I was almost included in the graft operation

I have testified as a “suspect.” It was a rainy afternoon when a text message came to my phone.
The message read: “Mr. Ahmet Hakan. Within the context of the investigation file numbered ...  your statement is required. You are asked to be present at this court house at this date.”

When I received this ultra-technologic and perfectly polite invitation...

As an experienced citizen of the Republic of Turkey, who is accustomed to a country where the courthouse cannot be this technological and this polite, I thought, “Am I being framed?”

I immediately called my lawyer. My lawyer told me, “Let me look into it and I’ll get back to you.”

After the research, my lawyer gave me this information nervously: “They are calling you to give a statement as a suspect within the context of the famous Dec. 17/Dec. 25, 2013 graft operation.”

As a first reaction, I said, “God, what is this?”

Next, I said, “What on earth have I got to do with Dec. 17/Dec. 25, etc.”?

As the third reaction, I started thinking, “Are the people who are calling me to testify, are they the parallels? Well, the parallels were dispersed, weren’t they?”

My fourth reaction was imagining myself, for a moment, playing with shoe boxes, engaged in expensive watches, running after coupon plots and all the while donating a considerable amount of money to a foundation.

As a fifth reaction, people like the Egemens, Zafers and Muammers kept coming to my mind…

As a sixth reaction, I was appalled. I was frozen, just like that.

Right at this sixth stage, my lawyer spoke and said, “I will take a look at the file shortly. I will learn what it is all about.” Not much later, he got back to me having learned what the issue was about.

Now, the issue is this:

You must have heard the famous Fatih, the “hello Fatih” guy. That Fatih is a person I know from way back. Fatih Saraç is the son of a very respectable Islamic scholar Emir Saraç. When I was a student, there was a publishing house called “Risale,” which printed the books of Islamic intellectuals. Faith Saraç was the owner. We students would hang out there. I know Fatih Saraç from those times.

Afterward, Fatih Saraç conducted other business, contacted Gulf Arabs, formed partnerships and became a bit rich. Sometimes our paths crossed through the years and we would meet.   

About two years ago, he phoned me: “I am heading Habertürk. I will supervise work here for a while. I want to see you … What I can do, what we can do together, we can talk.”

Now, that phone conversation was recorded. It was tapped. And it was transcribed.   The reason I was called a “suspect” was that lousy tape.

I went to the office of the prosecutor. Three young, polite, understanding and respectful prosecutors took my statement, all three were aware that there was no point in questioning me. They said they needed my statement because of the file. I asked why as a suspect; they said because of the file.

As soon as I walked out of the office, it was on the Internet that I had testified as a “suspect” in the graft operation. Many friends called to joke. Then my mother called, “I have heard something; is it true son?”

I answered her, “No, mother. It’s not important. There is nothing.” My mother prayed, “May God bless you…” and I found myself whispering this sentence: “It is only the mother who feels the true pain.”