On the third day of hearings in a sprawling corruption trial involving 200 defendants — including seven mayors, the court on Jan. 29 continued to hear the defenses of suspects as part of the publicly known Aziz İhsan Aktaş criminal organization investigation.
The case centers on allegations that businessman Aziz İhsan Aktaş, identified by prosecutors as the leader of a criminal network, secured public tenders from municipalities through bribery, bid rigging and collusion involving companies allegedly linked to him.
Among those present at the court were several mayors from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), including Avcılar Mayor Utku Caner Çaykara, Seyhan Mayor Oya Tekin, Ceyhan Mayor Kadir Aydar, Adana Metropolitan Mayor Zeydan Karalar and Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat.
During his defense, Önder Gedik, chairman of Beltaş, a subsidiary of the Beşiktaş Municipality, rejected all accusations against him. Gedik denied claims that he had obtained financial gain from the sale of a hospital, arguing that such allegations were unfounded.
Addressing the courtroom, the presiding judge recalled that footage from the first two days of the hearings circulated on social media, stressing that the court’s primary objective was to conduct the trial in an orderly and impartial manner.
“We are a panel that works with great care. While taking a defendant’s statement, we record notes under five separate headings. At the same time, we cross-check the indictment and the initial statements to see whether anything is missing,” Gül said.
Of the 200 defendants on trial, 40 have been jailed pending trial. Court hearings are expected to continue for several weeks, until all defendants have delivered their statements and the court issues an interim ruling.
