Allegations of turning a blind eye to illegal structures: Verdict reached regarding Hilmi Türkmen
Landowner Faruk Kıyım had filed a criminal complaint against former Üsküdar Municipality officials due to illegal structures on his property. A verdict has been announced in the retrial of former Mayor Hilmi Türkmen.
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In Üsküdar, landowner Faruk Kıyım had filed a criminal complaint against former Üsküdar Municipality officials, alleging that they turned a blind eye to illegal structures on his property and failed to demolish them. Kıyım accused former Üsküdar Mayor Hilmi Türkmen (AKP) and the administrators of that period, Bayram Kaya, Duran Kurnaz, Abdullah Ayaz, and Volkan Raşit Özcan, of "misconduct in office."
According to a report by İsmail Arı from BirGün, Hilmi Türkmen and the other municipal officials were acquitted in the first-instance court. However, Faruk Kıyım appealed the decision, and the case was moved to the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice.
RETRIAL DECISION
The 13th Criminal Chamber of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice ordered a retrial for former Mayor Hilmi Türkmen. The court stated that Türkmen’s defense had not been taken during the first hearing and that issuing an acquittal in writing was contrary to the law, thus ordering a retrial.
ACQUITTAL IN THE SECOND TRIAL
In the second hearing held on December 16, 2024, the court issued an acquittal for Hilmi Türkmen. The judge ruled that the former mayor was innocent, citing that "the legal elements of the crime were not formed."
Faruk Kıyım stated that he has been seeking justice since the beginning of the process and that the second acquittal decision was a disappointment for him. Kıyım indicated that he would continue his legal battle.