Tanju Özcan sentenced to 7 years, 3 months, and 15 days in prison
The verdict has been announced in the "extortion" trial targeting the Bolu Municipality. Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan was sentenced to 7 years, 3 months, and 15 days in prison for the crime of "extortion by coercion in a chain of events.</p>
In the trial where 19 defendants were tried, former Bolu mayor Tanju Özcan denied the accusations during the hearing and claimed that a plot had been hatched against him.
Süleyman Can, who was suspended from his duty as deputy mayor, argued that he never pressured anyone regarding advertisements or donations.
Ali Sarıyıldız, former BolSev manager, stated that he only acted as an intermediary between the companies and the municipality during the signing process of advertising contracts.
The court panel sentenced Tanju Özcan, Ali Sarıyıldız, and Süleyman Can to 7 years, 3 months, and 15 days in prison each for the crime of "extortion by coercion in a chain of events."
Ruling to impose a political ban on Özcan and Can for 4 years each, the court ordered the continuation of the detention of the 3 defendants.
Defendants to whom effective repentance provisions were applied for the crime of "qualified fraud" were sentenced to up to 1 year in prison per victim and judicial fines. Tanju Özcan and Ali Sarıyıldız were decided to be released from custody regarding this charge. Özcan and Sarıyıldız were acquitted of the "bribery" charge.
Prison sentences ranging from 2 to 5 years were handed down to the other defendants. While the court panel acquitted 11 defendants of all charges, it ruled for the continuation of judicial control measures for some defendants.
