Istanbul prosecutor issues arrest warrant for former CHP MP over Zarrab case
ISTANBUL
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on Nov. 28 issued an arrest warrant for former main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Aykan Erdemir, on the grounds that he provided “fake reports” as evidence against Turkish-Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab in the U.S. legal case.
The prosecution also issued another warrant for certified public auditor Osman Zeki Canıtez.
According to a statement from the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, Erdemir and Canıtez are being investigated over whether they “destroyed paperwork relating to state security” and stole documents with the intention of using them abroad.
The men were also named in the witness list of the New York court case, which is also trying Mehmet Hakan Atilla, the former deputy general manager of state-run Halkbank.
The prosecutor’s office stated that Erdemir and Canıtez submitted “so-called files” dated Jan. 28, 2014 from the probe to the New York County District Attorney’s Office as evidence.
Erdemir is based in Washington and is a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD), a U.S.-based think tank, while the prosecutor’s office stated that Canıtez is on the run.
FDD chairman Mark Dubowitz and senior vice chairman Jonathan Schanzer will be called as expert witnesses in the Reza Zarrab trial, state-run Anadolu Agency had reported last week.
