07.07.2026 16:03
On the second day of the market inspection trial held at the Bolu 3rd Heavy Penal Court, CHP municipal council members and other defendants made their defenses. The defendants stated that the fines were in accordance with legislation, they did not receive instructions, and did not accept the charges.
On the second day of the hearing held at Bolu 3rd Heavy Penal Court, the defendants made their defenses. CHP Bolu Municipal Council member and non-custodial defendant Hüseyin Ekrem Serin stated that inspections of markets had previously been conducted by the municipal police, saying, 'Not only markets but everywhere is inspected, and reports are brought to the council for a decision. I have attended meetings for 25 years and never received instructions from Tanju Özcan. He attended meetings a few times during my tenure as council chair. Some markets come to the municipal police directorate saying they want to obtain licenses, and the necessary procedures are carried out. I don't think any other action was taken. I have not spoken with any market officials about closing markets. I believe the market inspections were a reasonable decision.'
'PENALTIES IMPOSED ON MARKETS WERE NORMAL'
CHP Municipal Council member and non-custodial defendant Cahit Görüş stated that he did not receive any instructions regarding sanctions on markets and said he heard about the meeting with market officials. Görüş said, 'As a council member, the penalties imposed on chain markets were normal. Because if one has deficiencies, the others do too. It is normal for the penalties to be high for this reason. We make decisions based on documents and photos from the municipal police directorate. After inspections, markets were given a deadline, and we made our decisions within the regulations.'
'THERE WERE ALSO DEFICIENCIES IN THE FIRE EXIT DOORS OF MARKETS'
Non-custodial defendant and CHP municipal council member Buse Özkan stated that decisions in the council were made in accordance with regulations and said in her defense: 'Decisions in the council are made collectively and are in line with regulations. During my time, Tanju Özcan never attended any meetings and gave no instructions. The penalties applied to markets were lawful. Inspections conducted by municipal police units are brought to us, and our municipal police director presents them with visuals. There were not only issues with NACE codes but also deficiencies in fire exit doors. These deficiencies and irregularities could lead to loss of life. I am not aware of any advertising agreements mentioned in the case file. I have no membership in BOLSEV. It is not within my authority to investigate the accuracy of the inspections. I do not know any of the complainants and have not attended any meetings. I reject the accusations against me and request my acquittal.'
'I WAS UNAWARE OF THE INSPECTIONS ON MARKETS'
Bolu Municipality Fire Department Director and non-custodial defendant Mehmet Ağan stated that he was unaware of the inspections and meetings regarding markets and that he was not the fire department director at that time, saying, 'I was not aware of the meeting; I learned about it from the gendarmerie. I never served on the council. I received no instructions regarding market inspections and did not witness any instructions being given.'
'I DON'T KNOW ANY OF THE MARKET OWNERS; I IMPOSE PENALTIES BASED ON DOCUMENTS RECEIVED'
Bolu Municipality Financial Services Director and custodial defendant Naim Ayhan stated that he has worked at the municipality for 34 years and said, 'I made decisions within the authority granted to me by law. The municipal council is not an institution that takes instructions from anyone. We made council decisions unanimously. We impose the penalties in question based on reports prepared by unit directors. The council has no chance to inspect or verify. It is not possible to instruct the municipal police or make determinations. I don't know any of the market owners; I impose penalties based on documents received. I reject the accusations against me.'
'ALLEGATION OF A DONATION TO THE FOUNDATION FOR A CAFE LICENSE'
Bolu Grocers and Greengrocers Chamber President and Köroğlu Credit Tradesmen Surety Cooperative President, custodial defendant Mustafa Altındal, made his defense regarding allegations that he mediated the irregular granting of a license to a cafe. Altındal stated that he relayed the issue with the cafe's license to Tanju Özcan and said, 'A donation was requested for the cafe; the cafe owner called me and said, "I have prepared 100,000 TL." He wanted to leave the money at the Köroğlu Credit Tradesmen Surety Cooperative. I said "okay." We returned the money kept in the safe after about 3-4 months. They say I mediated bribery. I don't understand what my crime is. I neither asked for money nor did anything else. They wanted to make a donation themselves. He said, "Let's deposit the money to the foundation together," and left it with me. At that time, I was out of town for federation work. I acted entirely in good faith.'
After the defendants' defenses, the hearing was adjourned for a lunch break.