Turkey’s main opposition leader, Özgür Özel, vowed on Wednesday to hold the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to account as a mass trial moved into its second day over alleged bribery and bid-rigging tied to municipal tenders in İstanbul and other cities.
The case, known in Turkey as the Aziz İhsan Aktaş investigation, centers on claims that businessman Aziz İhsan Aktaş organized bid processes by bribing municipal officials and steering contracts to favored companies.
Prosecutors have charged 200 defendants, 40 of whom are in pretrial detention, including seven mayors from Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). Six of the mayors have been suspended from office during the investigation.
The hearings are being held at the Marmara Prison’s courthouse complex, a prison campus in İstanbul’s Silivri district often used for high profile trials.
On Wednesday the court heard statements from several jailed defendants, including Adana Metropolitan Mayor Zeydan Karalar and Seyhan Mayor Oya Tekin, who denied the accusations and criticized their lengthy pretrial detention.
The presiding judge warned that spectators could be barred if images are recorded and shared from inside the courtroom, and the session was later adjourned until Thursday morning.
Özel, who traveled to Silivri to follow the proceedings, described the case as politically driven and vowed to go after those he blamed for the politically motivated trial. Özel did not specify who, but he previously accused Erdoğan and his government for using the judiciary to crack down on the CHP-run municipalities.