16.12.2025 12:40
The first hearing of the case regarding the suspicious death of Aslı Baş, who was crowned Turkey's Model Queen in 2003, was held following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the previous ruling. A brief tension arose in the courtroom when Baş's father addressed the defendant, saying, "Do you have no conscience? You have hurt us." The case was postponed to June 4, 2016, while Baş's mobile phone was sent to Istanbul for examination.
In relation to the death of 2003 Turkey's Queen of Models Aslı Baş, who fell from a 6.5-meter terrace on July 21, 2010, at a villa owned by businessman Ahmet Bayer in the Yalıkavak neighborhood of Bodrum, a hearing was held at the Muğla 1st High Criminal Court. After the 1st Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation overturned the acquittal decision on August 5, the case was re-examined, and the defendants and parties appeared before the judge once again.
"WE HAVE BEEN FIGHTING FOR 15 YEARS"
Aslı Baş's father Mehmet and mother Müesser Baş attended the hearing, along with the defendants' son Hakan Sadi Bayer, while the other defendant Volkan Bayer participated via SEGBİS. During the hearing, Aslı Baş's family's lawyer Fahri Safa Küpçü reiterated the request for a detailed examination of the mobile phone data, as they had previously requested.
Aslı Baş's father Mehmet Yavuz Baş stated in his speech at the court, "I want a fair trial. We have been subjected to injustices." Mother Müesser Baş added, "We have been fighting for 15 years. Our daughter will not come back, but we want them to receive their punishments."
TENSION IN THE COURTROOM
While defendant Volkan Bayer participated in the hearing via SEGBİS, Hakan Sadi Bayer was present in the courtroom. A brief tension arose in the courtroom when Mehmet Yavuz Baş directed the words "Don't you have any conscience, you hurt us" towards Hakan Sadi Bayer.
PHONE TO BE EXAMINED, CASE ADJOURNED
The court panel announced that the mobile phone had been sent to Istanbul for examination and that they would wait for the expert report to arrive. In the court decision, it was ruled to examine the SEGBİS records, to reject the request to hear other witnesses, and to adjourn the case until June 4, 2026.
"MY CHILD'S BLOOD SHOULD NOT BE LEFT ON THE GROUND"
After the hearing, father Mehmet Yavuz Baş expressed his reaction with the following words:
"There cannot be such justice. In this judicial system, there are various plays and dramas in our case, can you believe it, why is it taking so long? I mean, surveillance cameras are being removed from the crime scene, technicians are being called, and this is being taken away. They are removing a lot of evidence. If so much evidence has been removed, then what is the reason for justice? Why are they roaming free? The deficiencies in the Court of Cassation have been revealed. How can they roam freely? This injustice in this case has reached our breaking point. Let everyone sit at the same table and give the same statement. They are staging this like science fiction. We want justice. We want fair trials. We have no issues with anyone. My child's blood should not be left on the ground. Justice should be served," he said.
"DELETED MESSAGES SHOULD HAVE BEEN REVEALED"
After the hearing, Aslı Baş's family's lawyer Fahri Safa Küpçü made the following statement:
"The first hearing was held after the overturning. The court reiterated its decision to comply with the overturning ruling. There were missing issues. The missing issues were the hearing of witnesses. Two witnesses were heard in between. One witness is still being sought. The sought witness is being contacted on the day of the incident by the security company, and it seems that some requests are being made regarding the camera recordings. This needs to come to light, it needs to be clarified. For this, that witness is still being sought. Their statement is awaited. The second issue is that there were deleted messages on Aslı Baş's phone. These deleted messages needed to be revealed. This has been a matter that the expert witnesses here could not handle. The phone has now been sent to Istanbul, it has been sent in between. We will wait for a response from there. The hearing has been adjourned to June 4, 2026," he said.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Aslı Baş, who won the Miss Model Of Turkey contest held in 2003, died on July 21, 2010, after falling from the 6.5-meter-high balcony of a villa within the Club Flipper Holiday Village in Bodrum Yalıkavak. Heavy accusations were directed against businessman Ahmet Bayer, who was present in the villa at the time of the incident and was later confined to a wheelchair after a stroke, along with his sons Hakan Sadi and Volkan Bayer, as part of the investigation.
At the end of the investigation, Ahmet Bayer was charged with "instigating qualified intentional murder," while his sons were charged with "qualified intentional murder" and faced life imprisonment. The defendants, who were arrested during the trial process, were released in the following years.
During the approximately 9.5-year trial process, three prosecutors and three court presidents changed in the case; on January 15, 2020, the Muğla 1st High Criminal Court ruled for the acquittal of all defendants, including businessman Ahmet Bayer and his sons Volkan and Hakan Bayer, on the grounds that the crimes charged had not been proven to have been committed by the defendants. The case was taken to the Court of Cassation upon the objection of Aslı Baş's family.
COURT OF CASSATION OVERTURNED THE ACQUITTAL DECISION
On August 5, the 1st Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation overturned the local court's acquittal decision on the grounds of insufficient investigation. In the overturning decision, it was emphasized that the content of the messages sent by Aslı Baş to Ahmet Derya Bayer on the night of the incident had not been thoroughly investigated, that the statements of witnesses who were present in the house during the incident and had not been previously heard were not taken into account, and that the claims regarding the security cameras had not been sufficiently examined.