Turkish Cypriot lawyer to 3 years in prison over forged court documents

A Girne court has sentenced a Turkish Cypriot lawyer to 3 years in prison for committing a crime that does not suit such a respectable profession.

Süleyman Kurtuluş, who was tried at the Girne High Criminal Court, was on Wednesday, April, 25, found guilty in 13 cases  brought against him.

Delivering the judgement, the judge pointed out that the accused Süleyman Kurtuluş had filed a false lawsuit four times by forging the signatures of other lawyers, and taking money from clients by entering lawsuits on their behalf without the knowledge of the lawyers in question.

Kurtuluş filed false cases by forging the signatures of other lawyers, and taking money from clients by entering lawsuits on their behalf without the knowledge of the lawyers in question.

Summing up and announcing the verdict, the judge emphasized that the defendant Süleyman Kurtuluş had committed the same crime by filing false cases four times in a row, and highlighted that he had benefited financially from these crimes in the amount of 25,000 TL. 

She stressed that a person practicing in the legal profession had committed a crime that did not befit such a respected profession. The judge stated that the defendant had undermined both the trust in the courts and had brought the legal profession into disrepute by using the law to commit crimes.

The judge stated that the defendant did not return this money, and that the crime of “using fake documents” is one of the most common crimes, and therefore, they found it appropriate to impose a deterrent and exemplary punishment on the defendant, and announced that he was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment.