AMED TIMES - "In the Koyunlar Criminal Organisation Case in Diyarbakır Courthouse, 41 suspects, 19 of whom are in custody, are charged with forming an armed organisation for the purpose of committing crimes and various other crimes. Following the latest developments, the court has ordered the release of 5 more suspects.
In Diyarbakır, a cafe on the 75-meter Avenue in the Kayapınar district was sprayed with long-barreled weapons, killing Mervan Yalçın, who had no connection to any criminal organization and was simply a customer there at the time. After numerous complaints were filed with Presidential Communication Center (CİMER) , anti-smuggling and organized crime units were mobilized.
A simultaneous operation was carried out with helicopter and armored vehicle support against the gang known as the "Sheep". Numerous deeds, checks, promissory notes, weapons, and criminal evidence were seized.
Some of the suspects who tried to escape from the police were caught hiding inside rolled-up rugs in bedrooms, while others were apprehended in a chase in open fields with helicopter support.
I am a businessman and I have paid 50 million in taxes to the state.
In the 5th hearing of the case, Cengiz Koyun, who is accused of being the leader of the organization, stated that he is a businessman who pays 50 million Turkish liras in taxes to the state and spoke as follows:
There are photographs in the file taken with long-barreled weapons. These are photographs taken with the weapons of soldiers and guards while construction of outposts was continuing in rural areas. I set up a company and did subcontracting. I made enough investment for myself. I never got involved in illegal activities. I even helped private schools.
I paid 50 million Turkish liras in taxes to the state. The claim that I formed an organization for 2-3 million Turkish liras is contrary to the normal course of life. For someone who has been known as a businessman until this age, I would have to have lost my mind to be the leader of an organization.
There is a claim in the notification made to CİMER for us that we are engaged in loan sharking and that we are a drug baron, but none of the defendants, including me, have any connection with drugs. I do not know 15 of the 41 defendants, and they do not know me either.
It is not possible for me to give orders to older men. This is a setup. I did not take part in the tenders mentioned in the file. The victims are in prison, the main actors of these events are taking the money and are still at large. I am in a high-security prison, this is torture."
The other defendants in custody also denied the charges and stated that they have been in custody for 25 months and requested their release.
5 acquitted by majority vot
The court decided by a majority to release Akif Koyun, Hasan Koyun, Hüseyin Koyun, Şerif Erçek and Abdulhalim Kaplan. Cengiz Koyun, Bünyamin Koyun and Muzaffer Koyun, who are accused of being the leaders of the organisation, remain in custody.
A dissenting opinion was written by a member of the court who stated that the nature of the crime the defendants are accused of, the upper limit of the sentence prescribed by law, the existence of concrete evidence pointing to a strong suspicion of guilt against the defendants, and the existence of concrete facts that give rise to the suspicion of escape necessitate the continuation of the pre-trial detention of the 5 defendants. However, the dissenting judge disagreed with the majority's decision to release the defendants.
Of the 41 defendants, 19 of whom were in pre-trial detention, only 3 defendants are still in custody.
