The 81st day of the İBB Case, in which 414 defendants, 51 of them in custody, are on trial, including presidential candidate and İBB Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, is continuing in the new courtroom built at Marmara Closed Prison in Silivri by the Istanbul 33rd High Criminal Court.
At yesterday’s hearing, Istanbul Bar Association President Prof. Dr. İbrahim Kaboğlu said lawyers had complained about the uncertainty and unpredictability of the hearing schedule. Lawyer İsmail Emre Telci thanked the Bar Association delegation, noting that the presiding judge had announced at the outset the order of the defendants who would testify for the first time today.
Galatasaray Sports Club Executive Board member Eray Yazgan, who presented his defense after Selçuk Alanyurt, Oğuzhan Bayraktaroğlu, İlknur Taşdelen and Alican Akün, said he had participated in İBB tenders but had not won any of them.
The prosecutor asked Doğuş Grubu Deputy Chair of the Executive Board Hüsnü Akhan about the 191 million lira sent to Asoy İnşaat for the earthquake in Hatay. Akhan said 201 prefabricated homes had been completed in Aşağı Ekinci Mahallesi. İmamoğlu, meanwhile, objected to the prosecutor’s question, arguing that the stance taken in the indictment demeaned İBB.
Why it matters
The case, involving 414 defendants, 51 of whom are in custody, means uncertainty over courtroom procedures is not merely a procedural debate but has a direct impact on the preparation of defenses and lawyers’ working conditions. The advance announcement of the order in which defendants who will be heard for the first time are to appear shows that the Istanbul Bar Association delegation’s call for predictability has been reflected in courtroom practice. The fact that tender processes and payments for prefabricated homes in the earthquake zone are being scrutinized in the same trial illustrates the breadth of the case, which encompasses various institutions, companies and individuals. However, it remains unclear how the distinction between participating in and winning a tender, as well as the link between the 191 million lira payment and the completed homes, will be assessed in relation to the charges.
Background
İBB is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: over the past 90 days, we have published 7 news reports mentioning the name, the most recent dated September 9, 2026.