In the Gaziosmanpaşa Municipality case before Istanbul 10th High Criminal Court, the prosecutor requested the release of Mayor Hakan Bahçetepe, who had been held in detention for about 16 months. In the opinion on the merits, the prosecutor sought a prison sentence of between four and 12 years for Bahçetepe on a charge of receiving bribes and requested his acquittal on charges of unjust enrichment and laundering criminal proceeds. The prosecutor also sought the acquittal of Bahçetepe’s wife Gözde Bahçetepe and father-in-law Aziz Lal on a charge of laundering criminal proceeds. Prosecutors requested that businessperson Aziz İhsan Aktaş not be punished for giving bribes under effective remorse provisions. The indictment alleged that Aktaş had given Bahçetepe $300,000 through Özer Ayık in return for an excavation permit from the municipality. Bahçetepe denied the bribery allegation, saying he did not know Aktaş and that the excavation permit had been approved unanimously by the municipal council and relevant commissions.
20 October 2026
BirGün