19.10.2026 21:00
Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan, who was suspended from duty and for whom up to 217 years in prison is sought in the case concerning Bolu Municipality, rejected the accusations against him at the third hearing and requested his acquittal. Defending himself from prison via SEGBİS, Özcan said, "I want to be released. I want to ask for a girl's hand for my son." Saying he would stay away from politics, Özcan used the words, "I will sit at home like a cat without touching water or soap."
The third hearing of the case in which 19 defendants, 4 of them detained, including Mayor Tanju Özcan, who was suspended from duty as part of the investigation conducted into Bolu Municipality, are being tried, began today.
TANJU ÖZCAN MADE HIS DEFENSE In the case, where the public prosecutor seeks up to 217 years in prison and which has reached the decision stage, the court panel rejected Özcan's request to be physically present in the courtroom. The hearing, held by the Bolu 3rd High Criminal Court, was again conducted in a special hall set up in the sports hall of Bolu Social Sciences High School due to wide participation. Tanju Özcan and detained Deputy Mayor Süleyman Can attended the hearing via the Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS) from the prison where they are being held. The other detained defendants in the case, Ali Sarıyıldız and Mustafa Altındal, were present in the courtroom. At today's session, Özcan, along with the other defendants and the parties' lawyers, made their defenses against the public prosecutor's opinion on the merits. Defendant Tanju Özcan began to defend himself against 6 separate incidents grouped under the headings 'markets', 'license', 'sacrifice', 'progress payment', 'concrete' and 'cafe'.
"WHOEVER MAKES THE CLAIM WILL PRODUCE THE PROOF" In the prosecutor's opinion, it was stated that before the 2025 Eid al-Adha, the BOLSEV Foundation organized a 'sacrifice donation' campaign through social media and billboards, and that a total of 845 thousand TL was deposited by 34 donors in return for 65 shares. The opinion alleged that the defendants' aim was not to sacrifice animals, that the collected money was not used to purchase sacrificial animals, and that the donors made payments thinking their sacrifices would be slaughtered. Özcan, making his defense against the sacrifice donation incident, said, "I am being accused of a financial transaction. It is established that we did not provide ourselves with a single cent of benefit. I argue that this accusation is contrary to procedure and law. The prosecutor's office characterizes the collection of sacrifice donations on behalf of BOLSEV and the failure to slaughter sacrifices with the collected money as fraud. My causal link to this incident is related to Ali Sarıyıldız's statements. Ali Sarıyıldız is confusing things. I did not call him about this matter. I spoke with him on the phone hundreds of times, but I absolutely did not instruct him on this matter. Whoever makes the claim will produce the proof. The report does not say there is a crime, it says the money was not spent either," he said.
"YOU GAVE THOSE STATEMENTS, YOU BURNED US, AND YOU COULDN'T SAVE YOURSELF EITHER" "The 34 people who donated here are people we know. Why would we defraud these people? Among the 34 people are Ali Sarıyıldız's brother, who is considered a victim, and my relatives. There is no issue constituting a crime in the concrete incident. Therefore, there is no crime. I call out to my brother Ali once again. Before it is too late, when your turn comes, tell the truth. They made Ali give certain statements under duress. You gave those statements, you burned us, and you couldn't save yourself either. You are being tried with the same request for a prison sentence, and I am being tried with the same request for a prison sentence. Is there any fraud case in Turkey with no complainant? There are no elements of the crime of fraud here. We are being tried when we should be acquitted here," he said.
Tanju Özcan rejected the accusations regarding the incidents referred to as "concrete", "progress payment" and "cafe". Arguing that he did not force anyone to buy concrete from the municipality, Özcan said their aim was to generate income for the municipality. On the progress payment issue, Özcan stated that the company official had declared that he was not forced to advertise and that there was no delay in payments. Stating that the advertising revenue was deposited into the foundation's account, Özcan argued that they did not obtain personal benefit and requested his acquittal. Özcan, who also rejected the bribery accusation regarding the cafe license, argued that there was no statement that he asked for or received money, and said he had no connection to the incident.
HE REQUESTED HIS ACQUITTAL WITH THESE WORDS: I WILL SIT AT HOME LIKE THE CAT WITHOUT GETTING INVOLVED IN ANYTHING Özcan, who also made a defense against contractor Nazmi Güzel's license claims, said, "We ran into each other at a wedding and he implicitly threatened me. Among the witnesses, 46 victims were heard and none of them filed a complaint. Nazmi Güzel has a personal grudge. If I had not called Abdullah Öcalan the head of terrorists, there would be no grudge between us. He says his business was disrupted, that I did not answer his calls. He keeps making false statements. Nazmi Güzel and I did not meet one-on-one. Am I the one who will prove that I asked for money, or is he the one who will prove that he gave money? There was a negotiation, I allegedly received a check for 1.5 million. Which part are we supposed to believe? He has many statements about money. Tuna Özcan says 'He asked for 2.5 million,' and tells me something else. Which one are we supposed to believe? He says 'The petitions were not answered,' which of your petitions was not answered? I never spoke with him about the money issue. There is the matter of 1 million TL. I have no knowledge of this money. I want to be released. I want to ask for a girl's hand for my son. Without getting involved in anything, I will sit at home like the cat. If they want, let them release Öcalan; if they want, let them fill the country with refugees, I don't care. I will sit in my house like a cat without meddling in anything," he said.