The first hearing of the case in which 19 defendants, including suspended Mayor Tanju Özcan, were tried within the scope of the ‘bribery’ and ‘extortion’ investigation against Bolu Municipality, continued on its fourth day. A-101 Market Store Development Manager Adem Keskin, who was heard at the hearing, said that the advertising agreement for BOLSEV was brought to the agenda under the chairmanship of Tanju Özcan at the meeting he attended upon the invitation of Deputy Mayor Süleyman Can. Stating that the proposed advertising work will cost their company approximately 1 million liras per month, Keskin stated that the company management decided not to make regional advertisements, and that inspections of the markets began after the proposal was rejected. Keskin explained that they received a stay of execution decision from the court after a decision was made to seal some branches.

I GAVE 300 THOUSAND LIRA
Şok Marketler former regional manager Aytaç Baycan also said that he attended the meeting held at the municipality in May 2024 and that a billboard advertisement was requested for the foundation to be established. Stating that he did not have the authority to make a decision and conveyed the issue to the company headquarters, Baycan claimed that municipal inspections started about a week after the meeting. Muhsin Karadayı, who testified as a complainant, stated that he was asked to donate to BOLSEV in order to obtain a cafe license and that they delivered 300 thousand liras in cash.

The most magnificent structure of Istanbul, which served as the capital of many empires… The greatest token of the conquest… Hagia Sophia, which was entrusted by Mehmed the Conqueror to live as a mosque until the end of time with his foundation charter, has not been a structure consisting only of stones and domes for centuries. Hagia Sophia, where civilizations intersect, a silent witness of victories, sorrows and history; It has become the largest temple of Byzantium, the most powerful symbol of the Ottoman conquest, and one of the most important works at the center of Türkiye’s sovereignty debates. The 86-year process, which started with its transformation into a museum in 1934, turned into an unending longing for millions of citizens.

That longing ended on July 10, 2020, with the historic decision of the Council of State and the signature of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Four days later, on July 24, Hagia Sophia met again with prostration, takbir and adhan for the first Friday prayer, where hundreds of thousands of people stood in line. Hagia Sophia, which was registered as a mosque in the foundation deed of Mehmed the Conqueror after he conquered Istanbul in 1453, echoed with the sounds of adhan for centuries. This unique temple, the symbol of conquest, was considered one of the most important works not only of Istanbul but also of Islamic civilization. However, with the decision of the Council of Ministers dated November 24, 1934, Hagia Sophia was removed from its status as a mosque and converted into a museum. It was at the center of political, legal and social debates in Türkiye for many years. The expectation of millions of citizens to reopen for worship remained on the agenda for decades. When the dates showed July 10, 2020, Türkiye witnessed a historic day. The 10th Chamber of the Council of State annulled the decision of the Council of Ministers dated 1934, finding it unlawful.

ERDOĞAN SIGNED THE DECISION
Immediately after the decision, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed the Presidential Decree stipulating that Hagia Sophia would be transferred to the Presidency of Religious Affairs and reopened for worship. The decision, which Erdoğan announced with the message “Good luck”, had a great impact in Türkiye and the Islamic world. Thus, the historic step that has been awaited for years has become official. The first Friday prayer performed on July 24, 2020 is engraved in Türkiye’s memory. After the decision, citizens filled Hagia Sophia Square with joy.

Stating that the 36th NATO Summit was completed successfully and delivered to the whole world, President Erdoğan thanked the people of Ankara. Erdoğan noted the following in his post on his social media account: I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my fellow citizens of Ankara for their tolerance and unique hospitality throughout the Summit, which also contributed greatly to the promotion of Ankara. I would like to thank Secretary General Mr. Mark Rutte for the preparation and execution of the NATO Ankara Summit. The summit once again demonstrated our country’s central role in the global security architecture, its diplomacy capacity and alliance responsibility.

The NATO 3.0 vision aims to strengthen Europe’s defense capacity and make the alliance more prepared to adapt to the new era. Türkiye is one of the strongest actors in NATO with its military capability, strategic location, diplomatic know-how and defense industry capacity. Türkiye is not only a host country, but a key ally that directly contributes to the alliance’s defense, diplomacy and crisis resolution capacity. While Turkey keeps communication channels open for peace in the Russia-Ukraine war, it advocates diplomacy and permanent peace in the Iran-USA process. Türkiye continues to advocate a ceasefire, stability and multilateral cooperation approach on the Gaza, Lebanon and Libya issues. The Ankara Summit showed that Türkiye is an actor shaping NATO’s security agenda. A Security and Defense Partnership Agreement was signed with the United Kingdom, and Free Trade Agreement negotiations with Canada were initiated. I believe that the constructive and productive meetings we had with my dear friend, US President Mr. Trump, will lead to concrete results in line with our country’s expectations in the field of defense industry, especially KAAN and the F-35 program.

Minister Gürlek made the following statements in his post on his social media account:

“NATIONAL SECURITY POLICIES ARE A NON-PARTY STATE ISSUE”

“National security policies are a non-partisan state issue, beyond daily politics and ideological polarization. Therefore, the diplomatic and strategic gains achieved at the NATO Summit hosted by our country are the common pride of our beloved nation and 85 million citizens.

“Türkiye IS THE GUARANTEE OF REGIONAL AND GLOBAL STABILITY”

In this context, the 36th NATO Heads of State and Government Summit has become an important diplomatic ground that shows the whole world the strong foreign policy response of the ‘Turkey Century’ vision shaped under the leadership of our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Within the reshaped global security architecture, Turkey has once again clearly demonstrated that it is a central actor that has a say in the decision-making processes of the Alliance, gives direction and sets the game, as the guarantor of regional and global stability.

EMPHASIS ON “Türkiye CENTURY”

As Türkiye, we continue to defend the rights and interests of our state and nation with uncompromising determination on every international platform, under the leadership of our President, in line with our ‘Türkiye Century’ goals.”

National security policies are a non-partisan state matter, beyond daily politics and ideological polarizations. For this reason, the diplomatic and strategic gains achieved at the NATO Summit hosted by our country are for the benefit of our beloved nation and 85 million citizens… pic.twitter.com/uaCgZJuNlB

— Akın Gürlek (@abakingurlek) July 9, 2026

At the graduation ceremony of Yeditepe University Faculty of Law in Istanbul, a sign read “Be upright as you are commanded.” The banner containing the verse caused reaction from some students.

Some students tried to take down the banner. After the attempt failed, this time an action was taken to prevent the banner from being seen by standing in front of it.

Scandalous graduation ceremony at Yeditepe University! They blocked the verse and supported those moments with applause! | Video

During the ceremony, it was seen that some academics supported the protest with applause. Those moments were captured on camera.

REACTION FROM ÖMER ÇELİK: “THEY WROTE A GREAT SHAME”

AK Party Deputy Chairman and Party Spokesperson Ömer Çelik, who published a message on the issue on his social media account, used the following statements:

“Greetings to everyone who utters the truth of “Be upright as you are commanded”. Long live our brothers and sisters who strive to see this truth.

This truth is the standard of our hearts always and everywhere. Shame on those who try to prevent this truth from being heard and seen. “Those who committed barbaric acts only wrote great shame on their own foreheads.”

‘I BELIEVE IT WILL LEAD TO CONCRETE RESULTS’

Referring to the meetings held during the summit, President Erdoğan said, “On the margins of the summit, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, US President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev, Syrian President Ahmed Shara, EU Council President Antonio Costa, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Montenegrin Prime Minister We held bilateral meetings with Milojko Spajic, Slovakian President Peter Pellegrini and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama. During these contacts, many critical issues were discussed, especially bilateral relations, relations with the EU, defense industry, trade, energy, security, Euro-Atlantic security, Balkan Peace Platform, Russia-Ukraine war, Iran-USA process, Gaza, Libya, Syria and regional stability. A Security and Defense Partnership Agreement was also signed with the United Kingdom on the margins of the summit. “Free Trade Agreement negotiations with Canada have also been initiated. I believe that the constructive and productive meetings we had with my dear friend, US President Trump, who paid an official visit to our country on the occasion of the Summit, will lead to concrete results in line with our country’s expectations in the field of defense industry, especially our national combat aircraft KAAN and the F-35 program.”

‘WE CONFIRMED OUR COMMITMENT TO THE PRINCIPLE OF COLLECTIVE DEFENSE’

President Erdoğan used the following statements in the post:

“With the decisions we took at the Summit, we once again demonstrated our will to strengthen NATO’s deterrence and defense capacity, strengthen the transatlantic bond and build the future of the Alliance on the basis of a stronger Europe and a stronger NATO understanding. In the Ankara Summit Final Declaration, we confirmed our unwavering commitment to Article 5 of the Washington Treaty and the principle of collective defense. The declaration also included the removal of defense trade barriers between allies, new defense supply agreements worth more than 50 billion dollars, military support to Ukraine. In addition to issues such as providing equipment, aid and training support, increasing the capacity of the defense industry and making the Alliance stronger and more prepared in areas such as artificial intelligence, cyber security, space, integrated air and missile defense, unmanned systems and deep precision strike capabilities were among the priority topics of the Summit. As Turkey, we will continue to make the strongest contribution to this process with our experience, military capability and developing defense industry infrastructure.

‘WE PRESENTED OUR WILL TO INCREASE OUR DEFENSE EXPENDITURES TO 3.5 LEVEL’

Emphasizing that Türkiye is not only a host country but also a key ally that directly contributes to the Alliance’s defence, diplomacy and crisis resolution capacity, Erdoğan said: “We have demonstrated our will to increase our defense expenditures to 3.5 percent before 2030. We have already reached a 1.5 percent budget share in expenditures related to security and durability. We also stated that we allocated an additional budget of 24 billion dollars for air and missile defense capabilities for the Steel Dome Project. This “It should also be noted on this occasion that while Turkey keeps communication channels open for peace in the Russia-Ukraine war, it continues to advocate moderation, diplomacy and permanent peace in the Iran-USA process, and a ceasefire, stability and multilateral cooperation approach in Gaza, Lebanon and Libya.”