14.02.2025 13:41
The trial regarding the shooting of social media influencer Banu Parlak's beauty center has concluded. In the case, Dilan, Engin, and Sezgin Polat were acquitted of the charge of 'instigation.'
The verdict was announced in the case where social media influencer Banu Parlak's beauty center was shot at, and Dilan, Engin, and Sezgin Polat were tried without detention for the crime of 'instigation'. The judge ruled for the acquittal of Dilan, Engin, and Sezgin Polat due to lack of evidence.
On October 1, 2023, between 02:00 and 04:30, the beauty center belonging to social media influencer Banu Parlak, located in Bahçeşehir 1st Section Nature Park, was shot at by motorcycle-riding suspects. In the indictment prepared regarding the incident, it was requested that Dilan, Engin, and Sezgin Polat be sentenced to imprisonment ranging from 2 years and 4 months to 8 years. The indictment also requested varying prison sentences for 8 other defendants for various crimes. Meanwhile, while the trial was ongoing, Banu Parlak had withdrawn her complaint against the Polat family. With the withdrawal of the complaint, a decision was made for the release of the Polats in this case. During the hearing held at the Küçükçekmece 3rd Criminal Court of First Instance, some of the detained defendants were present via the SEGBİS system. While the lawyers of the parties attended the hearing, Dilan, Engin, and Sezgin Polat did not attend the hearing.
"I COMMITTED A CRIME FOR THE FIRST TIME"
Defendant Yunus Emre Yıldız stated in his defense during the hearing, "I do not accept the opinion. I committed a crime for the first time. We carried out this act not as part of an organized activity, but individually."
Other detained defendants making their defense rejected the accusations and claims of an organization, requesting release and acquittal.
The lawyer of defendants Dilan, Engin, and Sezgin Polat, Orhan Kale, stated in his defense, "We do not accept the opinion. There is no phone call, witness, or any other evidence that our clients communicated with the fugitive defendants and instigated the other defendants. We request the acquittal of our clients regarding the charges against them."
"THEY REMAIN DETAINED DUE TO PUBLIC PRESSURE"
Another lawyer for Dilan, Engin, and Sezgin Polat, Sevinç Horoz, stated in her defense, "There is absolutely no act that constitutes a crime by my clients. We accept the withdrawal of the complaint. There is no concrete evidence against my clients regarding the charges. My clients have remained detained due to public pressure during the phase when there was confidentiality in the file. No communication records with the other defendants have been found, and they do not know the other defendants."
After the defense of the defendants' lawyers, the court announced its decision.
The judge ruled for the dismissal of the charges against all defendants regarding the crime of 'damaging property'. The judge also ruled for the acquittal of Dilan, Engin, and Sezgin Polat due to lack of evidence. On the other hand, varying prison sentences were given to the other defendants.
FROM THE INDICTMENT
In the indictment prepared by the Küçükçekmece Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it was stated that defendant Dilan Polat sent a threatening message to Banu Parlak in a video he published on his social media account.
Shortly after this message, it was reported in the indictment that Dilan and Engin Polat made a joint decision, and defendant Engin Polat communicated with Beratcan and Batın Can Gökdemir, who are fugitive leaders of the armed organized crime group known as the "Daltons" in the public, through their connections in Georgia to carry out an armed attack on the complainant's workplace. It was also stated in the indictment that the Gökdemir brothers gave instructions to the defendants Batuhan İnci, Yunus Emre Yıldız, Nizamettin Bilgili, Onur Abiç, and İsmail Emre Arifoğlu, who were waiting ready for action in a specially rented safe house in Istanbul. The indictment noted that the workplace was shot at, resulting in the replacement of 4 out of 5 windows on the exterior, and the total damage was recorded as 45 thousand lira.
After the incident, Banu Parlak filed a complaint against the Polat family, who wanted to have her killed. Dilan Polat claimed in his statement that he did not say the threatening remarks in the video for Parlak, but rather generally directed them at those who verbally attacked him. Defendant Engin Polat stated that he heard about the attack from social media, claiming that Banu Parlak accused them on social media two days before the attack, and he did not know who did it. The indictment requested that the Polat couple be sentenced to imprisonment ranging from 2 years and 4 months to 8 years for the crimes of "instigation to threaten with a weapon together with multiple persons" and "instigation to damage property."
For the defendants Barış Boyun, Beratcan, and Batin Can Gökdemir, against whom a warrant was issued, a total of 8 years and 4 months to 23 years of imprisonment was requested for the crimes of "establishing an organization to commit armed crimes," "threatening with a weapon together with multiple persons," "damaging property," and "carrying an unlicensed weapon."
In the indictment, it was requested that the other defendants Batuhan İnci, İsmail Emre Arifoğlu, Nizamettin Bilgili, Onur Abiç, Yunus Emre Yıldız, and Sezgin Polat be sentenced to imprisonment ranging from 2 years and 4 months to 23 years for various crimes.