The hearing of the trial of 53 defendants, 11 of whom were detained, including Şile Mayor Özgür Kabadayı, who was arrested and suspended from his duty, continued on the 7th day at the Istanbul Anatolian 27th High Criminal Court.
Arrested defendant Ali Şafak, who first made his defense at the hearing that started around 10.15, claimed that they were framed through people such as Ali Bayram Üst, Recep Üst and Mehmet Selçuk Aran and said, "This is an agent provocateur activity that is going on rampantly. Their expectation is to somehow bring us down and throw us here. They got us kicked out, well done."
Şafak explained that Ali Bayram Üst invited him for a meeting, and he went to the meeting with the thought that the meeting request was within the scope of the legal consultancy he gave to Recep Üst. He also defended that he was framed and said about the meeting: "Now that I have given consultancy in my own way, Ali Bayram is calling me, we will talk about some issues, about the Istanbul zoning legislation, he has some projects, we will start with them. He says brother, he says there is a problem with the child, he says I can't come to Şile. Can we meet outside? I said, when will we meet? I live on the European Side, I don't know the Anatolian Side. He said Çekmeköy Ümraniye. He said a shopping mall." There is; we will meet there.” Şafak said that they met in a cafe in the shopping mall and that Üst handed him over the consultancy fee of 5 thousand euros. Şafak rejected the claim that Üst handed him a pink suitcase containing money.
"WHY DID YOU NOT TAKE ME WITH A BAG IN MY HAND? NO. THERE WAS NO BAG THERE ANYWAY."
Regarding the suitcase claim, Şafak said, "If you made a huge suitcase and filled it with money, it was pink and pink. Why didn't you take a photo of me with that suitcase, why didn't you take a photo of me when I was leaving that cafe? If he gave me this pink bag, why didn't he take a picture of me while I had the pink bag in my hand? Nothing like that. There would be no need for so much voice recording and effort. He thought of taking a secret voice recording, he thought of taking a photo of the money, he thought of taking the bag, "Why didn't you take me with the bag in my hand? There is no bag anywhere." he said.
"WE PUT A SHEPHERD INTO THE RENT ORDER"
Evren Buçan, who was arrested as a result of the operation while working as an urban planner in Şile Municipality and has been detained for 16 months, also stated that they disrupted the profit system established in Şile and said:
"I worked at Şile Municipality for approximately 4 months from 12.03.2025 until the day I was detained. I came to Şile not with a team or an organizational relationship, but because our vice president needed experienced technical personnel. During my time on duty, I did not make any financial demands from anyone, neither for myself nor for anyone else or for the institution; I did not receive any money from anyone, nor did I receive instructions from anyone in this regard. My only goal was to act in accordance with the laws and regulations. The accusations against me are, It consists of repeated statements of people whose demands I have rejected that are not in accordance with the legislation.
We put an end to the lawlessness, incompetence, favoritism towards friends and relatives that had been going on for years; We put a dent in the profit system they established. In fact, the functioning of institutions is of course determined by laws, circulars and regulations, but the implementer is ultimately human. If the institutional structure is not formed, there is no order. If the truth is eroded, the wrong becomes commonplace and eventually becomes accepted in society.
"I WAS ATTACKED IN MY OFFICE, BUT I NEVER GIVE UP THE TRUTH THAT I KNOW"
During my term of office, I rejected every offer that would cause public harm. I resisted every request that was not in accordance with the legislation. I was attacked in my office, but I never gave up what I knew was true. I waited patiently for 16 months for this day, when the truth would sooner or later be revealed, in a ward of 60 people, sharing my fate with people arrested for all kinds of crimes. Which one should I tell, the struggle of my family, especially my wife and daughters for months, the injustices I experienced, the 10 minutes a week, the 45-minute closed meeting, the open meeting once a month, my feelings after each meeting? Should I cancel my wife's life insurance and hire a lawyer, sell my car and make up for the salary cut, be a burden to my retired parents at the age of 46, and not be able to see my father who has COPD for 16 months? Why did they make me experience this by taking away my right to a fair trial?
They said secrecy, they said secret witness, they said confessor, they said corruption; '-mush, -mush, -mush' put in front of me. I will not slander anyone, but I will document all their irregularities. I will reveal the anomie they have established with concrete documents; "I will respond to their slanders and conspiracies with concrete documents."
Buçan completed her defense by asking for her release, in tears, saying, "I have a request from the great Turkish justice, I wrote a letter to my daughters, send me to my daughters before that letter reaches them."
