28.02.2026 08:00
After being detained in the operation against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM), the house arrest sentence imposed on Şafak Başa, the General Manager of the Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration (İSKİ), was lifted 210 days later, and he has been reinstated to his position.
Şafak Başa, the General Manager of İSKİ, who was detained as part of operations directed against İBB and had the house arrest decision lifted, has been reinstated to his position.
Şafak Başa, the General Manager of İSKİ, who was detained as part of the operation against İBB, was suspended from his duties following the house arrest decision. Despite the lifting of the house arrest decision after 210 days, an important development occurred regarding Şafak Başa, whose suspension period was extended.
SHAFAK BAŞA HAS BEEN REINSTATED
It has been decided to reinstate Şafak Başa, the General Manager of İSKİ, to his position.
Şafak Başa's lawyer, Kerem Donat, who made a statement on social media regarding the matter, used the following expressions:
"It has become necessary to make this statement in order to properly inform the public about the administrative process regarding the suspension measure applied due to the judicial investigation process conducted against İSKİ General Manager Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şafak BAŞA.
As is known, on April 26, 2025, a detention procedure was applied against Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şafak BAŞA as part of the investigation, and a judicial control measure in the form of "prohibition of leaving the residence" was applied.
This judicial control measure was lifted on November 25, 2025, and it was decided to apply lighter measures such as the obligation to sign on certain days and a ban on leaving the country. Thus, any judicial restrictions preventing Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şafak BAŞA from performing his public duties have been removed.
Following this development, it was clearly stated that the factual and legal reasons that constituted the basis for the suspension measure had been eliminated, and the matter of reinstating Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şafak BAŞA was officially submitted to the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change.
As a result of the evaluations made within the administrative process, the matter was examined by the Ministry's office, and the process regarding the suspension measure was reconsidered.
At this stage, it is clear that the process regarding a public official who does not have a detention order, whose house arrest has been lifted, and who does not have any judicial prohibitions preventing him from performing his duties should be in the form of reinstatement, and as a result of the examination, the suspension measure has been lifted.
This statement has been made to properly inform the public.
Respectfully announced."