06.03.2026 13:44
TÜSİAD President Orhan Turan and TÜSİAD YIK President Ömer Arif Aras were sentenced to 1 year, 3 months, and 18 days in prison for the crime of "publicly disseminating misleading information" due to their speeches at the association's general assembly. The court deferred the announcement of the sentence.
The President of the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen Association (TÜSİAD), Orhan Turan, and the Chairman of the TÜSİAD High Advisory Board, Ömer Arif Aras, appeared before a judge for the fourth time on February 13, 2025, due to their speeches at the association's General Assembly, facing charges of 'Publicly disseminating misleading information' and 'Attempting to influence fair trial'. The hearing was held at the 28th Criminal Court of First Instance located in the Istanbul Justice Palace in Çağlayan. The defendants, TÜSİAD President Orhan Turan, TÜSİAD High Advisory Board Chairman Ömer Arif Aras, and their lawyers attended the hearing at the Istanbul 28th Criminal Court of First Instance. In previous sessions, the prosecutor had requested that defendants Turan and Aras be sentenced to imprisonment ranging from 1 year and 10 months to 5 years and 6 months for the charges of 'Publicly disseminating misleading information' and 'Attempting to influence fair trial'.
TÜSİAD President Orhan Turan (left) "MY 20-MINUTE SPEECH WAS TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT" In his defense against the prosecutor's opinion on the merits, Aras stated, "When my statements in the ongoing trial are examined, it can be understood that there is no situation that constitutes an accusation. My 20-minute speech has been taken out of context. When the speech is examined as a whole, it is understood to be directed towards economic development and is entirely in good faith. My speech addresses current issues without using names. It is meaningless to attempt to produce a crime from this. We saw that the prosecutor's opinion on the merits was evaluated in a way that contradicts the universal principles of law. The publication of the same speech on the TÜSİAD website cannot be seen as a separate crime. As a person who has never appeared in court in my 72 years of life, I do not accept that a speech made for the development of the country is portrayed as a crime," he said.
TÜSİAD YİK Chairman Ömer Arif Aras 1 YEAR 3 MONTHS SENTENCE GIVEN, ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE VERDICT POSTPONED In its decision, the court sentenced defendants Orhan Turan and Mehmet Ömer Arif Aras to 1 year, 3 months, and 18 days in prison for the crime of 'publicly disseminating misleading information', while they were acquitted of the charge of 'attempting to influence fair trial'. The court postponed the announcement of the verdict.
WHAT HAPPENED? The investigation was initiated following the speeches made at the TÜSİAD general assembly held on February 13 last year.
During the meeting, TÜSİAD High Advisory Board Chairman Ömer Aras stated that recent developments have caused deep concern in society.
TÜSİAD President Turan, in his speech at the general assembly, stated, "We cannot solve either internal or external problems without establishing the rule of law."
After being referred to the courthouse as part of the investigation, TÜSİAD executives were released with a travel ban imposed on them.