On the 96th day of the IMM trial, held by the Istanbul 33rd High Criminal Court at the Marmara Closed Prison complex in Silivri, the court panel decided to lift the judicial control measure of "house arrest" applied to 7 defendants.
The decision was announced regarding Mustafa Atlı, Sezer Ada Ateş, Tuğba Ölmez Hancı, Yasin Çağatay Seçkin, Esra Köymen, Binali Sarıtaş, and Derya Dağdeviren. These individuals were being tried as part of the consolidated case.
During the hearing, IMM Deputy Secretary General Oktay Özel presented his defense. Stating that he did not understand the accusation directed at him in the expert report, Özel noted that while the report alleged bid-rigging, he had no duty or authority in the relevant tender processes. Özel requested his acquittal, stating, "It is not possible for me to have committed a crime in a tender process I was not involved in."
During Özel's questioning, detained Medya A.Ş. Chairman of the Board and IMM President Advisor Murat Ongun asked about the claim made by defendant Deniz Dörtyol, who benefited from effective remorse provisions, regarding the removal of advertisements in Karaköy. Özel stated that there was a debate over an advertisement concerning the silhouette of the Galata Tower and that the removal decision belonged to the Ministry of Culture's Conservation Board.
Mustafa Duhan Demir, who presented his defense at the hearing, explained that he had a nursery built as part of a zoning change process for a property belonging to the Hakkı Demir Foundation, and that they organized this process together with Adem Altıntaş.
In her defense, defendant Sezer Ada Ateş stated that she had been working at the IMM Parks and Gardens Department for 26 years and that tender specifications had been prepared in the same way for about 20 years. Arguing that there was no concrete information or document regarding her in the indictment, Ateş requested the lifting of the judicial control measure, noting that she had been under house arrest for approximately 150 days.
Following Ateş's defense, detained Ağaç A.Ş. General Manager Ali Sukas asked whether any confidential information had been requested from her during her tenure. Ateş replied to this question, "That has never happened, Mr. Ali."
Former IMM Legal Counsel Eren Sönmez also presented his defense at the hearing. During the questioning section, Sönmez was asked about the statement in his prosecution testimony: "The person alleged to be the leader of the criminal organization is Ekrem İmamoğlu." Sönmez said that he did not use these words as an accusation, but was referring to the administrative law hierarchy in municipalities. Following the questioning, the hearing was adjourned.
News Source: 12punto
