Kahraman on January 13 in Istanbul, has begun. The defendant's statements in court sparked controversy.
Prosecutor Muhammed Çağatay Kılıçarslan, who was dismissed from his profession after the incident and is serving at the Anadolu Courthouse, appeared before the Istanbul 35th Heavy Penal Court for the first time, facing charges of "attempted murder." The indictment prepared against Kılıçarslan requested a prison sentence of 20 years and 2 months to 42 years and 3 months for five separate offenses. The indictment also stated that Kılıçarslan sent a file containing the judge's family information through a fake account he created and left threatening messages for the judge, stating, "Thursday is a nice day for a beating, what do you think?" after sending her 1 TL.
"IT RESEMBLES A WELL WITHOUT A LOVE SPIRAL"
Kılıçarslan stated in his defense, "I am ready to pay the price for my mistakes. At this point, I feel that more is being demanded of me. The reason for this is that I am a Public Prosecutor. Before I start my words, I do not want to tarnish him either. I would like to apologize to the complainant here.
We met around the end of April. I was assigned to her court due to the problems the judge had with the prosecutor. I did not know her before. When I started attending hearings in the first week of May, an emotional closeness developed between us. This progressed over time, and we became more attached to each other. Despite our social and marital statuses not allowing it, this did not stop us. She was transferred to another court, and we went on vacation together. During this vacation, she mentioned that she might be pregnant. After this vacation, we learned that she was pregnant. I had the desire to marry the complainant. The events we experienced in April and May had cooled my decision to marry. It resembles a well without a love spiral. I could not get out either. I did not pressure her to have an abortion, nor did I propose to her. After the abortion, I experienced serious psychological pressure. She went to Izmir and sent me some messages. She did not approach me with bad intentions. She fell in love with me too; after all, she got pregnant. If I remember correctly, she started her duty in the appellate court after our vacation," he said.
"IF I WANTED TO KILL, I WOULD HAVE KILLED"
Continuing his defense, the defendant said, "She was left alone there. The abortion incident and the events she experienced in her apartment reflected on our relationship. I did not engage in any activity. In the following process, when I went to the complainant's house, we chatted a bit, and she said she was pregnant again. I was a bit surprised there. I do not want to blame her here. The heat of the incident and the love pit she fell into also affected her. The way she expressed it was not a way to prepare me. The pregnancy incidents happened this way.
Today, I will not lie here. I sent those messages. I said I wanted her to leave. She rejected me. I believe that the second pregnancy is also true and that the child is mine. Later, we had a heated argument. I never hit her. She hit me a lot. She punched me in the forehead. Our hero, the tea vendor, entered the room. When the judge said the tea vendor was attacking me, the tea vendor tried to intervene. He got between the judge and me. I stepped back and took my cell phone. The tea vendor told 4-5 lies in the 30-second incident. I thought she was heading towards the complainant's bag and would pull out a gun. The tea vendor already stepped back when he saw the gun. I pointed the gun downwards. I made my first shot. I am sure she was not hit in the first shot. She was injured in her leg. She did not give up trying to reach for her bag, so I pointed my gun at her again. If I wanted to kill her, I would have already killed her. I am a prosecutor; I know what my crime is," he said.
"I HOPE THE COMPLAINANT FORGETS THIS INCIDENT"
Kılıçarslan said, "One is mocked with their mind. After I went to prison, I received many supportive messages. We are not bad people; we did wrong things. If I intended to kill, I could have killed her with a single bullet to the head. I did not want to kill the witness. There is a very short distance between us. I am at fault, but I apologize to her. We all know what it means to try to make someone pay for their mistakes. My detention period has been quite prolonged. I am out of the city for security reasons. I have filled my detention period. I want to get out of this incident and forget it. I will pay the price for my mistakes many times over. No expulsion decision has been made against me. The complainant knows me well. As long as my mind and health are intact, I hope the complainant forgets this incident," he said.
JUDGE: I NOTICED MY KNIFE AND GOLD WERE MISSING
Aslı Kahraman stated in court, "Despite the defendant not accepting that the relationship was over, he continued to harass me constantly. Even though I tried to block him, he started coming to my workplace. I did not have a request to meet with him again. I noticed that there was a theft in my house. I sometimes count these things. After the vacation, I noticed that something was missing. There was a sharp knife that I used in the kitchen. I noticed that it was missing. I also noticed that there was a shortage while counting my gold. I noticed that the zipper of my suitcase was cut. There was also a spare key to my car in the bag, which he took as well. There is a history on the external drive inside it. All of them were stolen. All the signs pointed me to the defendant. He denied it, but when I said I would file a complaint, he brought me my passport. When I said I understood that he committed the theft, he kept coming to my room," she said.
JUDGE DESCRIBED THE DAY OF THE INCIDENT
Kahraman said, "On the day of the incident, I arrived in my room in the morning. My internal phone started ringing. I realized it was him calling because the number was not visible. I unplugged the phone. I was already working by unplugging the phone due to his calls. When he called me again, I answered the phone because there was a judge in the room. He started threatening me again. He was trying to kick me out of here. At that moment, the judge came to the door. The defendant was right in front of me. I can present the shape of the room in the file. As long as he stood in front of me, I could not pass. I was going to call security by calling the pen. While I was trying to call the pen, the defendant closed the phone from behind and joined my hand and arm from behind. I realized I could not overpower him. At that moment, he pulled out his gun. I never thought the defendant would shoot. I calmed down a bit more. He tucked the gun into his waist. At that moment, the tea vendor came. I told him he was attacking me. The tea vendor approached us and got between us. The defendant started pushing back. When he started not to come out again, I called the pen. When I turned around, the gun was in his hand again. I did not see which hand he shot with.
At that moment, the first shot was heard. A bullet entered from my groin and pierced the wall. I shouted in shock that I had been hit. With all my strength, I started to scream for help. After that, I was taken to the hospital. I didn't know how the defendant was scheming in the background. The defendant had already made accusations like "He is blackmailing me" since the very beginning of the incident. I learned that these had been heard. So, he shouldn't say it was unplanned or anything like that. In the digital examination of the defendant, everything found in the file named Aslı consists of photos stolen from the memory in my house. I believe that a report should also be made regarding the theft in this matter. "The defendant is smart, and since he is also a prosecutor, he knows the accusations," he said.