Mayor Muhittin Böcek’s drivers Aydın Günaydın and Özer Uygun were arrested. Details of the referral letter prepared for the suspects have been obtained. In the referral letter, it was stated that Günaydın and Uygun went to Manisa with Böcek on January 15, 2024, and that Böcek met with Manisa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Candidate Ferdi Zeyrek at the gas station for about 3 hours. Meanwhile, it was determined that the drivers were waiting outside. When the HTS records were examined, it was determined that Böcek and Zeyrek started communicating close to the date of their meeting. In the referral letter, it was emphasized that Böcek’s visit to the city to support another mayoral candidate was “contrary to the normal flow of life”. Although the drivers stated in their statements that they were with the mayor as part of their duties, the prosecutor’s office pointed out that the photographs and message contents of the suspects’ phones were examined and that there was a strong suspicion of crime that they were Böcek’s bag carrier. It was explained in the referral letter that the two men frequently turned off their phones in order to hide their communications, indicating that they gave importance to privacy and acted accordingly.

When the CHP engineer working in Marmaris Municipality was caught red-handed while taking a bribe of 4 thousand dollars, 13 people, including the deputy mayor, zoning director, deputy police chief, contractor and engineers, were detained. It was learned that the deputy mayor and the zoning director set up the bribery network through the officials reporting to them, and the total bribe paid in flagrante delicto was 400 thousand dollars. In the investigation carried out by the Marmaris Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, public officials working in Marmaris Municipality; It was determined that people who wanted hotels, restaurants, businesses and new settlements received bribes in exchange for illegal zoning and license transactions. The bribery network run by Deputy Mayor Özgür Han and Zoning Director İlker Pakir with the officials they appointed collapsed when Tevfik Duyum, an engineer working in the Zoning Directorate, was caught red-handed while taking a bribe of 4 thousand dollars.

400 THOUSAND DOLLARS BRIBERY

The police took action upon the instructions of the prosecutor’s office, Deputy Mayor Özgür Han (44), Zoning Director İlker Pakir (48), Deputy Police Director Metin Kaleminali (56), engineers working in the Zoning Directorate Volkan Çakır (49), Tevfik Duyum (52), Caner Canoğlu (45), Contractor Melikşah Güngörsün (42), CHP Local Governments Officer Tevfik Kahraman (50), Hisarönü Neighborhood. Headman Fatih Turgut (34), Cemeteries Directorate Employees Nihat Can (46) and Hasan Pektaş (46), freelancer Mustafa Şengül (55) and Accountant Funda Kayaoğlu (52) were detained. It was learned that the entire bribe requested was 400 thousand dollars. Searches were made at the suspects’ homes and workplaces. During the searches, a large amount of dollars, euros, gold and bracelets were seized hidden in the attic and in the secret parts of the seats. It was claimed that Marmaris Municipality Cemeteries Directorate officers Nihat Can and Hasan Pektaş, who were detained within the scope of the operation, received money from citizens in exchange for allocating places.

Within the framework of the corruption investigation carried out by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, proceedings were initiated against the suspects, including CHP’s Uşak Mayor Özkan Yalım (57), for the crimes of “Bribery”, “Extortion” and “Tender Rigging”. 12 suspects, including Yalım, were detained in the operation carried out simultaneously in the provinces of Uşak, Ankara and Kocaeli. While it was claimed that Uşak Municipality made repeated invoices in company tenders and took the difference as a bribe, it was determined that pressure was put on Yalın’s family members to be given a partnership in the company in the new businesses to be established, otherwise the tender would not be awarded. On the other hand, it was determined that the mayor, his deputies and senior managers in the municipality went to entertainment venues, and the expenses there were paid from the municipal budget through the food bill.

HE COULD NOT RECEIVE A BRIBE, HE WAS PUNISHED

It was determined that Özkan Yalım listed the employees of his own Yalım Garden as municipal staff and paid their insurance through the municipality. In addition, the corrupt mayor, who demanded 10 vehicles from the shopping mall owner and businessman EA on behalf of the municipality, learned that he could buy a maximum of 3 vehicles, had the shopping mall sealed, saying it was against the legislation, and was fined 65 million lira. During the investigation, it was determined that the deputy mayors collected money under the name of aid/donation to the Uşakspor Club and that these money were brought to Yalım’s office and delivered to the private secretary. It was revealed that Uşak Mayor’s Private Secretary Hasan Doğukan Kurnaz was the president of Uşakspor Club, from whom he collected bribe money under the name of ‘donation’ in January 2025. The statement that Kurnaz, who handed over his duty in June of the same year, said that he was appointed as the club president at the discretion of the mayor, came to mind again.

HE TRANSFERRED HIS ASSET TO HIS DRIVER

It was revealed that Özkan Yalım transferred the goods he acquired thanks to bribe money to his driver Cihan Aras in 2025, with the concern that they would be confiscated during the operation. In addition, it was learned that Yalım, who is married and the father of 3 children, had 2 lovers, and it was determined that the woman named AA was employed by the municipality in 2024 in a high-paid position, but did not actually work, and SA was a municipal employee. The prosecutor’s office determined that there was intense communication traffic between the relevant persons and common base records regarding the relevant dates.

In MASAK reports, it was determined that there were large amounts of money movements in the suspects’ accounts, the source of which could not be determined. It was evaluated that there was a discrepancy between the financial and professional profiles of the financial transactions. In the operation carried out yesterday morning, Özkan Yalım was caught with his 21-year-old girlfriend SA in a hotel in Ankara. The young woman, who had no hotel registration, was detained upon instruction. It was learned that his other lover AA was detained in Kocaeli. During the detention process, Yalım opened the door wrapped in a towel and asked the police for permission to change. Afterwards, Yalım opened his password and handed over his phone to the teams entering the room. However, during the search, a second phone belonging to Yalım was found hidden in SA’s underwear. The phone, which was thought to contain evidence regarding the events subject to investigation, was taken by the teams.

SOME NAMES TAKEN INTO CUSTODY

Uşak Mayor Özkan Yalım, Uşak Deputy Mayor Halil Arslan, Uşak Municipality Accounting and Finance Manager Hüseyin Yaman, Uşak Municipality Private Secretary and former Uşakspor Club President Hasan Doğukan Kurnaz, Uşak Municipality Executive Driver Murat Altınkaya and Uşak Municipality staff Cihan Aras.

President Erdoğan addressed the Strategic Communication Summit (STRATCOM), organized for the 5th time this year in Istanbul by the Directorate of Communications, with a video message:

Welcome to Istanbul, the meeting point of continents, cultures and hearts, you have brought joy. As Turkey, we will continue to maintain our principled, determined and peace-oriented stance that centers on human values ​​and justice, and to mobilize all our means to rebuild peace and trust not only in our region but all over the world. It is more important than ever before to end the tragedies that hurt all of our hearts, as in Gaza, and to restore peace, tranquility and stability throughout the world, especially in our region. The international system established by the victors after the World War is experiencing a major crisis of legitimacy in almost every field.

Meanwhile, the International Strategic Communication Summit (STRATCOM Summit) 2026, organized for the 5th time this year by the Directorate of Communications, brings together policy makers, experts, communication professionals, academics, civil society representatives and think tanks in the world capital Istanbul, and discusses how communication can contribute to strengthening resilience in the international system, increasing coordination and building a more stable structure.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan answered questions regarding the agenda last night on A Haber. Fidan made important statements about the US/Israel-Iran war that started on February 28 and dragged the world into uncertainty, its impact on the countries in the region and Türkiye’s strategy in this process. Minister of Foreign Affairs Fidan briefly stated the following:

THE WAR IS FACED WITH THE DANGER OF REGIONAL SPREAD:

A seed of discord was sown that would make it difficult for Muslims in the region to come together again. What makes us sad is that, unfortunately, the region is being drawn, step by step, into a game scripted by Israel. We see civilian targets being hit from time to time. Nearly 8 thousand missiles have been fired at the Gulf countries so far. Islamic countries fighting each other is exactly what Israel wants. Gulf countries should not fall for Israel’s trick. Our position was that countries that did not intervene in any way should not be attacked. We have a vision to bring a solution for the region.

WHEN AND HOW WILL THE WAR END: If Israel maintains its influence on US politics, this war will continue. The problem is that the world cannot exert pressure on Israel.

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THE WAR DOES NOT SPREAD: Our number one goal is for the war to stop. It is important for us that war does not become more widespread. I hope the war will end at one point or another, but regional instability, that is, as if a nuclear bomb was dropped, no plants grow in one place for 30 or 40 years. After the nuclear bomb, when there is a war in some places, serious hostilities between societies, between cultures, and between countries continue for years. We don’t want this to happen.

A STAGE HAS BEEN REACHED IN THE NEGOTIATIONS: Now it seems like a stage has been reached in the negotiations. So at least negotiations have started. There is message transfer through Pakistan. The current negotiating positions are different from the pre-war negotiating positions of both sides. My statement to both sides; So don’t take these opening positions too seriously, but if there is actually an intention on both sides, they can definitely be brought together somewhere. Iran rightfully has an incredible loss of trust in America. While there were negotiations twice before, there was a war situation. Now there is a situation of what could happen in the third one. We say that this was the war we were afraid of, but it is important to stop it now. Americans also show willingness at this point.

PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN’S INTENSIVE CONTACTS: (Could unforeseen problems arise regardless of the intentions of the parties) Maybe. We have some thoughts on that subject, but maybe there is no need to express it too much right now. Both our President and we have intense contact with the parties here. Hopefully, as I said, we are working hard to bring this to a point. Europeans are looking for a lot. The beautiful thing is this; Just like in the Gaza War, the whole world’s expectation is that this unjust war will stop as soon as possible and its negative effects will end.

OUR GOAL IS TO STOP THE WAR

As Türkiye, we had several main goals that we set for ourselves from the beginning. The first is to prevent the war from breaking out if possible, but to stop the war if it did. The second is to prevent the war from expanding and spreading further. The third is to keep Türkiye out of this war. Our President has presented a very clear vision on these issues. This accumulated energy, which dates back to previous years, especially due to the nuclear issue and other issues, emerged in the form of a war.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) Türkiye Country Strategy Meeting was held in Istanbul last night, hosted by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Meeting with senior executives of the world’s and Türkiye’s leading companies at the Dolmabahçe Office, President Erdoğan said in his speech, “The whole world feels the negative effects of the war in a wide range of areas, from energy markets to the functioning of production, informatics, transportation and trade networks. As I have stated before on different occasions, all humanity, as well as the parties to the conflict, are paying the price of this meaningless, unlawful and unnecessary war that has deeply shaken our region for a month.”

MEETING ON COMMON GROUND

President Erdoğan said that while there is an opportunity to find common ground through diplomacy and dialogue, we all bear the burden of the sabotage of these roads together as the human family, and added: “It is a fact that if the conflicts do not end, the price to be paid will increase. Geographic distance will not have any meaning in this process, and even countries located on different continents will be more affected by the energy dimension, as it is understood.”

Erdoğan emphasized that global risk analyzes reveal that the international system has entered a more competitive and more fragile period and said, “In this new period, the global economic order is exposed to threats from many fronts. The erosion of energy security and supply chains, the erosion of the international trade regime and protectionist policies increase vulnerabilities, and all these developments reduce the number of stable economies.”

Türkiye’s POSITION

At the meeting held with the theme “Growth in a Global Center: Strengthening Competitiveness and Resilience”, Türkiye’s position in the global economy and cooperation opportunities were discussed. Within the scope of the meeting, the strategic dialogue session, attended by 23 international investors from 16 countries with a total value of 1.2 trillion dollars from different sectors such as manufacturing, technology, energy, finance, infrastructure, asset management, health, food and aviation, witnessed comprehensive evaluations on Türkiye’s role in the global economic system, investment potential and long-term growth perspective. The meeting was attended by Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan, Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar, Presidential Communications Director Burhanettin Duran, Presidential Investment and Finance Office President Ahmet Burak Dağlıoğlu, President of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey Fatih Karahan and AK Party’s Deputy Chairman in charge of the economy Nihat Zeybekci, as well as BlackRock President and Chairman of the Board of Directors and World Economic Forum. Forum Co-Chairman Laurence Fink and World Economic Forum President and Chief Executive Officer Alois Zwinggi also attended.

PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN RECEIVED LAURENCE D. FINK

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received World Economic Forum and BlackRock President Laurence D. Fink at the Presidential Dolmabahçe Working Office. Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek and Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar were also present at the meeting, which was closed to the press. During the meeting, global economy, investment opportunities and cooperation in the field of energy were discussed.