The third day of the Aziz İhsan Aktaş case! An investigation has been launched against those who recorded footage.

29.01.2026 09:53

The case of the "Aziz İhsan Aktaş criminal organization," which is alleged to have organized tender processes by bribing mayors and is said to be led by Aziz İhsan Aktaş, is ongoing. Following a debate over "footage" that arose in the courtroom on the second day, an investigation was launched against those who recorded footage in the courtroom. On the third day of the trial, the defendants' statements will be taken.

The case of the 'Aziz İhsan Aktaş criminal organization', which is claimed to have organized tender processes by bribing mayors and is alleged to be led by Aziz İhsan Aktaş, is ongoing. On the third day of the first hearing of the case, the defendants' statements will be taken. The hearing will start at 10:00 AM.

CHAIRMAN'S "FOOTAGE" STATEMENT

On the second day of the hearing, detained defendants Adıyaman Deputy Mayor Ceyhan Kayhan, Ceyhan Mayor Kadir Aydar, Seyhan Mayor Oya Tekin, and her husband Celal Tekin, along with Adana Metropolitan Mayor Zeydan Karalar, presented their defenses.

After the defenses of some detained defendants were completed, the Chairman of the Court, who ended the hearing, announced that no spectators would be allowed in the courtroom anymore due to the recording of footage inside the hall.

Following objections from lawyers and spectators and mutual dialogues, the Chairman of the Court stated, "I have been maintaining my composure for days, pay attention to your tone, you cannot address me as 'Chairman'. You are violating the privacy of personal life. You are abusing our goodwill. It is the same whether one person does it or a hundred. This is detrimental to the defendants, it does not harm us, we continue our work in every way. There was even a live broadcast here. You resolve this issue among yourselves. If even one more footage comes out, no one will be allowed into the hearing, regardless of who it is. We also have a private life, they are broadcasting us too," he said.

As the objections continued, CHP Group Deputy Chairman Ali Mahir Başarır and CHP Istanbul Provincial Chairman Özgür Çelik intervened, requesting, "We will ensure that no footage is released. Please allow us a little more time." The Chairman of the Court responded to Başarır and Çelik, saying, "We have your word. If even a single footage comes out from now on, I will not allow anyone into the hearing," and retracted his decision.

AN INVESTIGATION HAS BEEN INITIATED

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office announced that an investigation has been initiated ex officio against individuals who recorded footage inside the courtroom during the 'Aziz İhsan Aktaş' case and shared it on social media accounts.

In a statement made from the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's social media account; "It has been understood that the footage recorded during today's hearing of the case numbered 2025/364 E., which has started at the Istanbul 1st Heavy Criminal Court, was shared through social media accounts; an ex officio investigation has been initiated against those who unlawfully recorded sound or footage during the prosecution process and shared it on social media accounts, and instructions have been given to the Cyber Crime Department of the Istanbul Provincial Police Department for the identification of the act and the perpetrator. We respectfully announce this to the public."

"THE MONEY TRANSACTION BETWEEN MY FRIEND AND ME WAS QUALIFIED AS BRIBERY"

During the hearing, detained defendant Adıyaman Deputy Mayor Ceyhan Kayhan stated in his defense, "Throughout my working life, I have always worked in municipalities. The work in Adıyaman was almost like a construction site. It was a city in a really difficult situation. I started my duty there because I thought I could be helpful. People in Adıyaman had experienced great traumas. I regret to say that in this country, evil has become so commonplace that people can lie to another without thinking for their own comfort and lives, can slander, and can ruin people's lives. I have been in prison for eight months. I know my friend Savaş Çetinkaya, who gave a statement about me, from Izmir. He also lives in Izmir. He was working at the Altaş company in 2016. At that time, I would call him for personnel recruitment, and he would help us. Our acquaintance goes back a long way. There have been times when there was a money transaction between us. Most recently, he was with me in Ankara during my candidacy process for mayor. We were in constant contact, and he was supporting me. However, for some reason I cannot understand, he has made such an accusation against me. The money transaction between me and a friend I have known for years has suddenly been qualified as a bribery transaction. There is a sum of 170,000 lira that he sent me. I am already saying that I received this money. However, a payment of 25,000 lira that I sent to him is shown in the file as if I had received a bribe from him. In other words, the money I sent has been used against me as a bribe. I do not accept this. It is being portrayed as if there is a constant money transaction between us. I cannot understand how we have come to this point with such a close friend. I paid all the money I received to my friend. Despite this, this friend says he does not know me and claims that such a situation does not exist. There are so many false statements in the file that he even says we were introduced by Abdurrahman Tutdere. Such a thing absolutely does not exist," he said.

"NO TENDERS WERE AWARDED DURING MY TERM"

Kayhan continued his defense, stating, "I did not receive bribes from anyone, nor did I mediate bribes. The prosecution has based the allegation of mediating bribes on the justification of awarding a tender. We did not award any tenders at all. I served for a year and a half, and during this time, no tenders were awarded to the relevant company or any of its affiliated companies. We did not conduct tenders, we did not award tenders. Additionally, I would like to explain why we did not conduct tenders. When we started our duty, cleaning vehicles were provided to our municipality by our Ministry of Environment and Urbanization under the European Union funds and through other municipalities. Garbage trucks and sweeping vehicles were delivered. As a result of the evaluation we made with our president and relevant friends, we concluded that there was no need for such a tender. Because our municipality had a sufficient number of vehicles. We decided that we could carry out this service entirely with our own municipal resources with a few vehicle reinforcements. Indeed, when our president took office, he also terminated the contracts of many rented vehicles that had been used before. The reason for this was to achieve savings. Our goal was to create a self-sufficient, strong municipal structure that stands on its own feet. To this end, we had partially succeeded in Adıyaman," he said.

"THERE ARE NO TENDERS AWARDED TO AZIZ İHSAN AKTAŞ DURING MY TERM"

Detained defendant Ceyhan Mayor Kadir Aydar stated in his defense at the court, "I was elected as the Mayor of Ceyhan in March 2024.Aziz İhsan Aktaş and his relatives have not received any contracts from municipalities, nor has there been any continuation of contracts made before my term. There are no contracts that Aziz İhsan Aktaş and his relatives have received during my term after being elected mayor in 2024, and no ongoing contracts have been renewed. Payments made to the companies of İhsan Aktaş and his relatives have been carried out in accordance with the procedure. That is to say; payments owed to other companies by the municipality have also been made on the same dates. Payments made to the companies of Aktaş and his relatives are not special or privileged payments. Other companies with receivables from the municipality have also received their payments in the same manner. Aktaş claims to have bribed by saying he bought an apartment worth 4 million lira for 20 million lira. However, on the dates of July 25-26, when Aktaş claims to have negotiated the sale of the apartment with my father, the total receivable of his relatives' companies from the municipality is only 1.5 million lira. In August, when the deed was obtained, the receivable amount is again 1.5 million lira. Aziz İhsan Aktaş claims to have given 300 thousand dollars in November. At that time, his companies had no receivables from the municipality. Would a person pay 20 million lira for a receivable of 1.5 million lira? Would a company with no receivables in November give 300 thousand dollars for collection? Is the bribe paid four months later for a payment made in July? In other words, is there such a thing as credit bribery? As a result of the investigations conducted by the prosecutor's office, as stated in the indictment, it has been determined that the value of an apartment is 7.5 million lira. According to the value determination made by the prosecutor's office, the total value of these two apartments has been determined to be 15 million lira. These apartments consist of two independent sections, have been combined into a single apartment, and are extremely luxurious, custom-designed, and fully furnished. These apartments, which the prosecutor's office has stated in its indictment as having a total naked value of 15 million lira, were sold by my father to Aziz İhsan Aktaş for a price of 15-16 million lira in their fully furnished and custom-designed state. Aziz İhsan Aktaş stated in his testimony that he bought these apartments for 20 million lira. He claims to have paid this 20 million lira as 4 million lira in the deed, plus 6 million lira and 300 thousand dollars.

"THE INDICTMENT COVERS 2022-2023, I WAS ELECTED IN 2024"

The detained defendant Seyhan Mayor Oya Tekin stated, "I stand before you as the elected will of the Seyhan people, a population of one million. However, more importantly, I am here as a lawyer with 35 years of experience. Throughout my professional life as a lawyer, I have always paid attention to historical cases. I want to emphasize two particular points here. Yesterday, we appeared in court. We came as mayors, as detainees. During the trial, we had no opportunity to follow the press or receive news. After going downstairs, we could not even meet with our lawyers. The issue of food is the same. We asked, 'Can we have a cup of tea?'; these are extremely basic human needs. However, none of these were possible. I want you to evaluate all of this as follows; the right to defense is an extremely sacred right. For years, I have been a vehicle for people's quest for rights with great faith. However, while using this sacred right to defense, we could not even get a cup of tea or coffee yesterday. I learned from the press yesterday that Aziz İhsan Aktaş, who is being tried for leading an organization, came to the hearing with his private vehicle and bodyguards. I am the Mayor of Seyhan. My spouse is a freelance lawyer in Adana. My spouse goes to Ankara to meet with Aziz İhsan Aktaş. Aziz İhsan Aktaş has receivables from the municipality, but he cannot collect them. He says, 'We cannot get this.' Then he asks for money and allegedly gives one million dollars to my spouse. Some politicians are also mentioned here, of course. This is my crime. Excuse me, this is the alleged crime. Neither does Aziz İhsan Aktaş say he met with me, nor is there any conversation about me there, nor is my name mentioned in the statements. Nevertheless, I am included in the indictment in parentheses. So what is the crime? Receiving a bribe. The indictment only mentions the years 2022-2023. I was elected on March 31, 2024. I am talking about a nine-month period of detention. The indictment mentions payments made. The prosecutor states that 220 million TL has been identified. Look at the formed opinion: 'After Oya Tekin was elected mayor from the Republican People's Party, this amount corresponds to 10-11% of the municipality's total receivables,' says the Prosecutor. Normally, you would ask the question, but here I want to ask a question: What is this 10-11%? I do not know this. Look at the reasoning that creates sufficient suspicion and opinion. It is entirely based on personal feelings, emotions, and comments. I really wanted to get an answer to this. Because I still cannot explain this to myself," he stated.

A one-hour break was given to the hearing at 12:50. The hearing resumed at 14:20 with the defense of detained defendant Seyhan Mayor Oya Tekin's spouse, Celal Tekin.

"AZİZ İHSAN AKTAŞ INSISTED ON HIS RECEIVABLES BY CALLING"

In his defense, detained defendant Seyhan Mayor Oya Tekin's spouse, Celal Tekin, stated, "They claim that I received a bribe, that I gave money, and that I committed crimes. It is really interesting that these allegations are voiced and taken seriously by a prosecutor, a lawyer. I do not know Aziz İhsan Aktaş beforehand. He has tried to get acquainted by involving politicians, friends, and colleagues who know my spouse in both Ankara and Adana. When he could not find this opportunity with my spouse, he then wanted to meet and get acquainted with me. In my research, I learned that he primarily works with institutions and organizations affiliated with the AK Party, such as the Supreme Court, Elazığ, Kütahya, Isparta, and Aydın. During this process, I met and got acquainted with him. In this acquaintance, he only came to state that his relatives have receivables from the municipality and that they cannot collect these receivables. I expressed that I do not interfere in municipal affairs and directed him to the relevant departments of the municipality. Afterwards, Aziz İhsan Aktaş called me again and insisted on his receivables. He sent me messages stating that no payment was made to him and that this situation would not continue. I constantly told him that I had no personal debt and that the payment should be requested from the municipality. I do not know Ankara very well. We had a brief meeting at a place he designated. He expressed to me that his relatives were in a difficult situation, that they needed to receive payments, that their companies were on the verge of bankruptcy, and that their patience had run out. I told him that Ms. Oya had just started her new position, that the financial difficulties of municipalities are known to everyone, and that despite this, he was constantly sending his employee to create a scene, and that he needed to prevent this. I stated that if there are legal receivables, they will definitely be collected, and that the methods for this are clear."After this meeting, I went to the Municipal Bank. I spoke with the unit manager for about two hours. During this meeting, my identity information was registered at the entrance by providing it to the consultancy. This can be verified from there. I clearly stated all this information in my first statement while there was a confidentiality decision in the file and no HTS records. However, the prosecution has drawn this meeting in completely different directions, resulting in an agreement, receiving money, and making a payment from the municipality without my spouse's knowledge and guidance. Although this issue is contrary to reason, logic, and law, it has been turned into an ugly text, so I want to respond to each of them one by one. Neither I nor my spouse gives instructions to each other or provides guidance. In fact, when looking at the scope of the file, there is no claim that I have spoken with my spouse or that an agreement has been reached. My spouse's name is only mentioned in parentheses in the indictment and statements. It can be understood even by those with the simplest legal knowledge that this parenthesis cannot be established or conceived by the claimant; it is a completely added element that aims to be taken from the municipality."

BRIBERY ALLEGATION IN KADAYIF BOX

Metin Aktaş's lawyer asked Celal Tekin, "Aziz İhsan Aktaş gave you dollars in 3 kadayıf boxes, and you didn't gift him 1 box of cezerye in return?" Celal Tekin replied, "There is no such allegation in the indictment or in the statements. Do not ask such a question again." Celal Tekin's lawyer also objected to the question.

AZİZ İHSAN AKTAŞ TOOK THE FLOOR

Aziz İhsan Aktaş, who requested the floor from the presiding judge, said, "Mr. Celal said that I put an intermediary to meet with him. Who are these intermediaries? He said there are 18 and 19 numbered entitlements for the 75 million paid. Does a person pay off an old debt or a new debt?" Celal Tekin responded to Aziz İhsan Aktaş, saying, "He mobilized different channels, brought in whoever he could. He has an office in Adana as well. There are directors and staff within the municipality. Therefore, when he couldn't work with these people, they somehow reached me; they involved politicians, and many people from every circle were brought in. In the second matter, as my spouse said, it is not possible to make a payment by pressing a button. I mean, is it possible to pay 75 million lira with a single meeting? Who would believe that?"

"I AM HERE BASED ON THE STATEMENTS OF BAKİ NUGAY, WHO CANNOT EVEN REMEMBER HIS HOME ADDRESS"

The detained defendant, Adana Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Zeydan Karalar, who is defending himself, said, "During our term at Seyhan Municipality, we did not have work done by companies. We could have; there is nothing that anyone can do in open tenders. It is a public tender. We have no chance to say, 'Why are you entering, don't enter.' Multiple companies enter, and the tender commission is obliged to award the tender to the one who offers the most suitable bid. There is nothing else that can be done. Now a perception has emerged; it is said that mayors give tenders and have tenders done. This is probably a new trend. There is no such thing. Mayors do not have a role in giving tenders or having tenders done. Therefore, neither Aziz İhsan Aktaş's companies nor the companies he is a partner in worked with us during the Seyhan Municipality period; they could not. There was no opportunity for that. Additionally, regarding Baki Nugay and the work we did at Seyhan Municipality, he says, 'Baki Nugay is not my official or unofficial partner.' But for some reason, I am in the file of Aziz İhsan Aktaş. I want to say one more thing. The alleged crimes are based on a file opened after the 2019 elections. Why am I in this file? Why am I connected to this? I am from Adana. I have nothing to do with Silivri. I am not connected to anyone. Aziz İhsan Aktaş is being released by benefiting from effective remorse. Shortly after, about 12 days later, Baki Nugay also gives a statement to benefit from effective remorse. During that process, we had no knowledge of this. We did not harm any contractor during the 2014-2019 period at Seyhan Municipality. We requested documents from the municipality; it was seen in these documents that the entitlements were regularly made. The accusation of extortion is based on assumptions. The claim that 'we could not receive payments, Zeydan Karalar directed us to Özcan Zenger' is completely false. There is no such situation, and this claim has no material basis. Despite this, we were arrested. Four months later, the indictment came before us. In the indictment, it is stated, 'Considering the dates of the payments made within the scope of the tender belonging to the criminal organization in 2015, it has been seen that it received excessive payments. The allegations that the organization leader Baki Nugay received bribes have not been taken into account.' It is explicitly stated here that there is no crime. Despite this, I am here based on the statements of Baki Nugay, who could not even remember his home address, in the draft texts not included in the indictment and even in the police statement."