29.10.2026 18:06
An interim decision has been announced in the trial in which former Fenerbahçe President Sadettin Saran and presenter Ela Rümeysa Cebeci are being tried on charges of drug trafficking. Rejecting the accusations, Saran made his defense, saying, "Today is the most shameful day of my life." The court decided to continue the judicial control measures of the defendants while exempting Saran from attending the subsequent hearings. The trial was postponed to November 4.
The first hearing of the case in which former Fenerbahçe President Sadettin Saran and presenter Ela Rümeysa Cebeci are being tried on charges of “trading or supplying narcotic or stimulant substances” was held at Istanbul 4th High Criminal Court. Saran attended the hearing and made his defense, while Cebeci did not come to court.
SARAN DENIED THE ACCUSATIONS
At the hearing, Sadettin Saran, who did not accept the accusations against him, argued that the correspondence included in the case file was intended as a joke. Saran said, “This correspondence is completely banter and a joke. I neither used, nor grew, nor sold anything. Nothing was found in my garden or at my home.”
“TODAY IS THE MOST SHAMEFUL DAY OF MY LIFE”
Expressing that he felt sorrow at appearing before the judge, Saran said in his defense:
“Your Honor, I feel sorrow and shame at being here and standing before you. Today is the most shameful day of my life.”
Saran rejected the claims that he used and supplied drugs and said he had endeavored to set an example through his work throughout his life.
INTERIM DECISION ISSUED BY THE COURT
Following the defenses, an interim decision was announced in the case. The court panel ruled that the judicial control measures against Sadettin Saran and Ela Rümeysa Cebeci would continue. The prosecutor had also requested at the hearing that the judicial control provisions for the two defendants be maintained.
SARAN EXEMPTED FROM HEARINGS
The court removed Sadettin Saran's obligation to attend subsequent hearings. Thus, unless recalled by the court, Saran will not have to be present at future hearings. The judicial control measures against Ela Rümeysa Cebeci, who did not attend the first hearing, will also continue.
CASE POSTPONED TO NOVEMBER 4
The court decided that the second hearing of the case would be held on November 4, 2026. No final judgment has yet been rendered regarding the accusations against Saran and Cebeci.
WHATSAPP CORRESPONDENCE ENTERED INTO THE CASE FILE
Within the scope of the investigation, WhatsApp correspondence alleged to have taken place between Saran and Cebeci was also included in the case file. In the indictment, it was claimed that the messages revealed not only drug use but also the intent to obtain substances. Saran, however, argued that the correspondence in question was intended as a joke.
SARAN'S DRUG TEST HAD COME BACK POSITIVE
Within the scope of the investigation, a cocaine test performed on a hair sample taken from Sadettin Saran had returned positive. Saran, who denied the accusations in his statement to the prosecutor's office, had argued that the test result might have been caused by the sedatives he used during the Fenerbahçe presidential election period. Saran had been released on December 20, 2025, under judicial control conditions.
CEBECİ HAD REMAINED IN PRISON FOR MORE THAN 4 MONTHS
Ela Rümeysa Cebeci, who was arrested on December 17, 2025, within the scope of the investigation, remained in prison until April 24, 2026. Cebeci, whose drug test at the Forensic Medicine Institute came back positive, handed her phone and password over to the authorities. In her statement, Cebeci admitted that she used drugs but denied the accusation that she sold drugs.