24.12.2025 14:56
The former mayor of Avcılar, Handan Toprak Benli, who was tried on charges of corruption in the municipal tenders, was sentenced to a total of 11 years, 11 months, and 22 days in prison. The case was concluded at the 6th Heavy Criminal Court of Küçükçekmece.
The case of former Avcılar Mayor Handan Toprak Benli, who was arrested on charges of tampering with tenders organized by the Avcılar Municipality, has been concluded. The hearing at the Küçükçekmece 6th High Criminal Court was attended by 21 defendants, including Handan Toprak Benli, who were not in custody, along with their lawyer. Some of the defendants, including Erkan Karaarslan, participated in the hearing via the Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS) from different cities.
DEFENDANTS ASKED FOR ACQUITTAL DURING THEIR FINAL WORDS
Later, the court panel that concluded the case sentenced defendant Handan Toprak Benli to a total of 11 years, 11 months, and 22 days in prison: 4 years and 2 months for "tampering with a single tender in a repeated manner," 4 years and 2 months for "forgery of official documents by a public official in a repeated manner," 2 years and 1 month for "forgery of private documents in a repeated manner," and 1 year, 6 months, and 22 days for "misuse of a single duty in a repeated manner." The announcement of the verdict regarding the 1 year, 6 months, and 22 days prison sentence for "misuse of a single duty in a repeated manner" was postponed.
HANDAN BENLİ WAS ACQUITTED OF "ATTEMPTING TO TAMPER WITH A TENDER" CHARGES
Benli was acquitted of the charges of "knowingly and willingly aiding the organization without being part of the hierarchical structure within the organization" and "attempting to tamper with a tender." Defendant Erkan Karaarslan was sentenced to a total of 18 years, 11 months, and 23 days in prison: 5 years and 6 months and 20 days for "instigating tampering with a single tender in a repeated manner," 5 years and 6 months and 20 days for "instigating forgery of official documents by a public official in a repeated manner," 2 years, 9 months, and 10 days for "forgery of private documents in a repeated manner," 3 years and 4 months for "transferring assets abroad," and 1 year, 9 months, and 3 days for "instigating misuse of a single duty in a repeated manner." The announcement of the verdict regarding the 1 year, 9 months, and 3 days prison sentence for "instigating misuse of a single duty in a repeated manner" was postponed. Erkan Karaarslan was acquitted of the charges of "establishing and managing an organization for the purpose of committing a crime" and "instigating tampering with the execution of a contract."
DECISION MADE TO DEPRIVE OF RIGHTS SUCH AS THE RIGHT TO VOTE AND BE ELECTED
The court panel imposed varying prison sentences on the other 34 defendants for different crimes such as "misuse of duty," "forgery of official documents by a public official in a repeated manner," and "forgery of private documents in a repeated manner." Additionally, it was decided that the convicted defendants would be deprived of certain rights, such as assuming public office and the right to vote and be elected, for a specified period as stated in Article 53 of the Turkish Penal Code.
FROM THE INDICTMENT
The indictment prepared by the Küçükçekmece Chief Public Prosecutor's Office stated that the criminal organization led by defendant Erkan Karaarslan used methods such as bribing or paying commissions to public officials and threatening or blackmailing them to gain unfair advantages. It was noted in the indictment that the organization used all the data obtained from the work done in municipalities as blackmail against public officials, and when they faced difficulties in securing unfair advantages, they openly threatened municipal officials.
The indictment expressed that some suspects prepared fictitious and fabricated files despite not providing any actual services to the municipalities and issued fake documents, emphasizing that the defendants caused damage to the complainant administrations in 2015 and 2016. The indictment requested that Erkan Karaarslan be sentenced to 62 years to 185 years and 6 months in prison for 6 actions related to "establishing or managing an organization for the purpose of committing a crime," "tampering with a tender," "instigating misuse of duty," "forgery of official documents in a repeated manner," and "forgery of private documents in a repeated manner."
For defendant Handan Toprak Benli, the indictment sought a prison sentence of 26 years to 113 years for 6 actions related to "aiding without being a member of the organization," "tampering with a tender," "misuse of duty," "forgery of official documents in a repeated manner," and "forgery of private documents in a repeated manner," while it was anticipated that the other 25 defendants would be sentenced to varying prison terms for similar crimes.