Appeals rejected in the case regarding the threatening of Prosecutor Yavuz Engin

The appellate review in the case concerning the threatening of Public Prosecutor Yavuz Engin while he was conducting the “newborn gang” investigation has been completed. The 1st Criminal Chamber of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice rejected all appeals against the local court's decisions on their merits.

The Chamber ruled that there was no illegality in the 5-year-and-6-month prison sentence handed down by the Bakırköy 21st High Criminal Court to the detained defendant Mustafa Kemal Zengin. The decision to defer the announcement of the verdict regarding the non-detained defendant Aylin Arslantatar was also found to be appropriate.

The appellate court also found the acquittal decisions for 11 defendants to be in accordance with procedure and the law. The ruling stated that there were no deficiencies in the evidence or proceedings and that the evaluation regarding the proof was appropriate.

Thus, the acquittal decisions for Gökhan Güler, Baki Çelik, Yavuz Çelik, Zeynep Kaman, Muhammed Emin Orhan, and public officials T.A, M.D, M.B, M.E.Y, I.K., and M.G. were upheld at the appellate stage.

The indictment prepared by the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office had leveled various charges against 13 defendants. The indictment included charges such as “attempting to influence a person performing a judicial duty,” “threatening,” “unlawfully obtaining or disseminating personal data,” and “unlicensed firearms.”

The Bakırköy 21st High Criminal Court concluded the case on February 17, 2026, and decided to sentence Zengin for “resisting to prevent the performance of a duty” and for “unlawfully obtaining personal data” regarding the complainant Halil Emre Yılmaz.

The decision, reached unanimously by the 1st Criminal Chamber of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice, is subject to appeal to the Court of Cassation.