NTV Interview Shown During Simon Aykut’s Trial in Greek Cypriot Court

According to Alithia newspaper, in the interview, Aykut was introduced as the chairman of one of the largest construction and real estate companies in the TRNC. In his remarks, he stated that his company had built 3,500 apartments and houses, particularly in the İskele region, and that 105 of these had been sold to Israeli nationals.

The paper reported that in the four-and-a-half-minute video, Aykut discussed the state of property sales in the TRNC and claimed that allegations of large numbers of Jewish buyers were defamatory and had caused problems.

The report also noted that, according to the journalist conducting the interview, Aykut holds both Turkish and TRNC citizenship. Aykut was quoted as saying he does not own a company in Israel and conducts all of his business operations from the TRNC.

The video was reportedly translated by Leon Aratzian, a dentist by profession. During the hearing, Aykut’s attorney questioned Aratzian’s proficiency in Greek and Turkish, as well as the accuracy of the translation he provided to the Cyprus Police. Aratzian responded that he had previously collaborated with the police on Turkish translations and that Turkish was effectively his second mother tongue, as his grandparents were of Anatolian origin and spoke Turkish.

According to the report, two police officers also testified in court, describing efforts to examine Aykut’s mobile phone, USB drive, and tablet. They stated that access to the phone and tablet was blocked due to password protection, but that three SIM cards—two Turkish and one Israeli—had been recovered.

The trial is expected to continue today with the testimony of two more witnesses, with further hearings scheduled for June 2 and June 6.