Regarding the trial process of Istanbul's water guardian Şafak Başa, who was detained in a dawn operation...

İSKİ (Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration) General Manager Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şafak Başa is a public servant with 33 years of experience, in addition to his identity as an academic. He has served as a District Governor between 1992-2002, a Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Interior between 2002-2015, General Manager of TESKİ between 2015-2019, Deputy General Manager of İSKİ between 2019-2022, and has served as the General Manager of İSKİ since 2022 with the approval of the Mayor of Istanbul and the Minister of Environment and Urbanization.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şafak Başa is a high-level executive who has served in both the central and local government of the state for 33 years. In this article, we will demonstrate how unlawful both the detention process and the investigation are for a public official of such merit, who has not had a single blemish throughout his professional career.

İSKİ General Manager Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şafak Başa is one of the 53 people detained as part of the second wave of operations targeting the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB). İSKİ currently has a budget larger than that of several Ministries. It is a very important institution both geopolitically and strategically. It is an institution that provides opinions on water basins by law, just as it conducts many tenders within the scope of its duties and authority.

There is a confidentiality order on the investigation conducted into the İBB since 19.03.2025. For this reason, the aforementioned investigation will be evaluated based on the investigation documents shared with his lawyers by the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. Frankly, it is seen that the confidentiality of the investigation has been repeatedly violated since the beginning of the investigation, especially through the media.

If, while there is not even an indictment yet regarding an investigation, while the investigation is confidential, and while the opinion of the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office is not yet officially known, some false images or facts are appearing in the media from an unknown source, and if these facts are being trampled upon without even giving the right of reply to the persons mentioned in the investigation, and if they are presented as if there is definitive evidence of a crime, this is clearly black propaganda. This is an activity aimed at directing the perception of this society and discrediting the people under investigation. If journalists in an investigation put themselves in the place of judges and prosecutors, if courts are established in TV studios, and if images and documents are presented as real evidence while there is no indictment yet, this is pure black propaganda. Unfortunately, the investigation in which İSKİ General Manager Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şafak Başa is involved is being discussed in the public eye with this method from the very beginning; the confidentiality of the investigation is violated, the right of the investigated persons not to be stigmatized is ruthlessly trampled upon, and the presumption of innocence, which is their Constitutional right, is being destroyed.

The Accusations Directed at İSKİ General Manager Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şafak Başa Are Contrary to All Principles of Modern Criminal Law

The accusations directed at Şafak Başa consist entirely of abstract and baseless claims that are not supported by any objective evidence. The statements presented as a basis rely on the personal narratives of individuals named M.E. and İ.Ö. However, there is no concrete evidence to support these statements.

While M.E.'s statement does not even contain a direct accusation of a crime against our client, İ.Ö.'s narrative is based solely on assumptions. According to his claim, Şafak Başa said, "Go to Fatih Keleş and give whatever you are giving." In his statement, Şafak Başa stated that İSKİ is only an institution that provides technical opinions regarding water basins. As a result of the examinations made in the file, it was clearly revealed in the institutional opinions that the land for which the relevant complainants applied was not technically and legally suitable.

İSKİ's Rejection Decisions and Aftermath: Threats, Blackmail, and Baseless Allegations

As can be understood from the documents in the file, the complainants have made various applications to İSKİ for mine rehabilitation since 2019; however, these applications were repeatedly rejected by the İSKİ Legal Consultancy, the Department of Environmental Protection, MAPEG, and other authorized public institutions. Despite this, the İSKİ General Manager, the Deputy General Manager, and the relevant Department Head have been threatened since the beginning of 2024. Following these threats, "protection upon call" was assigned to him as a result of the written application made by Şafak Başa to the Istanbul Governorship.

Immediately after the operation launched against the İBB on March 19, one of the complainants, İ.Ö., came to the İSKİ General Directorate again and stated that if their demands were not met, he would accuse the İSKİ executives of bribery; he personally expressed this threat. In addition to this visit, his previous arrivals were also recorded by security cameras.

All these developments clearly show that a public official who performs his duty in accordance with the law is being faced with baseless denunciations because unlawful demands are not met. In their statements, the complainants mentioned a demand for 450 thousand US dollars in a contradictory manner; however, they could not present any concrete document or evidence to support this claim.

Detention Despite Known Health Condition: Disproportionate Detention Decision

The detention of Şafak Başa despite his serious health problems is a clear violation of the principle of proportionality. In fact, according to Article 145 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CMK), it was a necessity to invite him to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in accordance with the mandatory provision that "the person whose statement is to be taken or who is to be interrogated shall be called by invitation." Thinking that the head of an institution that is the apple of our state's eye, such as İSKİ, would not go to the police station to give a statement when called is contrary to the ordinary flow of life, and there is no evidence to the contrary on this matter. Therefore, the detention decision was unlawful in itself. The detention decision cannot be explained by grounds such as deterrence or flight risk.

Detention of a Threatened Bureaucrat: A Grave Contradiction from a Legal Perspective

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şafak Başa clearly stated in his testimony that the person named İ.Ö. came to the institution repeatedly and threatened the employees and himself, and sent disturbing messages via the WhatsApp application. For this reason, security guards kept a record, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şafak Başa requested official protection because the threat was directed directly at him. Despite the complainant's history of such clear threats against the institution's employees, the detention of public officials based on the abstract narrative of the same person is an unacceptable contradiction in the name of the rule of law.

"Criminal Organization" Perception and Not Even Asking a Question About This in the Interrogation

Although the phrase "criminal organization established under the leadership of Ekrem İmamoğlu" was included in the referral letter for arrest, not a single question was directed to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şafak Başa in this direction during the investigation. This situation is noteworthy both in terms of the violation of the right to defense and the inability to establish a link between the allegation and the evidence. The fact that no questions were asked to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şafak Başa during the Prosecutor's interrogation regarding membership in a criminal organization for profit clearly reveals that the accusation lacks a legal basis. Moreover, being subjected to judicial control measures with this accusation is unacceptable.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şafak Başa's Background: Allegations Contrary to the Ordinary Flow of Life

As we have stated in detail above, it is contrary to the ordinary flow of life for such an experienced and meritorious bureaucrat to engage in bribery bargaining over an amount like 450 thousand US dollars, and there is no concrete evidence in the file in this direction.

It is not a coincidence that İ.Ö. made his complaint in March 2025, when the judicial processes against İBB Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu intensified in the public eye. The fact that this person, who has remained silent since 2019, did not file a lawsuit while he had the opportunity to do so in the administrative judiciary for 4 years, and only took action during a period when the political atmosphere hardened, creates a strong conviction that the judiciary is being instrumentalized.

This Process Damages Not Only Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şafak Başa but Also the Public Conscience

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şafak Başa is not just a public official; he is also a public servant who holds an academic title and has given his years to his state and nation. This process, which is being conducted without any concrete evidence against him, targets not only his person but also the trust in the judiciary and the belief in the law.

We all know that people who perform important public duties, such as judges and prosecutors, face various slanders and baseless denunciations due to the decisions they make. Here, the relevant units of the state stand behind those who perform public duties and do not process these denunciations in cases where concrete evidence cannot be presented, especially when it is possible for the public official to have a grudge because the public official took action against the whistleblower. Otherwise, that public official cannot feel his state behind him and may be timid about the decisions he makes while protecting his state. The state and judicial authorities must establish the balance. However, in this incident, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şafak Başa could not feel his state and judicial authorities by his side due to the decisions he made while protecting Istanbul's water basin, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şafak Başa was detained due to a baseless denunciation that should not have been processed by the judicial authorities, and was released by the Criminal Judgeship of Peace with a judicial control decision in the form of house arrest. The measure applied is also heavy. For example, due to this decision, he was removed from the İSKİ General Directorate and became unable to perform his duty.

For this reason, Şafak Başa's rights and reputation must be restored immediately, starting with the lifting of the judicial control measure against him. The investigation must be conducted within the limits of the right to a fair trial in Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Atty. Dr. Mehmet Ruşen Gültekin & Atty. Deniz Ali İlkem Demir