Ufuk Bayraktar gives tearful defense! Notable dialogue with the judge

The trial of actor Ufuk Bayraktar began regarding allegations that on August 20, 2025, in Beyoğlu, he went to a business, demanded money under the guise of protecting it, and after the business owner refused, punched him while saying, 'You'll see, I won't let you stay here.' The hearing at the Istanbul 16th High Criminal Court was attended by the non-detained defendants Ufuk Bayraktar and Volkan Akbaş. The complainant, Ahmet P., and the lawyers for both sides were also present.

"I ONLY TRY TO HELP THE YOUTH IN BEYOĞLU"

During the hearing, Bayraktar, whose identity was verified, stated that he is a high school graduate and an artist, and that his monthly income is 1 million lira. In his defense, Bayraktar noted that he has been in Cihangir for about 45 years, stating, 'There is a tea garden there that I inherited from my father. I am having problems due to alcohol consumption. I used to drink from 10:00 AM until the evening. For this reason, I am not fully aware of the details of the incident. I did not demand extortion money from Ahmet P.; the matter was definitely misunderstood. Who am I to offer protection? I only try to help the youth in Beyoğlu; I have also done many charitable works,' he said.

"I ENCOURAGE THE TRADESPEOPLE IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD TO DO CHARITY WORK"

Continuing his defense, Bayraktar said, 'I encourage the tradespeople in my neighborhood to do charity work. Since I am an actor, I already know many tradespeople. Again, one day I had taken prescription medication and consumed alcohol on top of it. I remember not being myself and I remember there was a scuffle. I am not privy to the details. When I watched the recordings, I saw that I hit the complainant. My anger control was gone; I am sorry. My anger toward the complainant was essentially because, despite us sitting in his shop and paying quite high prices, he never even came to my shop to drink a tea. I did not act with the intent of robbery,' he stated.

WITHDREW HIS COMPLAINT

The complainant, Ahmet P., stated in his testimony that Bayraktar and many of his friends came to the breakfast salon he operates and that he was quite uncomfortable with their drunken state, saying, 'He also made comments to one of the waitresses like, "I want to marry you." They would pay their bills, but I was spending all my time on that table, and it was a table that did not fit my business. Ufuk Bayraktar and my older brother had talked about something; I only heard the number 25 in terms of money. As for me, he said, "Give 10 thousand lira to the neighborhood youth as a 'table-clearing fee,' let them work, let them do package deliveries, let the neighborhood youth work." I filed a complaint after he hit me in the face saying, "You never came to drink a tea all this time," but after the violence, I learned the truth of the incident from my brother. I had misunderstood Bayraktar's words at first. I am not complaining about the defendants,' he expressed.

JUDGE: "ARE YOU AN EMPLOYMENT AGENCY?"

During the hearing, the presiding judge turned to the defendant Bayraktar and asked, "Are you an employment agency? Is this your duty, to find jobs for young people? If I came to you and said, 'Find jobs for the neighborhood youth, give them money,' what would you do?" Bayraktar replied, "I would do everything in my power; if it doesn't come, I wouldn't."

He took the floor while crying: "My goal was to find jobs for young people. Since I made a 3 million dollar film, I don't need money anyway."

Later, taking the floor, Bayraktar said with a trembling voice, "Standing here like this saddens me. I never made any statements intended to extort anyone's money. My goal was to find jobs for young people. Since I made a 3 million dollar film, I don't need money anyway. I grew up in that neighborhood; if I don't do it, who will?" he stated.

Hearing adjourned

Announcing its interim decision, the court ruled for the continuation of the judicial control measure of a 'ban on traveling abroad' for defendant Ufuk Bayraktar and for the completion of deficiencies, and adjourned the hearing.

FROM THE INDICTMENT

In the indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it was stated that the suspects Bayraktar and Akbaş went to the business belonging to the complainant Ahmet P. and sat there for a while, during which time they saw the complainant's brother, Halil P., and said they wanted to have a meeting with him. Later, when the complainant Ahmet P. went to the suspects, Ufuk Bayraktar showed the complainant his phone, which had the text 'The cards are being reshuffled, we are in the game too' on the screen, and demanded money under the guise of protection by saying, 'They are trying to take over this business, let our neighborhood youth protect this place, you give them 25 thousand lira a week, they have Whatsapp groups, the whole neighborhood belongs to these kids, I am saying this so they can earn money.'

The indictment stated that when the complainant Ahmet P. did not accept this, he lowered the price to 10 thousand lira per week, but the complainant rejected this request by saying that the police would protect them. It was noted that Ufuk Bayraktar then left the venue with the other suspect, saying, 'We will talk later.' After this incident, the suspects, who came to the venue a few times, did not appear for about a month, but when they came again on August 20, 2025, Ufuk Bayraktar came to the complainant in an angry manner and stated that he wanted to talk to him again. It was stated that when the complainant did not want to talk to him, Bayraktar attacked the complainant and punched him, saying, 'You'll see, I won't let you stay here,' and when the police arrived at the scene after the complainant called them, the other suspect, Volkan Akbaş, came to the complainant and tried to pressure him by saying, 'Withdraw your complaint, I'll handle the matter.'

UP TO 11 YEARS AND 3 MONTHS IN PRISON REQUESTED

In the prepared indictment, it was requested that the suspects Ufuk Bayraktar and Volkan Akbaş be sentenced to 7 years and 6 months to 11 years and 3 months in prison for the crime of 'attempted robbery in a workplace with more than one person.'