14.05.2026 12:50
In the 31st hearing of the case involving 200 defendants, including 11 detained and 7 mayors who were suspended from duty, related to the Aziz İhsan Aktaş criminal organization, the opinion was presented. Prison sentences of up to 12 years were sought for Adana Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Zeydan Karalar and Adıyaman Mayor Abdurrahman Tutdere, who were suspended from duty, on charges of "bribery." The verdict in the case will be announced on June 15.
The Aziz İhsan Aktaş Criminal Organization case continued today with the 12th hearing of the second session after a one-week break.
Attending the hearing, held by the Istanbul 1st Heavy Penal Court in the hall opposite the Marmara Closed Penal Execution Institution, were 11 arrested defendants, including Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat, Avcılar Mayor Utku Caner Çaykara, and Seyhan Mayor Oya Tekin, who were suspended from their duties following their arrests.
Some non-custodial defendants, including Zeydan Karalar, who was suspended from his post as Adana Metropolitan Municipality Mayor, were also present at the hearing. Relatives of the defendants attended the hearing as observers.
"OBTAINED MANY TENDERS WITH THE SYSTEM HE ESTABLISHED"
At the hearing, the public prosecutor presented his opinion on the merits. The opinion noted that Aziz İhsan Aktaş obtained many tenders from public institutions through the system he had established.
MUNICIPALITY WITH THE MOST TENDERS
Although the defendants claimed in their defenses that no organization existed, the opinion accepted the existence of the organization. The prosecutor's office argued that the institution receiving the most tenders was Beşiktaş Municipality, that Aziz İhsan Aktaş established close relationships with the mayors, and that the system he set up as a tender procurement method was within the framework of bribery.
REQUESTED PENALTIES
A prison sentence of 4 to 12 years was sought for arrested defendant Seyhan Mayor Oya Tekin, non-custodial defendant Ceyhan Mayor Kadir Aydar, non-custodial defendant Adana Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Zeydan Karalar, and non-custodial defendant Adıyaman Mayor Abdurrahman Tutdere on charges of "accepting bribes".
The verdict will be announced on June 15.
FROM THE INDICTMENT
In the 579-page indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, Beşiktaş Municipality, Avcılar Municipality, Esenyurt Municipality, Istanbul ASFALT Fabrikaları San. ve Tic. AŞ, and Istanbul Electricity Tramway and Tunnel Enterprises General Directorate are listed as "parties harmed by the crime", 19 people as "victims", and 200 people as "defendants".
The indictment seeks the punishment of defendant Aziz İhsan Aktaş with 187 to 450 years in prison for the crimes of "establishing an organization for the purpose of committing crimes", "rigging tenders" (42 counts), "rigging the performance of obligations" (4 counts), "forgery of official documents" (5 counts), "forgery of private documents" (21 counts), "fraud to the detriment of public institutions and organizations", "giving bribes" (10 counts), "laundering assets derived from crime", and "issuing fictitious invoices", along with confiscation of the assets he obtained from the crime.
In the indictment, which requests the punishment of Avcılar Mayor Utku Caner Çaykara, who was suspended from duty after his arrest, with 5 to 15 years in prison for "rigging tenders" (2 counts) and "accepting bribes", the punishment of Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer, who was suspended from duty, with 3 to 9 years in prison for "rigging tenders" (2 counts) and "forgery of private documents" (2 counts) is foreseen.
The indictment also requests the punishment of Seyhan Mayor Oya Tekin, Ceyhan Mayor Kadir Aydar, Adana Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Zeydan Karalar, who were suspended from their duties, and Adıyaman Mayor Abdurrahman Tutdere, who was reinstated after the removal of his judicial control, with 4 to 12 years each in prison for "accepting bribes".
Additionally, the indictment seeks the punishment of Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat, who was suspended from duty, with 133 to 337 years in prison for "being a member of a criminal organization", "rigging tenders" (26 counts), "forgery of official documents" (3 counts), "forgery of private documents" (19 counts), "fraud to the detriment of public institutions and organizations", "accepting bribes" (4 counts), "laundering assets derived from crime", and "unlawful acquisition of property", along with confiscation of the assets he obtained from the crime.
Details are coming...