Reza Zarrab, the government’s star witness in the trial of a Turkish banker accused of violating United States sanctions on Iran, was recorded in a 2016 jailhouse phone call saying that one needed to lie “in America in order to make it out of prison,” according to a summary of the conversation released on Monday.
“Reza says in such a country, in order to get out or get a reduced sentence, you need to admit to crimes you haven’t committed,” the summary says.
The summary was contained in a public court filing by lawyers for the Turkish banker, Mehmet Hakan Atilla. It was part of a letter to the judge in which the lawyers complained that prosecutors had withheld summaries of five audio recordings and other potentially critical evidence for several days beyond a deadline the judge had set.
You've reached your daily free article limit.
Subscribe and support our veteran writing staff to continue reading.
Reza Zarrab, the government’s star witness in the trial of a Turkish banker accused of violating United States sanctions on Iran, was recorded in a 2016 jailhouse phone call saying that one needed to lie “in America in order to make it out of prison,” according to a summary of the conversation released on Monday.
“Reza says in such a country, in order to get out or get a reduced sentence, you need to admit to crimes you haven’t committed,” the summary says.
The summary was contained in a public court filing by lawyers for the Turkish banker, Mehmet Hakan Atilla. It was part of a letter to the judge in which the lawyers complained that prosecutors had withheld summaries of five audio recordings and other potentially critical evidence for several days beyond a deadline the judge had set.
Read the whole story from The New York Times.
Featured image courtesy of AP
Join SOFREP for insider access and analysis.
TRY 14 DAYS FREEAlready a subscriber? Log In
COMMENTS
You must become a subscriber or login to view or post comments on this article.