CHP mayor to be tried without arrest

According to allegations, on June 27, Kula Mayor Hikmet Dönmez summoned M.U. and H.D., representatives of a private company that had received a tender from the municipality, to the municipal building. Mayor Dönmez wanted to terminate the contract with the company, alleging that M.U. and H.D. were collecting money from local tradespeople and defrauding them by using the name of Kula Municipality. 

Following the argument that ensued, company representatives M.U. and H.D. were allegedly beaten by Mayor Dönmez's driver, M.O.A., and his bodyguard, R.G., and removed from the municipality. After the incident, on June 30, the beaten M.U. and H.D. filed a complaint with the police, claiming they were assaulted in Mayor Dönmez's office. 

Upon the complaint, Mayor Dönmez, his driver M.O.A., and his bodyguard R.G. were taken into custody. After giving their statements at the Kula District Police Department, M.O.A., R.G., and Mayor Hikmet Dönmez were referred to the court, arrested, and sent to prison.

TO BE TRIED WITHOUT ARREST

After 30 days, Kula Mayor Hikmet Dönmez appeared before the judge today. In the hearing held at the Kula Courthouse, Dönmez was released to be tried without arrest. Making a statement in front of Kula Municipality, Dönmez's lawyer, Murat Aydın, said, “Our mayor was attacked in his office while trying to protect the interests of the people of Kula and the money of Kula Municipality, and despite this, the other individuals claimed that the mayor organized an attack against them, leading to a process that resulted in our mayor's arrest. 

At the end of this entire judicial process, Mayor Hikmet will be before you in a position that will not make the people of Kula regret the vote they gave him and will not make them hang their heads in shame. He will be released today, and we will follow the process closely after his release. We sincerely believe that right, law, and justice will prevail. In the end, the right and the wrong will be separated, and our mayor will return to his duty.”

Meanwhile, the hearing for Dönmez, which was conducted via the Audio and Video Information System (SEGBİS), was also attended by Gölmarmara Mayor Cem Aykan, Alaşehir Mayor Ahmet Öküzcüoğlu, Köprübaşı Mayor Fatih Taşlı, and Kırkağaç Mayor Üstün Dönmez.

News Source: İHA