The FETO investigation from the experts

The case against Cumhuriyet (with the main mission to silence the newspaper) began in August 18, 2016. The actual operation began on October 31, 2016. The prosecutor in charge, Murat Inam, accused the Cumhuriyet workers of carrying out activities on behalf of FETÖ. While Cumhuriyet writers and management were held in custody and had not yet appeared before the prosecutor, an unbelievable event took place.

It was discovered that the prosecutor in charge of this case, Murat Inam, was actually being tried in the “Selam Tevhid Kumpas (Selam Tehvid Plot)” case, at the High Court for Appeal in the 16th Criminal Division, for being a member of FETÖ and was accused of being part of the coup attempt.
As part of the Selam Tehvid stigation, Inam was accused of being part of the conspiracy, amongst 54 other prosecutors and judges, for illegally wiretapping 997 persons (including then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and head of the National Intelligence Agency (MIT)) and whle leading the investigation in the Cumhuriyet case, is still a suspect in this investigation! There is no former evidence of such a task given to a prosecutor in Turkey’s history!

Past with Special Authority

Before being part of the Press Crimes Investigation Bureau, Prosecutor Inam, was part of the Istanbul Public Prosecutor's Office Terror and Organized Crime Investigation Agency. This agency was a replacement for the Attorney General’s office, in charge of the 10th clause of the Anti-terror Law, that was closed after the 17-25 December investigations in March 2014. Inam began his new position at this agency on July 2012 based on the decision by the High Board of Judges and Public Prosecutors.

In 2012 Fethullah Gülen organization (congregation) was so powerful in that prosecutor’s office that Sadrettin Sarıkaya, one of the prosecutors in that office, called Hakan Fidan, the Chief Administrator of MIT (Turkish Intelligence Agency) to give testimony as a suspect. However, Inam’s name did not attract any attention until 2014, when he replaced Muammer Akkaş, the prosecutor who was dismissed in when he was working on the December 25 investigation. This latter person is a fugitive now and it is claimed that he is a member of the FETÖ organization. Among the other files that Inam overtook was the one on Dink murder. However the files did not remain under him long enough for him to prepare an indictment statement or to dismiss the cases. Within two years, in March 2016, his name was included as a suspect for membership in the FETÖ organization, in an indictment document prepared by the Bakırköy Prosecutor's Office about 54 judges and prosecutors.

The Other Prosecutors

Among the witnesses in the indictment mentioned above are two important names which did not escape attention: İrfan Fidan, Istanbul Chief Prosecutor and Mehmet Akif Ekinci, Assistant to Chief Prosecutor who replaced İnam on the Cumhuriyet investigation.
İrfan Fidan had prepared the indictment document on Erdem Gül ve Can Dündar who were relate d to the interrupted MIT TIR’s (trucks). Our journalist Ahmet Şık had revealed that İlhan Fidan, who was teaching Religious Culture and Ethics in Fatsa and who is the brother of İrfan Fidan, was dismissed in relation to a FETÖ investigation, 5 days before October 31, 2016, when our colleagues were taken under custody for the first time. Şık had used the following statements about Fidan, who was fired on September 1, 2016 by a KHK (Kanun Hükmünde Kararname = decree that will pass as law) and was accused of being a “FETÖ brother”.

“Fidan was known in the education community as one who did not hide his relationship to Gülen congregation until a short time before his dismissal when he tried to distance himself from the congregation. He tried to take the teachers around him to the congregation meetings and was in the position of big brother who was responsible of the teachers in the Gülen congregation in Fatsa and its villages.When Gülen congregation and AKP were partners, he was the main organizer of the activities in Ordu for the 10th Turkish Olympiads in June 2, 2012. During the process of the closing of the private teaching organizations, Fidan was active in the establishment of the Ordu and Fatsa organizations of Aktif Sen, a union started as a reaction to the AKP government. He was among those who resigned from the union and distanced himself from Gülen congregation after the December 17/25, 2013 corruption investigation.”

Reward from Erdoğan

Mehmet Akif Ekinci, on the other hand, was promoted from Silivri Prosecutor’s Office to İstanbul Prosecutor’s Office by a decree issued by HSYK on June 28, 2007. Ekinci, who was sent to İstanbul during the Ergenekon investigation which started on June 12, 2007, was on the list of the judges and prosecutors who were going to stay on duty during the legal holiday of the Department of Justice. Other interesting names on the list consisting of judges and prosecutors most of whom are now either under arrest or fugitive, are Zekeriya Öz, Cihan Kansız, Fikret Seçen. Ekinci was brought to his present position as Assistant to Chief Prosecutor at the Press Crimes Investigation Bureau 10 days before August 18, 2016 when the Cumhuriyet investigation was initiated, by the mandate of İrfan Fidan.

The actual work was done by İnam

When it was revealed that İnam was being tried in the FETÖ trial, the investigation was transferred to Mehmet Akif Ekinci, Assistant to Chief Prosecutor and Prosecutor Yasemin Baba. These appointments were interpreted as the pacification of İnam; however, that was not the reality. When the addenda to the Cumhuriyet trial are examined, it is documented that the investigation was conducted entirely by Murat İnam. Although the indictment document is signed by Ekinci and Baba, the signatures under the research on our writers and administrators under arrest belong to İnam.

They took it slow

Cumhuriyet writers and administrators were arrested on November 5, 2016. It was a long time before the indictment was prepared. When the addenda were examined, it was revealed that prosecutors did the investigation slowly, because the inquiries sent to various institutions to collect evidence for the investigation were dated March 2017. Prosecutor İnam did not do anything critical for the investigation for three months. For example Murat İnam sent a document to TMSF coded “very urgent” on March 16, 2017. The document was requesting the activities in the bank accounts of Cumhuriyet Foundation, Yeni Gün Haber Ajansı and 18 Cumhuriyet employees within 10 days. İnam did not only want the activities in the bank accounts of the employees, but also, those of about 70 first degree relatives.

I would see responding as villainous

Our board president Akın Atalay said the following on November 12, 2016 in his statement at the police station when he was taken into custody:

“I was recently made aware of the fact that the prosecutor who started and is leading the investigation, Prosecutor Murat İnam, is under investigation and is being tried for membership in the terrorist organization FETO/PYD, attempting to overthrow the government by force and manipulation, that he is under strong suspicion for these and other charges. So, it is clearly absurd and beyond dark comedy for someone who is being tried for membership in FETO/PYD terrorist organization to be investigating me for helping the same organization. I would see responding the allegations he makes about me being part of this organization as villainous and this entire situation as an ugly game.

Accusations leveled against Prosecutor Inam

The prosecution against Inam, who is the 28th suspect in his case, was seeking one sentence of life in prison in addition to 67 years and 3 months in prison. He was indicted on the following charges:

1) Membership in FETO/PYD terrorist organization

2) Political and Military Espionage

3) Revealing and attempting to reveal classified information

4) Attempting to overthrow or prevent from properly functioning the government of the Republic of Turkey using calculation and force

5) Making up crimes

6) Violating the privacy of personal life

7) Recording data that was obtained illegally

8) Destroying, Changing, or Withholding Evidence

9) Misuse and Abuse of Power 10) Forgery of official documents

Prosecutor Inam: The signature resembles mine, but…

Prosecutor Murat Inam did not attend the first hearing of the court case, in which he was tried. He attended the third hearing only after the court forced his attendance. During his defense, the prosecutor said the following about his signature on the unlawful wiretapping decision: “While I was assisting the prosecutor on duty in his absence, I was asked to sign the documents. The signature looks like mine but it is not my typical signature. I would like to have an independent expert to investigate this matter.” For his signature on another “spying” request, he testified:“It looks like my signature but might not be.” In response to the question about his brother working at a private training school that is affiliated with FETÖ, he said “I don’t know.”

WHAT WAS SAID:

After the news of Prosecutor Murat Inam’s trial for allegedly being a member of FETÖ, journalists that are proponents of the current government, tried to obscure the truth. Some of them said that “the fact that the prosecutor is a suspect, it may hurt the investigation,” some took the absurdity even further and said “this news was actually made up by FETÖ.” However, the news of investigation in which Inam was a suspect actually came out in all major media outlets, including the Anatolian Agency in March 2016.

“The FETÖ service”

Ersin Ramoglu, a writer at Sabah Newspaper, said the following after the news of the prosecutor’s own trial for involvemnt with FETÖ was revealed: “This is a tactic by FETÖ. “The FETÖ prosecutor was serviced to Soner Yalcin. The news is correct..However, what was done is not right. Lack of foresight was nauseating. Soner’s news made the FETÖ newspaper very happy with headline “The investigation collapsed in 3 days.” WE can see the consequences of a careless appointment. This is a great opportunity for them.” Ramoglu stated that despite everything, the case against Cumhuriyet would be continued in his November 4, 2016 column.

Bekir Bozdag: “No bad intentions, just bad luck”

The Editor in Chief of ODA TV station unveiled the truth behind Prosecutor Inam’s involvement with FETÖ while Cumhuriyet was fighting against the operation. On November 4, 2016, during the hearings of the Budget and Planning Committee of the TBMM (Turkish Parliament), Minister of Justice, Bekir Bozdag said: “It is unfortunate that this prosecutor was appointed. I wish this appointment was never made. Someone else could have done it. We do not have the authority to change the prosecutors; that is the duty of the Chief Prosecutor. I want to express clearly that there were no bad intentions.”

The followers tried to cover up

In response to Bozdag’s comments affirming the strangeness of this appointment, the Yeni Safak newspaper stated “The Prosecutor is not affiliated with FETÖ.” They tried to cover up the prosecutor’s involvement as a suspect in the investigation and claimed: “This prosecutor who is in charge of the Cumhuriyet case and who has been accused of being involved with FETÖ is not the actual investigating prosecutor but signed the decisions to confiscate, search, and apprehend, in the absence of the actual prosecutor.”

4 days later….

Warning: “Do not dilute”

On November 4, 2016 Hilal Kaplan wrote about the Prosecutor affiliated with FETO, in the Sabah newspaper. Kaplan said: “While the fight against FETO is currently the most important topic on the country’s agenda, you should not place a prosecutor, who himself is actually a suspect in another FETO related case, to work on another FETO investigation. If there is actual evidence that Can Dundar and Akin Atalay fled the country as a result of intentional negligence on the prosecutor’s behalf, then, if there is no concrete evidence, keeping many of the Cumhuriyet journalists, from Aydin Engin to the caricaturist Musa Kart, jailed while awaiting trial
will dilute this case.”

Translated by “Solidarity of Freedom of Ahmet Şık”

 *Attention! Air strike

How the plot started