Provided by Baybasin’s lawyer Adèle van der Plas on April 3, 2022.
Reply by Hüseyin Baybasin to the false allegations in the articles published by RTV OOST, the NOS and CRIMESITE last week about the double murder that took place on Wednesday, March 30 in a Mc Donald’s establishment in Zwolle, The Netherlands.
Hüseyin Baybasin:
“It saddens me greatly to learn that a few days ago the respected Torunlar brothers were brutally murdered. First of all, from the bottom of my heart, I would like to express my condolences to their family, children and friends with their loss. I am deeply affected by this horrific event.
However, I also understand that there are journalists who have taken advantage of this event to publish some cheap lies about the brothers. These journalists seem to have no real interest in the truth and also lack any respect for the feelings of the families of the victims. They seem to be only after cheap sensation in order to make a good show of it. These journalists write that the youngest brother Ali Torunlar would have had contacts with an alleged criminal organization around my person.
I can only reject these allegations as unfounded. As is known to anyone who has taken the trouble to actually study my file, since 1995 I have been held hostage in the Netherlands on the basis of false allegations that were put together in direct cooperation with dirty elements within the Turkish judiciary.
I got to know the eldest brother Hüseyin Torunlar, a neat and widely respected guy, in the late 1990s. He approached me asking if I could help a Kurdish young refugee who had been detained in the Netherlands. The boy’s mother had advised him to seek my help. At Hüseyin Torunlar’s request, I traveled to Zwolle and spoke with him and the young refugee. Fortunately, we were able to help this boy further by engaging a lawyer for him, for example. Later I also met Hüseyin’s younger brother Ali and his children, also hardworking people of integrity.
However, since my arrest in March 1998 I have had no contact with the brothers. I only remember that at one point my lawyer had to approach Ali Torunlar as a witness to refute certain false allegations made by the police about me. These were based on quicksand which was also acknowledged by the court. I myself did not know Ali Torunlar well, except as younger brother of Hüseyin Torunlar. To the best of my knowledge and belief, neither of them were in any way involved in any criminal offense.
The lies put to paper by the journalists clearly have no other purpose than cheap sensation to increase their sales figures. They are lies that lack factual basis. They are at the expense of the feelings of the relatives of the victims and only increase their grief.
These journalists also inform the public about my case in a false way. I have already had to call the NOS to account in court for spreading incorrect and unsubstantiated information they thought they could publish about me in the past. I am currently considering steps against the journalists who published the incorrect information about the connection between me and the Torunlar brothers.
Finally, I would like to once again express my deepest condolences to the family and children of the two brothers who are now having to deal with this great loss and grief.”
