24.03.2026 17:23
Şişli Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan, who is in custody in the "corruption" case against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB), made a defense statement. Rejecting the accusations against him, Şahan said, "The norms of the state have been disregarded. My detention aside, what is truly important is the will of the Şişli Municipality. I am a mayor elected with the highest vote in history. Today, a trustee sits in my chair. I am not in custody because I did what the contractors wanted, but because I did not."
The trial against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM), involving 407 defendants including Ekrem İmamoğlu, continues on its ninth day. The indictment, prepared on November 11, 2025, consists of 3,809 pages and alleges that Ekrem İmamoğlu, named as the 'Organization Leader', committed crimes including 'Establishing an organization for the purpose of committing a crime', 'Bribery', 'Money laundering', 'Fraud to the detriment of public institutions and organizations', 'Recording personal data', 'Seizing and disseminating personal data', 'Concealing criminal evidence', 'Obstructing communication', 'Causing damage to public property', 'Receiving bribes', 'Publicly disseminating misleading information', 'Extortion', 'Money laundering of assets derived from crime', 'Interfering with a tender', 'Deliberately polluting the environment', 'Violating tax procedure law', 'Violating forest law', and 'Violating mining law'. İmamoğlu faces a prison sentence ranging from 828 years and 2 months to 2,352 years for 142 actions.
"MY DETENTION IS ONE THING, WHAT MATTERS IS THE WILL OF ŞİŞLİ MUNICIPALITY"
During the hearing held by the Istanbul 40th Heavy Penal Court, Şişli Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan, who was removed from office and arrested, made a defense statement. According to information conveyed by journalist Merve Tokaz from the courtroom; Şahan used the following expressions in his defense:
"I hope spring comes to this country and we leave this hall like that. I have been detained for exactly 1 year and I am now appearing before you. Hundreds of letters and thousands of messages in my 12 square meter cell have nurtured my hope. I stand strong with the resilience of Aunt Hanife from Erzurum, who wrote a letter saying 'Hold on, son, the nation is with you.'
'You are guilty, prove it,' they say, and I am defending myself against this void. We are all participating in this hostile application game. Everyone who has caused tears for tens of thousands of families will account for it in the conscience of the nation. Everyone who has separated me from my 5.5-year-old daughter should keep this in mind.
In the early hours of the morning of March 19, I was detained on charges of aiding the PKK in the city consensus. Şişli Municipality and Çağlayan Courthouse are neighboring institutions. We were discussing many issues with the courthouse and the prosecutor's office. We were having meetings at Şişli Municipality regarding the deficiencies of the courthouse. If they called, we would all go. I am 1 km away from the courthouse. To be detained in front of my 5.5-year-old daughter in the early morning in front of my wife is not how it should be.
Look, what did my daughter hang on the door? She hung a sign saying 'Police cannot enter this house.' This is a lesson for everyone. The morning of March 19 is where this story began, damaged in front of my family. The state norm has been disregarded. Mr. President, my detention is one thing, but what matters is the will of Şişli Municipality. I am a president elected with the highest votes in history. Today, a trustee sits in my chair.
After four days of detention, we were unjustly arrested, and the Çağlayan courthouse is next to the Abide-i Hürriyet monument. What happened will be written as a dark stain in the history of democracy in Turkey.
"I AM DETAINED FOR NOT DOING WHAT CONTRACTORS WANTED"
I held a press conference opposing the plan for a 72-story skyscraper on a 24-acre plot intended to be built in the heart of Şişli. I said we do not need this. They wanted to do it, we said no, do not do it, it cannot be done. The prosecutor took statements from the owner of this construction company against us, he insulted me. I was arrested with these statements at 12. My president called me a 'vampire', he called me a vampire! He called us a 'gang'! 1 million square meters! My issue is not with the contractor, my issue is not with the contractor. The contractor can build 2 million square meters here. My issue is with the one who created this!
I started my mayorship under intense investigative pressure, immediately. The governor is there, I hope he is not mistaken. He called me several times. He said, "What will happen, there are skyscrapers everywhere in Şişli, let there be one here too." He said, "There will be trouble." We did not do it, Mr. President. We stopped, we stopped where we needed to stop. I sincerely say we stopped where we needed to stop.
Now, Mr. President, what is expected of me is that I am being judged for not sharing the understanding represented by this skyscraper that is in front of you today. This is the position in this substitute detention. I am being judged for not sharing this. What was expected of me was to turn a blind eye. Honestly, it was to turn a blind eye. The most comfortable thing for me would have been to ignore what business people and contractors wanted, in the time frames they wanted, in the ways they wanted; if the rights of the city and the public were not my priority, if my friends and I had not fulfilled the requirements of our administrative duties, I assure you that today you would not have been able to present any issue before us. You would not have been able to catch a topic in this detention. You would not have been able to make a substitute detention. Today, I am not detained for doing what contractors wanted, but for not doing it."
"I DID NOT ENGAGE IN JOB FOLLOWING"
Altan Ertürk, an organizer working with Şişli Municipality, stated in his defense, "I have never engaged in job following at any point in my life. I did not get involved in such matters. I was detained on September 23 during a dawn operation. The prosecutor said that 3.5 million was given to the municipality and that the money was delivered by me. I was shocked when I heard this allegation. I was told that there was a statement in this regard. I denied this allegation. I was arrested with a statement without any evidence being shown regarding the crime attributed to me. For exactly 6 months, I have not been able to find an authority to explain this fictitious scenario. There is a construction project by a construction company in Şişli. It is alleged that money was offered to the municipality while the permits for this construction were being obtained. There are high-level executive partners of the construction company; I have never seen or spoken to them. In the past, dervishes would enter the cell and mature by enduring hardship. I have learned a lot from here and I am coming out a little more 'mature'; but this does not change the fact that I spent 6 months here without any crime. I have tried to present to you for a full hour a distorted reality, a scenario among dozens of statements, as if the main question we should be asking is this. How is it that I can be detained for 6 months when I have done nothing but make an appointment with one person? In the legal system that detained me without a single piece of evidence and has kept me in prison for 6 months; defending myself by trying to point out the contradictions and inconsistencies in the statements by saying 'He said this, he said that' really goes against a person's strength. Shouldn't the evidence speak for itself? Yes, I was detained based on the statement of one person, moreover, a person whose testimony he said he did not witness. I have been detained for 6 months."
IT WILL CONTINUE UNTIL 22:00
In the hearing to be held in the building of the Marmara Open Prison Campus in Silivri by the Istanbul 40th Heavy Penal Court, the defendants' defenses will continue to be taken. On the other hand, the presiding judge stated that the hearings could continue until 22:00.
Before the hearing, the lawyer of Ali Sukas asked the presiding judge if there was any instruction regarding the exclusion of 5 members of parliament from the courtroom.
The Chief Judge said, "This practice is at the discretion of the Prosecutor's Office; we have left the matter to them."