04.02.2026 16:57
In the case of "Saint İhsan Aktaç criminal organization," the detained defendant, Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat, who faces up to 337 years in prison, said, "The saddest thing for me is that the municipality I have been working for, day and night, has been subjected to slanders for a year. I have a response to all the slanders."
In the case of the "Aziz İhsan Aktaş criminal organization," which is alleged to have organized tender processes by bribing mayors and is claimed to be led by Aziz İhsan Aktaş, the trial of a total of 200 defendants, including 33 detained individuals, 7 of whom are mayors, continues on its sixth day.
Due to the insufficient capacity of the Istanbul 1st Heavy Penal Court, the hearing is being held in courtroom number 1, located across from the Marmara Closed Penal Institution. Present at the hearing were Avcılar Mayor Utku Caner Çaykara, Seyhan Mayor Oya Tekin, Ceyhan Mayor Kadir Aydar, Adana Metropolitan Mayor Zeydan Karalar, Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat, and other detained defendants, as well as defendants who are not in custody and the parties' lawyers.
UP TO 337 YEARS IN PRISON SOUGHT
Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat, who faces a prison sentence of 133 to 337 years, took the stand to begin his defense.
"I HAVE ANSWERS TO ALL ACCUSATIONS"
In his defense, Akpolat stated, "I am an elected mayor. I am here as a citizen who has been unjustly detained for about 13 months. There are many accusations against me, which is very distressing. However, the most upsetting thing for me is that, as a mayor whose success was confirmed by the people of Beşiktaş at the polls in 2024, my office and the Beşiktaş Municipality, where I have worked day and night, have been on the agenda for about a year due to these allegations. I have answers to all accusations. My commercial life has been shaped alongside my family. Today, I will make a comprehensive defense. My relatives and colleagues have all been portrayed as guilty. There is an accusation that my father has never done business and has no income. Therefore, after making some foundations regarding myself, my family, and the Beşiktaş Municipality, I will respond to the charges against me one by one. You can see the projects done with a single click, what I do. But in all these allegations, both I, my family members, and my colleagues are facing many accusations," he said.
"THE ORGANIZATION LEADER IS FREE, WE ARE HERE"
Akpolat said, "Actions were taken that are clearly contrary to the principle of equality in the Constitution. In the same case, the alleged organization leader Aziz İhsan Aktaş was released. We are all here, we are in prison. We have been listening to the stories here for a week, ten days. And all of these were done while the investigation was incomplete, while guilt had not been established, and while the right to investigate had not been granted, and the presumption of innocence was clearly disregarded. We have been listening here for days. Our friends are telling their stories. Everyone has their own story. They are actually telling stories about the presumption of innocence. Because no one is afraid of being judged. I am not afraid of being judged either. Therefore, I am here and ready to answer any questions. However, the failure to protect the presumption of innocence has hurt everyone," he said.
"WE ARE BEING ACCUSED BECAUSE OF 'I DON'T KNOW, THEY SAID' STATEMENTS"
Akpolat stated, "Why are we being accused? Because of the unfounded statements of some individuals, 'I don't know, I don't remember, I heard, they said.' All of these accusers did not make any statements against me in their initial testimonies at the prosecutor's office, but suddenly, it was as if a revelation had come to them, and they gave statements one after another. The interesting thing is that each statement has expanded another's statement but has never clarified the events. Because these statements were not made to convey the truth but were constructed to avoid arrest or to guarantee release from detention. Indeed, almost all of them were released after these accusations, judicial control measures were lifted, and some provided statements at various times to ensure they would not be arrested," he said.
"COUNTER LAWSUITS WERE FILED"
Akpolat said, "It has been found that the vehicles of the existing companies were uninspected, and nearly half of them were defective, and there is now a public image; perhaps you remember a viral image in Turkey of a tow truck taking a vehicle or a digger. It was due to that cleaning company's vehicle. They were warned. Our friends made the necessary warnings to them as per our instructions. However, these deficiencies could not be remedied. We took the matter to the judiciary. In other words, counter lawsuits were filed, and you will see the case in court when you request the file. My silence, my belief in the sense of justice of this country, and my feeling of not tarnishing institutions are also valid there. That company raided our cleaning garage with diggers and destroyed it. They entered our cleaning garage with their diggers at one o'clock at night and demolished it. They took our cleaning staff hostage inside and held them there. After we were informed, we spoke with our police chief, we spoke with our district governor, and we took the necessary actions. But until today, we have not made a single statement about this, we have not expressed it. Why? We sat down with the district governor and the police chief, we made a decision, we solved it ourselves, we did not speak. But the process was taken to the judiciary, and the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization banned the company. The company did not participate in the tender because it was banned," he said.
"MY WIFE HAD A MISCARRIAGE WHILE I WAS DETAINED, I COULD NOT SUPPORT HER"
Emotional moments were experienced in the courtroom when detained defendant Adem Gökhan Yankılıç, the brother of Rıza Akpolat's wife Yeşim Akpolat, made his defense. Detained defendant Yankılıç said, "I have been married to my wife Cemal for 8 years. We wanted to have a child; this had not been possible. One day before I was taken into custody, my wife gave me the good news; the next day we were taken into custody. During the time we were detained, my dear President, my wife lost her child due to the deep sadness and difficulties we experienced as a family during this process. I could not be by my wife's side to support her. I request that you allow me to be with my family by ending my detention," he expressed.