"Famous lawyer offers 'Dubai chocolate' bribe to the court president."

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In November last year, Lawyer Prof. Dr. Seyithan D. (55) visited Alper Utku (34), who is currently serving as the President of the 6th Heavy Penal Court of Kocaeli and was his student in law school. During the conversation, Seyithan D. mentioned that a request had been made to lift the travel ban for R. Y., who is being tried for membership in the FETÖ terrorist organization at the Kocaeli 6th Heavy Penal Court. Utku stated that the file in question is with the Court of Cassation and that this request would be evaluated after the Court of Cassation's decision. Following this, Seyithan D. said he would also request the lifting of his travel ban and left the room.

"THERE WERE FOREIGN CURRENCY BANKNOTES IN THE BAG"

According to the allegation, lawyer Seyithan D. returned to Alper Utku's office on November 25 and left a chocolate bag as a gift. After Seyithan D. left the room, Judge Alper Utku checked the bag and saw that it contained chocolate and foreign currency banknotes in an envelope. Utku immediately left the room, returned the bag to Seyithan D., who was in the office, and filed a complaint on the grounds of "bribery".

LAWYER ARRESTED

Lawyer Seyithan D., who was taken into custody and denied the allegations, was arrested and sent to prison after his statement. It was learned that there was $2,500 in the bag. The indictment prepared against Seyithan D. for the crime of "giving a bribe" was accepted by the Kocaeli 3rd Heavy Penal Court. The indictment requested that Seyithan D. be tried with a prison sentence of 2 to 6 years. Additionally, the statements of the 6th Heavy Penal Court President Alper Utku, the defendant Seyithan D., and the witness were included in the indictment.

"HE SAID HE CAME TO VISIT ME BECAUSE HE LEARNED I WAS HIS STUDENT AND I WAS ASSIGNED HERE"

In his statement included in the indictment, Alper Utku said that about 10 days before the incident, Seyithan D. came to his office and he greeted him courteously. Utku stated, "He said he came to visit me because he learned I was his student and I was assigned here. During the conversation, he mentioned that another lawyer had requested the lifting of a travel ban in a pending case in our court. I also said that I remembered the file, that it was with the Court of Cassation, and that the request for lifting the judicial control would be evaluated after the Court of Cassation's decision. He also expressed that he would make a request again. I said that this was possible and that we could evaluate it when we received a response from the Court of Cassation. He then left my office."

"HE SAID THERE WAS CHOCOLATE IN THE BAG HE HAD WHEN HE ENTERED THE ROOM"

Alper Utku stated that on November 25, Seyithan D. came to his office again, holding an orange cardboard bag, and continued: "When he entered the room, he said there was Dubai chocolate in the bag he was holding. I politely took it and placed it on the corner of my desk. He stayed in my office for about 10 minutes. During this time, he stated that he had sent the previous request for lifting the travel ban through UYAP. I told him that the file was still with the Court of Cassation and that the response to the petition submitted by another lawyer had not yet been returned, and that we would send this request to the Court of Cassation again and evaluate it when we received a response. He then mentioned that he had appeared on television and had done expert witness work. He also asked if there were any other judges and prosecutors from Marmara University at the Kocaeli Courthouse. I said I didn't know. He then expressed that he would go to the office and ask for a printout of the documents he had sent through UYAP and left my office."

"I TOOK THE BAG AND LEFT THE ROOM IN SHOCK OF THE INCIDENT"

Judge Alper Utku stated that after Seyithan D. left the room, he was curious and checked the bag, saying, "I saw that there were chocolates and multiple foreign currency banknotes in a slightly open white envelope in the bag. In shock of the incident, I took the bag and left my room, heading towards the office with the bag in my hand. At that moment, Seyithan D. was also in the office. I extended the bag I had to him and said, 'This bag is yours.' He took the bag without any objection. Later, I documented the incident and filed a complaint."

"I AM A COMPLAINANT BECAUSE HE GAVE A BRIBE AND ATTEMPTED TO INFLUENCE A JUDICIAL OFFICER"

On December 4, Utku reported that Seyithan D. came to his office again, stating, "Seyithan D. knocked on my office door and tried to enter. He said he came to apologize for the previous incident. As he was trying to close the door, I approached the door and told him to leave. I asked him what face he came with. I then quickly went to the office. He distanced himself from the corridor at that moment, and we documented this incident as well. I am a complainant against Seyithan D. for giving me a bribe and attempting to influence a judicial officer."

"WHEN I SAW THE PRESIDENT'S NAME ON THE OFFICE DOOR, I REMEMBERED HE WAS MY STUDENT"

Defendant Seyithan D., whose defense is included in the indictment, stated that on November 21, he went to the Kocaeli 6th Heavy Penal Court's office to learn the status of the petition submitted to the file by lawyer I. T. with authorization, saying, "I learned that my request had been sent to the Court of Cassation. While I was at the courthouse, I saw the president's name on the office door and remembered that he was our student at Marmara Law School and Yalova Social Sciences Institute. I knocked on the door and entered. He recognized me and invited me in. He offered tea and chocolate. We chatted for a while. I told him that I had done expert witness work. I mentioned that we had submitted a request to the file, but our request had been sent to the Court of Cassation. We had this conversation. I left the Kocaeli Courthouse that day."

"MY SON ALWAYS BUYS THIS CHOCOLATE BECAUSE HE LOVES DUBAI CHOCOLATE"

Seyithan D. continued his defense: "On November 25, I came to Kocaeli with my son, Lawyer O. S. D., to visit a company we had previously filed for bankruptcy postponement.

We also went to the Kocaeli Courthouse to inform that I have been an expert witness and a concordat commissioner due to our early arrival. At that moment, my son handed me the bag, knowing that it contained chocolate, as he was going to park the vehicle. Since my son loves Dubai chocolate, he constantly buys this chocolate. I took the bag and got out of the car, while my son drove off to find a parking space. When I entered the Kocaeli Courthouse, I realized that the commercial court was not here. I stopped by the clerks of the 4th and 5th heavy criminal courts and mentioned that I had been an expert witness regarding fraudulent bankruptcy.

After providing the expert witness information at the clerk's office, the defendant D. stated that he went to visit the President of the Kocaeli 6th Heavy Criminal Court, Alper Utku, saying, "I thought I would leave the chocolate I had with the president. I went in and left the chocolate. We had a normal conversation in his office. We did not talk about work. I mentioned that I could assist if there was a need for an expert witness regarding fraudulent bankruptcy. Subsequently, I went up to him and stopped by the clerk's office of the 6th Heavy Criminal Court. While I was mentioning the file number at the clerk's office, the president came to the clerk and handed me the bag. He did not say anything. I thought that I had forgotten the chocolate in his office and assumed that the president brought it to me. I took the bag and left the clerk's office," he said.

After leaving the courthouse, lawyer Seyithan D. stated that he got into his son O. S. D.'s car, saying, "When I got into the car, I looked inside the bag and saw that it was a white envelope. When I asked my son what it was, he told me, 'It's my money, I took it to register my foreign phone. I will exchange the currency today, and I put it in the bag to give it to you because we were going to leave the car in the parking lot.' At that moment, I thought, 'Oh no. So that's why the president returned the bag.' I said, 'I didn't understand why he returned the chocolate.' My son told me, 'Dad, how would I know? I gave you the chocolate. I didn't think you would give it to others. Let's go and explain it.' I felt very embarrassed. I said, 'At this stage, I can't explain, I will explain later if necessary.' I couldn't come to Kocaeli before December 4 due to my workload. However, I later found an opportunity to come. I wanted to go up to the president and explain the situation. However, as I started to speak, the president quickly left his office and went towards the clerk's office. So, I left the courthouse," he expressed.