Politics · Turkey · 2 hrs ago
Defendants testify at 96th hearing in Istanbul criminal case
A criminal case involving Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu reached its 96th hearing at a court near Marmara Prison in Istanbul.
Organiser Ahmet Çiçek, who is not in custody, told the court that advertising permissions and payments after the 2019 elections were handled through Murat Ongun and a company linked to the city.
Çiçek also described issuing invoices for companies and said cash was collected at Murat Kapki’s office.
These were claims made in his defence, and he denied the charges against him.
Businessman Mehmet Muhittin Palazoğlu also denied the accusations and said his company had not received a tender from Istanbul’s municipality or its subsidiaries since 2019.
The hearing is part of a case described as involving an alleged criminal group seeking profit.
The supplied account does not say when the next hearing will take place.
Defendants testified at the 96th hearing of a criminal case at Istanbul’s 33rd High Criminal Court.
Untried defendant Ahmet Çiçek alleged that money was collected from companies through invoices and delivered in cash.
Çiçek said the arrangement continued until 2024 and that cash was gathered at Murat Kapki’s office.
Businessman Mehmet Muhittin Palazoğlu denied the accusations against him.
Palazoğlu said his company had received no tenders from Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality or its affiliates since 2019.
- Who
- Defendants Ahmet Çiçek and Mehmet Muhittin Palazoğlu testified.
- What
- They gave statements at the 96th hearing of a criminal case.
- When
- The hearing date is not stated. The article was published on October 13, 2026.
- Where
- A courtroom opposite Marmara Closed Prison in Istanbul.
- Why
- The case concerns alleged offenses by a criminal organization accused of seeking profit. The reason for holding this hearing is not stated.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Çiçek said invoices and cash withdrawals were arranged over a nine-month period.
Çiçek said the system for moving money out of companies continued until this year.
Çiçek and Palazoğlu gave their defenses at the hearing, which then ended.
- Court
- Istanbul 33rd High Criminal Court
- Hearing
- 96th
- Defendant
- Ahmet Çiçek, event company owner
- Defendant
- Mehmet Muhittin Palazoğlu, businessman
- Claimed period
- 2023–2024
- Company tenders
- Palazoğlu said his company had received none from Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality or its affiliates since 2019.
What people are saying
This is not trade; it is pressure, it is extortion.
After the 2019 elections, all authority over advertising spaces in the city, from the smallest to the largest, was promised to Murat Ongun.
The money would leave the company through me and then be gathered in cash at Mr. Murat’s office.
Sources
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