Chief of staff's daughter exposes illicit affair: Mayor enters compensation battle

In Sakarya, an illicit affair between AKP Adapazarı Mayor Mutlu Işıksu and his chief of staff, Elif Saçar, who works directly under the mayor, has stirred the city. The allegations turned into a major scandal following statements made by Ceyda Saçar.

In Sakarya, during a private meeting organized by Chief Ombudsman Mehmet Akarca, Elif Saçar's daughter, Ceyda Saçar, stated that she had seen correspondence on her mother's phone between her and Mayor Mutlu Işıksu and disclosed the events that had taken place.

According to the allegations, Elif Saçar had been serving as the Chief of Staff at the Adapazarı Municipality for approximately 8 years. Ceyda Saçar witnessed the correspondence her mother had with Mayor Işıksu on her phone. It was stated that the correspondence also included private photos sent by Işıksu.

Husband accused of blackmail, filed compensation lawsuit

With the situation coming to light within the family, her husband of 25 years, Hakan Saçar, filed for divorce and initiated a 20 million lira compensation lawsuit against Mayor Mutlu Işıksu. Mayor Işıksu, on the other hand, denied all allegations and, claiming that the Saçar family was blackmailing him, filed a 50 million lira compensation lawsuit against the family and submitted a criminal complaint to the prosecutor's office.

Speaking to Ombudsman Akarca, Ceyda Saçar stated that after the events, attempts were made to cover up the incident by "offering her money," but because she did not accept the offer, she was accused of blackmail. Ceyda also drew attention to the use of public power.

Scandal brought to the judiciary

Young law student Ceyda Saçar had previously reported the incident to the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) Petition Commission, the Committee on Equal Opportunity for Women and Men (KEFEK), and the Presidential Communication Center (CİMER). All these developments have turned into a major scandal closely followed by the Sakarya public. Multi-million lira compensation lawsuits and allegations of an illicit affair have now become the focus of the judicial process.

Statements in her petition to Parliament reached

Ceyda Saçar explained the details of the incident in a petition she wrote to Parliament as follows: “I am the daughter of Adapazarı Municipality Chief of Staff Elif Saçar. There is 6 months of correspondence between my mother and Adapazarı Mayor Mutlu Işıksu, and I have in my possession obscene photos sent to my mother by Mutlu Işıksu around 02:50 at night. This correspondence also includes messages regarding the internal affairs of the municipality. The mayor also filed a lawsuit against me, accusing me of blackmail. My aunts also knew about the incident from the very beginning. They helped my mother meet with Mutlu Işıksu. Furthermore, my aunt was hired at the municipality during this process.”

News Source: 12punto