Ahmet Akbulut, the former brother-in-law of Halis Karataş, the famous jockey who won the most races in Turkey, stated that death threats continue even though 20 years have passed since he was shot. Akbulut said, “They will kill me. If something happens to me, I wrote a list of those responsible to CIMER. I will soon make a statement to the prosecutor’s office.”
The conflict between Halis Karataş, the jockey nicknamed ‘Magician’ of Turkey, and his former brother-in-law Ahmet Akbulut has been going on for years.
“I WITNESSED THE SCAM”
Ahmet Akbulut had made many striking allegations about the famous jockey in the petition he sent to the divorce case between Karataş and his sister. Akbulut said, “Karataş was setting up races in agreement with horse owners. He would always lose the races he ran in the first two legs so that more bets would be placed. Since horse owners knew this, they would write their coupons accordingly. I also witnessed match-fixing incidents.”
“THERE IS A MATCH”, SHOT 3 DAYS LATER
Three days after this statement, Akbulut, who was attacked with a gun in Pendik and wounded in the foot, took his leave at the Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. He stated that his former brother-in-law Halis Karataş had shot him and filed a complaint against the famous jockey.
FIRST LAWSUIT AND THEN ACQUITTAL
At the end of the investigation completed after 4 years, the prosecutor’s office filed a lawsuit against the famous jockey with a prison sentence of up to 6 years on the charge of ‘instigating injury with a weapon’. At the end of the trial, while the famous jockey was acquitted, 2 defendants who shot Akbulut in the foot were sentenced to prison.
“THEY WILL KILL ME”
Stating that his leg was crippled after the shooting and that he was forced to leave his wife and child, the former brother-in-law said: “After the shooting, I moved to Izmir to start a new life. However, neither the phone calls nor the threatening calls stopped. After 20 years, they are still messing with me. They are going to kill me. If something happens to me, I wrote the list of those responsible to CIMER. I will soon give a statement to the prosecutor’s office.”
Source : DARPHABER