'Aziz İhsan Aktaş' Crime Group Trial: 26 Defendants Released, Beşiktaş Mayor to Defend Himself

The 57th hearing in the trial against the 'Aziz İhsan Aktaş' organized crime group took place in Istanbul, with 7 defendants currently in custody and 200 others on release. The proceedings were held in a new courtroom due to the insufficient capacity of the Istanbul 1st High Criminal Court. During the hearing, defendants presented their defenses against the prosecution's main opinion. Notably, 26 defendants were released, including Adana Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Zeydan Karalar, BELTAŞ Chairman Önder Gedik, Esenyurt Municipality Support Services Director Adnan Acar, İSFALT Deputy General Manager Mehmet Karataş, and İSFALT Deputy General Manager Sencer Hacıoğlu, among others. Ceyhan Mayor Kadir Aydar, instructor Gülşah Ocak, former Beşiktaş Municipality Support Services Director Gülal Erdovan Anıl, Beşiktaş Municipality Support Services Director Ferit Tutşi, and Beşiktaş Municipality Cleaning Affairs Director Çağdaş Ateşçi were also among those released. Some defendants who remain on release reiterated their previous defenses, denying allegations of forgery and claiming insufficient investigation during the process. They argued that the legal elements for forgery of private documents were not met and that they had not engaged in any irregularities during their municipal service. The defendants asserted they were accused of matters outside their duties and responsibilities, and claimed no public damage resulted from the case, thus denying all charges and any connection to a criminal organization. The court panel postponed the hearing to Tuesday, July 28, to allow for the defense of Rıza Akpolat, the suspended Mayor of Beşiktaş, to be heard.