Breaking news! Interim decision in cooperative case: 3 people released

The second hearing of the case, which was opened upon the allegation of corruption by subcontractor companies at İZBETON A.Ş., a subsidiary of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality, and in which a total of 65 defendants, including former İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç Soyer, CHP İzmir Provincial Chairman Şenol Aslanoğlu and former İZBETON General Manager Heval Savaş Kaya, were on trial, has ended.

At the hearing, where the defendants' statements and the victims' statements were taken, the public prosecutor read his opinion. In his opinion, he opined that the defendants who failed to appear and the witness in the case, Ayşe Arzu Özçelik, be brought to court by force, that the victims and complainants who suffered damage from the crime be allowed to attend, and that the requests for the removal of control be rejected.

The opinion also requested the continued detention of Barış Karcı, Heval Savaş Kaya, Tunç Soyer, Şenol Aslanoğlu, and Cihangir Lübiç, citing the possibility of the defendants' socioeconomic status and location influencing the evidence, the lack of sufficient evidence collection, and the possibility of further evidence accumulating, based on the forensic and expert reports, as well as the Council of State and Court of Accounts reports. The public prosecutor also opined that defendant Hüseyin Şimşek, who was reported to have remedied the damage, should be released and placed under judicial control.

Karcı: 21 members are on trial, I am the only one arrested

Barış Karcı, the detained defendant and former Secretary General of the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and İZBETON Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors at the time, said the following in his defense regarding the opinion:

There are two matters in the indictment that mention my responsibilities. One is the board of directors' decision number 17, dated March 30, 2023. This decision was taken based on the Court of Accounts' findings and declared lawful. The Court of Accounts did not file a criminal complaint regarding this matter. The other issue is the delegation of power and authority granted to the general manager and deputy general managers. This is a delegation of authority in accordance with İZBETON's internal directive, published in the Trade Registry Gazette on November 1, 2014, and also included in the company's articles of association, prepared in accordance with the decision of the general assembly and the board of directors. What distinguishes me from the board members being tried without detention? Twenty-one members are being tried, and I am the only one in custody. There are defendants currently on İZBETON's board of directors who are being tried without detention. The other board members who signed the delegation of authority are also being tried without detention. If I were being tried for the bureaucratic duties I performed, the Council of State would not accept it. Therefore, I appear before you as a board member, not a bureaucrat. The Council of State's decisions have not made any findings against me.

Kaya: A new indictment should be prepared

İZBETON former General Manager Heval Savaş Kaya, who made her defense regarding the opinion, made the following statements:

The indictment says there was a public loss. The municipality's statement that there was no public loss is clear. But today, we listened to 28 friends who said they were victims within their own definition of victimhood, something not even mentioned in the indictment. Half of them said they weren't pressing charges. If we're going to talk about public loss, let's talk about that. If we're going to talk about victimization, it's not the subject of this case. Let's prepare a new indictment. I don't understand the possibility of a 41 million lira loss. The contract hasn't been terminated. The municipality holds the title deeds. There's no chance the municipality will suffer losses. The prosecutor claims there's a public loss because the guarantees are void. The guarantees haven't been voided. We did what the law allows us to do: delay construction... We conducted the interview. In these economic conditions and earthquakes, no construction has been completed on time. Look at City Hospital. How many years has it been delayed? Who has ever won a public tender and completed it on time? This can't be fraud? Are we all these people chasing the money of a retired man or two aunts? Are we such a network? What evidence in this case could we influence? "We? We were told there was a possibility we might escape. There's no such possibility."

Soyer: There is no other way to keep your scales balanced than to lift our penalty

In his defense regarding the opinion, former Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç Soyer touched upon the allegations of unfair advantage and fraud, saying:

We heard from a couple today. The gentleman was the defendant, the lady the victim. There are many examples like this. The indictment tells that couple, 'Your spouse defrauded you.' The same indictment says you didn't gain any personal benefit from this. So who did? Also, this morning, a letter came and said, 'There is no harm.' There's a tragic side to this. I was brought to prison. I'm serving time. Why has this punishment continued for 105 days? The reason is the cooperative model in urban renewal. The allegation of fraudulent intent is completely unacceptable when the reason is so obvious. This model was implemented legally with pure intentions. Every step was shared transparently. If there is any deficiency or corruption, every cooperative management is held accountable. Yes, there are delays. But delays cannot be considered fraud. The most important reason for the delay is the suspension in July 2024. Which mayor is accused of fraud despite documenting no public harm? The victims are neither the defendants nor the model? If there are grievances, the solution lies in the civil courts. Not your courts. If I had continued in my position, we would have completed many stages, and I wouldn't be before you now. We didn't gain any unfair advantage for ourselves or anyone else! Why are we serving sentences? End our 105-day sentence. I'm 66 years old. I will never allow my name to be tarnished like this. There's no concrete crime in your file. To balance your balance, there's no other way than to lift our sentence.

Aslanoğlu: We talked about things that were not crimes all day long

CHP İzmir Provincial Chairman Şenol Aslanoğlu responded to the allegations leveled against him based on the victim's statements in his defense and said the following:

"I've been in custody for 105 days. The case has consumed our lives, and it has consumed yours as well. We listened to the victims today. I understand most of it. What part of what I'm saying is that I'm there to correct it. We're in a high criminal court, and you want to hear about high criminal charges. But our topic is cooperatives. There was even a dean who was a member of the cooperative. Can these people be unaware of the costs? Are we obligated to lecture cooperative members about cooperatives? There are members in the cooperative, and the dues are determined at the general assembly. You determine this, not the president. Apartment prices are also determined according to the unit prices of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. The prices we quoted at the time were correct. But the prices have changed since then. So, are we supposed to accuse the ministry of fraud? Who increased the construction costs? Me? If two people in any general assembly disagree with you, you should first reject it and then file a lawsuit with a reasonable justification. I'm here because I served as the president of the cooperative for a year. If any member's situation worsens, if you become unable to pay dues, or if the increased If you can't pay your dues, that's not a crime either. You want to leave the cooperative, the money you paid will be refunded to you. We've been talking all day about things that aren't crimes. There's no criminal complaint filed with the prosecutor's office. Cooperatives have 1,504 members. Do you have 750 complaint petitions? If you say 10 percent, 150 people do. The person you call the victim said, "I'm in a good mood." Being subject to 20 percent VAT... Is there such a crime in the penal code? Yes, if you don't own land, you are subject to it. Our Revenue Administration said that if you don't own land, I'll apply 20 percent VAT. Being the president of one cooperative and the auditor of another cooperative isn't a crime either. The prosecutor's office asked the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, and the Ministry said it wasn't a crime. Did the only person you listened to say, "Şenol Aslanoğlu embezzled money, asked me for money, and took bribes"? He didn't. Osman Gökçek started it all. "3 billion was collected through cooperatives, "Şenol Aslanoğlu ate 2 billion of it," he said. "What 2 billion! Delay... We have a court decision. It's about Uzundere. That one. In the 3rd phase. The court record says, 'When it was stopped, this business was 7 percent overdue.' Should people be thrown in jail just because there's a 7 percent delay? Are you sincere about the possibility of escape? I've been in business for 25 years. If you think I'm under suspicion of escape, tell us who doesn't have it when the trial is over, so we can follow that example."

"Could anything be more absurd than me running away while the congress is on Friday?"

Aslanoğlu, defending himself against the reasoning behind the alleged escape, mentioned in the opinion, based on the provincial congress, said, "Our party's Izmir Provincial Congress is on Friday. I am the current provincial chairman and candidate for president. Could anything be more absurd than me running away when the congress is on Friday? The congress is just a few days away, and I run away? Wouldn't that be the most disgraceful thing in the world? I'm serving time in a high-security prison. One of Türkiye's biggest gang leaders is in the room to my right, the other to my left. I, the leader of our organization, am in the room in the middle. Those who submit fake diplomas are released, but we are being held in pretrial detention. I won't request release. Just give me house arrest. I won't tamper with evidence, or anything else. I've hosted 250 members of parliament in prison. What can I do at home that I can't do in prison? So, I want the same conditions at home. At least I won't see gang leaders to my right or left."

The interim decision was announced

After hearing the defense statements of the detained defendants and their defense counsel, the court announced its interim decision.

The court panel decided to release Hüseyin Şimşek and Cihangir Lübiç, to release Şenol Aslanoğlu on probation and not to leave the house, to continue the detention of other detained defendants, including Soyer, and to lift the probationary period for all detained defendants who testified.