Istanbul municipal trial continues amid prisoner testimonies

The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality case entered its 46th day at the Istanbul 40th Heavy Criminal Court in Silivri. Sixty‑eight detained individuals and 414 defendants are facing charges, and the hearing featured statements from several detainees.

Advertising executive Serkan Öztürk, one of the detainees, said he signed his earlier statements without reading them and rejected the accusations. He appealed for his release, calling himself a patriot and demanding a fair trial. Öztürk also criticised the prosecution’s handling of his case, noting that he had been in prison for 15 months without concrete evidence.

Separately, Murat Ongun, chairman of Media AŞ, has been sending notes from Çorlu Prison that are being turned into AI‑voiced videos on YouTube. Ongun described the daily life of prisoners, the mix of professionals inside the facility, and the creative coping mechanisms they develop. He recounted a prison guard’s sarcastic reply to a request for a washing‑machine: “Sure, we’ll give you a washing‑machine so you can build a helicopter and escape.”

Both parts illustrate the ongoing public interest and unusual details emerging from the high‑profile İBB trial.