Istanbul court arrests construction company owners over deputy mayor’s murder

ISTANBUL – Doğan News Agency

An Istanbul court arrested the owners of Keten İnşaat, known for its urban transformation projects, as well as one of their employees on Aug. 15 over the murder of the deputy mayor of Istanbul’s Şişli district, Cemil Candaş, who was shot dead at the municipality building on July 2016.

The Keten brothers, Rıza Keten and Selahattin Keten, who denied the allegations, were reported to be arrested over charges of “instigating the murder.” 

“By fictionalizing this incident, other suspects are trying to get us involved in this crime. During the period of my detention, my works remained unfinished. I have suffered,” Selahattin Keten said in his testimony to the court.

The court said three defendants in the case had given “genuine declarations” that Rıza Keten was the murder’s instigator, as he was the one to hand the murder gun to the actual murderer, Şenol Şahin, in the municipality building’s toilet. 

Newly emerged security footages recorded in the municipality building also showed Rıza Keten entering the municipality building without passing through the X-Ray scanner, the court said. Keten had said in his defense that although his gun case was on his waist, there was no gun inside it. 

In the security footages shared by the Istanbul police with the press, Rıza Keten is seen coming to the municipality building at around 2:48 p.m. Nine minutes later, Keten is seen entering a toilet on the third floor of the building, and after about 30 seconds later, the actual murderer - Şahin - is seen entering the same toilet. 

Once the two leave the toilet, the arrested third suspect in the case, Mehmet Tüysüz, is seen in the footages nodding toward Candaş to Şahin. At exactly 3:21 p.m. Şahin is seen shooting Candaş. On the same day, Şahin was caught by municipality staff while attempting to flee the scene. 

After watching the footages, the court ruled that the Keten brothers were “instigators” and Tüysüz helped the murder by making its execution easier.

On July 18, 2016, Candaş was shot dead in the Şişli municipality building, after which, six people were arrested in connection with the murder.  

Hacı Avcı, one of the defendants in the case, stated in March that Selahattin Keten had “problems with many people,” including Şişli Mayor Hayri İnönü, over the company’s projects. Avcı also said Candaş had received threats before he was killed.