Within the framework of the comprehensive investigation carried out by the Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office against Ataşehir Municipality, on April 18, Financial Crimes Department teams carried out simultaneous operations at 45 different addresses and 20 people were detained. While the detainees were being referred to the courthouse, the contractor Hümeyra Ökcun, who was determined to have paid the bribe, stated that she wanted to be a confessor and shared the payments she made between 2024-2026 with the prosecutor’s office.

IF YOU DON’T GIVE, YOU CAN’T WORK

In his statement, Ökcün stated that the turning point of the process was the critical meeting he had with Onursal Adıgüzel. He claimed that he reacted when he was not given a settlement by saying “I gave all the money you wanted, but you do not give me my settlement”. In response, Adıgüzel first presented a justification for expropriation and then put pressure on him by saying “If this issue is not resolved, how will you work in other places?” He stated that after this meeting, the process became more harsh and systematic.

He said that when he wanted to get a building renovation license in 2024 for the project, which started in 2021 and covers an area of ​​130 thousand square meters, he was asked for 2 million dollars through the architect directed by the municipality. He stated that this request was conveyed through architect Erhan Çelebi, that he was pressured by saying “If you do not give it, you cannot get a license for 2 years” and that he had to pay after resisting for about 6 months.

Ökcün claimed that these payments were delivered to people connected to Adıgüzel and Deputy Mayor Birkan Birol Yıldız. The contractor stated that he made a total payment of 3 million 926 thousand dollars, 180 thousand euros and 150 thousand pounds between November 8, 2024 and January 8, 2026, which corresponds to approximately 190 million liras, and all payments were delivered by hand and recorded. He also added that the financial burden, including fees and other items, reached approximately $10 million.

Ökcün explained that the municipal police tried to shut down the concrete plant and that this pressure intensified during periods when payment was not made. He stated that Deputy Mayor Yıldız came to the construction site and took a step back at one stage, and that the demands continued systematically.

THEY WANTED IT IN POUNDS

He also said that he hosted Birkan Birol Yıldız and his wife on his boat in Bodrum, where derogatory statements were made towards him.

Stating that he was informed that a fee of 265 million TL was charged during the settlement process and that this amount was legalized by the decision of the parliament, Ökcün stated that he demanded the money back when he could not receive a settlement despite the 70 million TL he paid. He claimed that some of the payments were requested in British pounds, saying “the President loves the pound”, and that hundreds of thousands of liras worth of grocery gift cards and products such as iPhones and iPads were requested and delivered with notepads.

I WAS THREATENED FOR STATEMENT
Making a remarkable statement at the end of his statement, Ökcün stated that he was threatened after the process, that he was pressured to change his statement, and that he was worried about the safety of both himself and his family. The suspect’s lawyers argued that their client submitted all information and documents to clarify the investigation and that the real victim was the contractor.

Emine Erdoğan, wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, attended the meeting titled “Protection of Children in Digital Environments: International Policy and Practice Sharing”, organized in cooperation with the Ministry of Family and Social Services, the Office of the Special Representative of the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General on Violence Against Children and UNICEF. Emphasizing that the risks faced by children have reached an alarming level, First Lady Erdoğan said the following in her speech:

ONLINE ABUSE: Children can access information and millions of resources in the digital world with a “click”. But unfortunately, in the same world, all kinds of abuse reach children at the same speed, that is, with a click. Studies show that globally, more than 300 million children are subjected to online abuse and harassment annually. The fact that the frequency of these cases drops to 1 every 10 seconds clearly reveals the extent of this ‘hidden epidemic’ that covers every country, every household and every school.

OBSTACLE DUE TO CENSORSHIP: Unfortunately, as adults, we have been pushed out of this world with the label of digital immigrants placed on us. Not only has our right to draw boundaries to the digital world, where children are declared native, been taken away from us, but unfortunately every step taken within this framework has been blocked with the allegation of censorship. Whenever parents voiced their concerns, they were accused of being behind the times. Today, we are paying the price of this limitlessness with the damages that occur in children’s spiritual, mental, cognitive, social and physical development.

INVITATION TO THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: Up to 8.5 hours of screen time filled with social media and computer games means a digital vegetative state. The ‘Convention on Children’s Rights in the Digital World’ prepared by our Ministry of Family is an important call put forward on an international scale, aiming to protect, support and empower children in digital environments. On this occasion, I invite all stakeholders to sign this agreement. Let’s not forget that making the digital world safer for children is the joint responsibility of not only families but also public institutions, technology companies, international organizations and the media industry. It is a must, especially for technology companies, to be accountable and make child-friendly designs. Fortunately, there is a global awakening regarding age restrictions on social media.

WE NEED SOLID BORDERS

Erdoğan said, “If we are going to pull our children out of the eerie backstreets of the digital world and raise them as strong and conscious young people who will shoulder the future, we must do this by working hand in hand with parents. There are several formulas for this. The first of these is the reconstruction of the borders destroyed by digitalization. Because the basis of many problems that humanity cannot overcome in our age is the equation of limitlessness with freedom. While digitalization increases efficiency in many areas, from business processes to daily life, if the rope goes out of hand, our children’s lives will suddenly become digital.” “It can be invaded by nannies, digital friends, digital playgrounds, so we need solid boundaries,” he said.

FAMILY, OUR ONLY SHELTER

Emine Erdoğan said, “I am sure that every parent knows very well the dynamics of this job and where the boundaries should be drawn. Because parenting is the oldest profession in the world. Today, if a child wants to get up and go out alone in the middle of the night, would we allow him? Would we allow someone he does not know to take him by the hand? Or would we allow him to gamble, be exposed to perverted propaganda, or attempt something that would put his life at risk? Our common answer to all of these will, of course, be ‘No’. In that case, our children are in digital environments.” “Let’s draw safe boundaries for them, without forgetting that they may face the same dangers. Another solution that will make digital environments safe for children is strengthened family communication. So, let’s not give up on communicating face to face, heart to heart, and spending time together as a family. It is a fact that the family is our only shelter against the various storms of life today, as it was yesterday.”

Within the scope of the ‘Bribery’ investigation against Uşak Municipality carried out by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office; An investigation was initiated against the Uşak Municipality regarding the allegations of rigging tenders, demanding bribes from tradesmen for certain irregular works and transactions, collecting large amounts of money under the name of aid and donations to Uşakspor, bringing cash to the mayor’s office under the name of donations, senior managers in the municipality spending money in entertainment venues and paying these expenses from the municipal budget through food bills under the name of entertainment expenses.

29 SUSPECTS WERE REFERRED TO THE COURTHOUSE

29 suspects were detained in simultaneous operations held in Istanbul, Uşak and Izmir. Detained Uşakspor President Özhan Özgöbek and CHP Uşak Provincial Chairman Celalettin Çoban, Fahreddin Altundal, Geylani Altundal, Ferhat Cucu, Umut Demir, Tolga Ergül, Sefa Taşcı, Kadir Cantürk, İsmet Yıldız, Rahmi Altundal, Cumali Altundal, Mustafa Arslan, Mehmet Arslan, Rasim Köse, Gürcan Demir, Ahmet Arslan, Ali Arı, Ahmet Yıldız, Akın Cantürk, Ulaş Küçükakın, Kemalettin Doğan, Adem Tuğrul Kaya, Cemal Ak, Ali Rıza Demir, Ceren Yeşildağ, Vedat Bayram, Mehmet Bayram, Göksu Bayram were sent to the courthouse in the morning after their procedures at the Istanbul Police Department and a health check.

9 PEOPLE WERE ARRESTED

Within the scope of the investigation, 9 people, including the mayor Özkan Yalım, who was previously suspended from his duty, were arrested.

The ‘Aziz İhsan Aktaş Criminal Organization’ case was heard by the Istanbul 1st High Criminal Court in the courtroom opposite the Marmara Closed Penal Institution. Some detained defendants, including Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat, Avcılar Mayor Utku Caner Çaykara and Ceyhan Mayor Kadir Aydar, who were suspended from duty after their arrest, attended the hearing. Some undetained defendants, including Aziz İhsan Aktaş, were also present at the hearing.

REQUEST FOR RELEASE FOR 3 DEFENDANTS IN THE INTERVIEW

The prosecutor, who requested the release of the detained defendants Ferit Tutşi, Support Services Manager at Beşiktaş Municipality, Çağdaş Ateşci, Cleaning Affairs Manager at Beşiktaş Municipality, and Gülşah Ocak, Beşiktaş Municipality staff member, considering the nature and nature of the crime charged against them and the time they spent in detention, and the strong suspicion of crime of 14 defendants, including Rıza Akpolat, Kadir Aydar, Utku Caner Çaykara and Oya Tekin, with the current state of evidence. He requested that their detention be continued due to the nature and nature of the crimes charged against them.

Following the attacks in schools in Kahramanmaraş and Şanlıurfa, 314 non-governmental organizations from 81 provinces across Türkiye published a joint statement. In the text signed by national and local NGOs, the attacks were harshly condemned, while condolences were expressed to the students who lost their lives and wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured. In the statement, attention was also drawn to the recent discussions regarding the Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin. NGOs stated that some circles developed discourses targeting Minister Tekin after the events and argued that this was an “ideological orientation”.

VALUES ARE TARGETED

NGO representatives claimed in their statements that the emphasis on values ​​in education was targeted. In the text, which draws attention to the importance of strengthening concepts such as justice, compassion and solidarity in schools within the scope of the Türkiye Century Education Model, it is stated that this approach is tried to be weakened. The statement also made the following evaluations regarding the source of the violent incidents:

1-Associating a murderer with Islam means attributing the murder to religion. This is against both reason, science and conscience. The attackers’ mental world is not about the Ramadan table; It has been shaped by the ideology of violence nurtured in the dark corners of social media.

2-The majority of Anatolian people are Muslims. Keeping Ramadan alive in the schools of this nation’s children; It is not an obligation, it is a registration of the free choice of this nation. It is the greatest demand of our people to deliver mercy, compassion and solidarity to the hearts of needy people in the heart of Maarif. As a matter of fact, it happened.

3-Dear Minister Yusuf Tekin is a faithful statesman who protects the values ​​of this nation and tries to rebuild the national identity and spiritual heritage in education. The attack carried out through him was not only against the minister; It is an attack on the nation of 85 million people it represents. 4-Violence is not caused by religion; It feeds on atheism, lack of spirituality, family disintegration, and the vulnerability of generations who cannot be raised without screens. The solution is not to remove spiritual values ​​and Ramadan activities in schools; Our aim is to strengthen the moral ground, strengthen family ties and save our youth from the clutches of digital games and social media violence culture.

5-Those who commit this opportunistic political abuse; We invite those who choose to sharpen their pencils on a day when they should be mourning to be held accountable before their conscience, our nation and history.

RESPONSIBILITY MUST BE CORRECTLY DEFINED

The text emphasized that individual crimes should not be generalized based on social values ​​and stated, “Attributing the crime committed by a person to a belief or social group is dangerous both scientifically and socially.” NGOs stated that discussions on education policies should be handled with common sense and called for social sensitivities not to be exploited.

REQUESTS ARE ALSO LISTED

The joint statement also included calls to authorized institutions:

-Strengthening school security both physically and psychologically

-Taking more effective measures against violent digital platforms

-Dissemination of social policies that support family structure

-Increasing controls to protect children from harmful content

The hearing held by the Istanbul 40th High Criminal Court in the hall opposite the Marmara Closed Penal Institution was attended by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was suspended from his duties after their arrest, Şişli Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan, Beylikdüzü Mayor Mehmet Murat Çalık, Beyoğlu Mayor İnan Güney, former CHP Deputy Aykut Erdoğdu, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Advisor and MEDYA AŞ Chairman of the Board of Directors Murat. Some detained defendants, including Ongun, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Sports Club President Fatih Keleş, İmamoğlu’s brother-in-law Cevat Kaya and İmamoğlu’s lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan, attended.

Some CHP deputies and relatives of the detained defendants were present as spectators at the hearing, where some undetained defendants and lawyers also attended.

The hearing continues with the defense of the lawyer of the detained defendant, IMM Boğaziçi Zoning Director Elçin Karaoğlu.

FROM THE INDICTMENT

In the indictment prepared by the Organized Crimes Investigation Bureau of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Civil Inspection Board Presidency is listed as the “informer”, the Ministries of Treasury and Finance, Internal Affairs, Energy and Natural Resources, Agriculture and Forestry, the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and the Şişli Municipality are listed as the “damaged by the crime”.

In addition, the indictment includes a total of 407 people as “defendants”, including 16 “complainants”, 89 detainees, 7 fugitives, and 5 “complainants”.

In the indictment, which describes the activities of the criminal organization from its establishment in 2014 until today, it is evaluated that “the public damage caused by the benefit obtained from the 143 acts subject to the indictment is approximately 160 billion lira and 24 million dollars in total as of the crime dates (excluding the current value) and 95 immovable properties in Istanbul and throughout the country in real estate (excluding the assets obtained by the ringleaders and managers of the organization from the proceeds of crime).”

In the organizational chart in the indictment, it is stated that the detained defendant Ekrem İmamoğlu is the “organization ringleader”, the detained defendants Murat Ongun, Fatih Keleş and Adem Soytekin, the undetained defendant Ertan Yıldız, the detained defendant Hüseyin Gün for another crime and the fugitive defendant Murat Gülibrahimoğlu are the “organization manager”.

In the diagram, it is stated that 10 organization members are directly affiliated with Ekrem İmamoğlu, and it is shown that 77 of the organization members are affiliated with Fatih Keleş, 35 with Murat Ongun, 8 with Ertan Yıldız, 7 with Hüseyin Gün, 6 with Murat Gülibrahimoğlu and 6 with Adem Soytekin.

In the indictment, Ekrem İmamoğlu was accused of “establishing an organization for the purpose of committing a crime”, “recording personal data”, “seizing and disseminating personal data”, “concealing evidence of crime”, “obstructing communication”, “damaging public property”, “bribery”, “publicly disseminating misleading information”, “extortion”, “fraud to the detriment of public institutions and organizations”, “laundering property values resulting from crime”, “tendering”. It is requested that he be sentenced to imprisonment for a total of 849 years to 2,430 years and 6 months for the crimes of “sedition”, “deliberate pollution of the environment”, “opposition to the Tax Procedure Law”, “opposition to the Forest Law” and “opposition to the Mining Law”.

In the indictment, Keleş was accused of “bribery” 48 times, “taking a bribe”, “giving a bribe”, 55 times “tender rigging”, 39 times “fraud to the detriment of public institutions and organizations”, 8 times “laundering proceeds of crime”, “opposition to the Mining Law”, “opposition to the Forest Law”, “causing environmental pollution”, “opposition to the Tax Procedure Law”, It is requested that he be sentenced to imprisonment from 556 years and 8 months to 1542 years and 8 months for the crimes of “extortion”, “destroying, concealing or altering criminal evidence” and “obstruction of communication”.

In the indictment, which demands that Ongun be sentenced to imprisonment from 287 years and 6 months to 779 years and 6 months for the crimes of “bribery”, 53 times “tender rigging”, 33 times “fraud to the detriment of public institutions and organizations”, “giving personal data to others, disseminating or seizing”, “publicly disseminating misleading information” and “laundering proceeds of crime”, Yıldız is accused of “bribery”, “tender bidding”. A prison sentence of 86 to 251 years is foreseen for the crimes of “sedition” and “fraud to the detriment of public institutions and organizations”.

In the indictment, it was requested that Soytekin be sentenced to imprisonment from 67 to 194 years for the crimes of “bribery”, “chain bribery”, “extortion” and “laundering of proceeds of crime”, while Gülibrahimoğlu was accused of “fraud to the detriment of public institutions and organizations”, “laundering of proceeds of crime”, “forgery of documents”, “opposition to the Mining Law”, “opposition to the Forest Law”, “environment He is asked to be sentenced to imprisonment from 19 years and 6 months to 51 years for the crimes of “causing pollution” and “violating the Tax Procedure Law”.

In the indictment demanding Gün’s imprisonment from 20 to 40 years for the crimes of “establishing an organization for the purpose of committing a crime” and “giving personal data to someone else, disseminating or seizing”, it is stated that these defendants, who are the managers of the organization, should be punished separately as perpetrators for all crimes committed within the framework of the activities of their affiliated structures of the organization.

In the indictment, it is requested that the provisions of “effective remorse” be applied to the defendants Adem Soytekin, Hüseyin Gün and Ertan Yıldız, the organization’s managers, who gave information about the crimes committed within the framework of the structure and activities of the organization after they were caught.

In the indictment demanding a prison sentence of 35 to 91 years in total for Şişli Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan, who was suspended from his duty after his arrest, on charges of “taking bribes” 5 times, “extortion” twice, “illegal recording of personal data”, “illegal giving or obtaining of personal data” and “being a member of an organization established for the purpose of committing a crime”, Beylikdüzü Mayor Mehmet Murat, who was suspended from his duty after his arrest, was requested. It is requested that Çalık be sentenced to a total of 30 to 88 years in prison for 7 counts of “taking bribes” and “being a member of an organization established for the purpose of committing crimes”.

COMBINED FILE

The indictment prepared against 7 defendants, including Beyoğlu Mayor İnan Güney, who was suspended from his duty after his arrest, was combined with this case.

In the indictment, detained defendants İnan Güney, İsmail Akkaya, Seyhan Özcan and undetained defendants Veysel Eren Güven, Sabriye Akkaya, Mehmet Akif Bulut and Deniz Göleli are requested to be sentenced to imprisonment from 9 years, 8 months to 31 years and 8 months, separately for the crimes of “aiding an organization established for the purpose of committing a crime without being a member” and “fraud to the detriment of public institutions and organizations”.