Breaking: Court Orders Five Defendants in Büyükçekmece Municipality Case to Remain in Custody

A court in Istanbul ordered five jailed defendants in the Büyükçekmece Municipality case to remain in custody, rejecting requests for release. The ruling followed the prosecutor’s request to continue all detentions.

“

If you are doing municipal work in Turkey, you need a heart of steel.

The case involves 31 defendants, including Büyükçekmece Mayor Hasan Akgün, who has been held in Silivri for 15 months. Prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of between 68 and 183 years for him. The hearing took place at the Çağlayan Courthouse before the Istanbul 27th High Criminal Court.

Defense lawyers argued that the case file contained no concrete evidence for the accusations. They said witnesses who testified in court had stated that they sponsored the municipality without pressure. The lawyers also described the case as political and asked the court to address what they called deficiencies in the file.

“

I am looking for a solution from Silivri prison so that the sports hall can be built for those children.

Akgün defended his record as mayor and rejected the accusations. He said municipal work in Turkey required courage and described trying to find a solution, from Silivri prison, to a resident’s complaint that a sports hall was collapsing. He also said a former culture and tourism minister had advised him to seek sponsors for a planned arts festival.

“

Not a single penny of illicit money has passed through my or my children’s throats.

“I have been elected mayor seven times in a row. Not a single penny of illicit money has passed through my or my children’s throats,” Akgün said. Deputy Mayor Ömer Kazancı likewise denied that the file contained concrete evidence, and criticized the indictment as having been prepared 340 days after his arrest. The court set the next hearing for Nov. 16.

“

There is no concrete evidence.