AI-generated illustration

A Turkish court has convicted suspended Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan and two other defendants of continuous extortion through coercion, sentencing each to seven years, three months and 15 days in prison. The verdict was announced by the Bolu 3rd Heavy Criminal Court at the end of a trial involving 19 defendants linked to Bolu Municipality.

The court also imposed four-year political bans on Özcan and Süleyman Can, a former deputy mayor who was suspended from that post, and ordered that Özcan, Can and Ali Sarıyıldız remain in custody. Eleven defendants were acquitted of all charges.

Hearings held in a school sports hall

The Bolu 3rd Heavy Criminal Court held the session at the sports hall of Bolu Sosyal Bilimler Lisesi. Detained defendant Özcan and Süleyman Can, who was suspended from his deputy mayor post, took part from prison through the Audio and Video Information System (SEGBİS).

Also present in the hall were detained defendants Ali Sarıyıldız, a former manager of BolSev, and Mustafa Altındal, the former head of the Bolu Köroğlu Tradesmen and Craftsmen Credit and Surety Cooperative and of the Bolu Greengrocers and Market Vendors Tradesmen's Chamber, along with released defendants, complainants and lawyers for the parties. Can, Sarıyıldız and Altındal presented their defenses against the final opinion on the merits, after which the released defendants and their lawyers completed theirs.

Defendants reject the accusations

Can said he had worked in various units of the municipality for 31 years and became a council member after retiring in order to serve Bolu. Can acknowledged speaking with supermarket officials but denied pressuring anyone over advertising or donations, and argued that he received no instructions from Özcan, issued none to other municipal units and took no money from complainant N.G. over a permit matter. Can said he would stay out of politics if released.

Sarıyıldız argued that, as someone who was not a public official, the charge of extortion through coercion could not apply. Sarıyıldız said the meeting about the supermarkets was never attended and that the role was limited to mediating between companies and the municipality when advertising contracts were signed. Regarding the permit matter, Sarıyıldız claimed the money received from complainant N.G. was handed to Can, and said the work on concrete purchases and progress payments amounted to financial calculations and contract drafting.

Altındal said involvement in the cafe matter was limited to arranging a meeting between a tradesman with a permit problem and the mayor, and denied discussing money or taking a bribe, adding that arranging such a meeting should not be treated as a bribery agreement.

Özcan calls the case a setup

In his final statement, Özcan claimed the purpose of the prosecution and the operations against the municipality was to finish off Tanju Özcan. "There is a plan and a scenario. I don't know who made this plan," Özcan said.

Özcan argued that no crime or offender had been established, said the MASAK report had cleared everyone and described the proceedings as a theater, voicing confidence that the court would break up the game and warning against a decision that would trouble the judges' consciences later. Addressing a son who was in the hall, Özcan said the family had never lived on unlawful earnings and urged the son to stand tall whatever the verdict.

Court convicts three on extortion charge

After a recess, the panel sentenced Özcan, Sarıyıldız and Can to seven years, three months and 15 days each for extortion through coercion committed in a continuous manner. Özcan and Can were each given four-year political bans, while Sarıyıldız was barred from exercising certain rights for four years. The court ordered all three to remain in custody.

For qualified fraud, the panel applied effective remorse provisions against Özcan and Sarıyıldız, imposing prison terms and judicial fines ranging from one year and 15 days to one year and eight months for each victim. It deferred the announcement of the verdict for Sarıyıldız, suspended Özcan's sentence and ruled that both be released on that charge. The panel acquitted Özcan and Sarıyıldız of violating Law No. 5072 on the relations of associations and foundations with public institutions and of bribery, finding those offenses not proven.

Sentences for the remaining defendants

Hakan Yılmaz was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison for extortion, barred from exercising certain rights for three years and placed under judicial control in the form of not leaving the residence. Naim Ayhan received five years, two months and 15 days for bribery and a three-year ban on certain rights.

Altındal was sentenced to two years and 11 months for trading in influence and released upon the judgment, while being acquitted of extortion through coercion. Cihan Tutal was convicted of perjury for two years and one month and of harboring an offender for one year and eight months in connection with the permit matter, with the announcement of the verdict on the latter count deferred. Adem Beraber was sentenced to one year and eight months for harboring an offender, also with the announcement deferred.

The panel applied discretionary mitigating reasons to the prison terms, acquitted 11 defendants of all charges and decided that some judicial control measures would continue.

Key takeaways

• Suspended Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan was sentenced to seven years, three months and 15 days for extortion through coercion and given a four-year political ban.
• Süleyman Can and Ali Sarıyıldız received the same sentence on that charge, and all three were ordered to remain in custody.
• Özcan and Sarıyıldız were acquitted of bribery and of violating Law No. 5072, while 11 defendants were cleared of all offenses.
• The verdict was issued by the Bolu 3rd Heavy Criminal Court in a trial of 19 defendants linked to Bolu Municipality.