The brother of Türkiye's second astronaut is also on trial for an illegal equivalence certificate.

An investigation into the use of fake equivalency documents to enroll students in universities has revealed that students paid between $3,000 and $8,000. According to İsmail Saymaz of Halk TV, in the Bursa-based equivalency scandal, hundreds of students, who were presented as having "graduated from high school abroad," paid thousands of dollars to enroll in Turkish universities. According to the indictments, students obtained the fake documents with fees as high as $3,000 for medical school, $5,000 for law school, and $8,000 for pharmacy.

THE ASTRONAUT'S BROTHER IS ALSO AMONG THEM

One notable suspect among the defendants is Hay Çağatay Atasever, the brother of Türkiye's second astronaut, Tuva Cihangir Atasever. According to the indictment filed by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, Atasever obtained a certificate of equivalence in 2016 for a diploma he earned in Azerbaijan in 2013. However, his dates of entry and exit from the country and his graduation information do not match. It is alleged that because he stated in his application for the certificate that he had studied in Türkiye, he enrolled in the university, even though, according to regulations, he would not have been eligible for the international student quota even if he had received the certificate.

The prosecutor's office filed a lawsuit against 46 defendants, including Atasever, charging them with "forgery of official documents."

FREE UNIVERSITY REGISTRATION CONFESSION

The indictment also included confessions about the money paid by the students.

• Abdulkadir C. admitted that he received a diploma from Serbia, a country he had never visited, and explained that he paid $6,000 through the bank, $3,000 in cash, and a check for 46,000 lira, and that he enrolled in Medipol University's Faculty of Pharmacy.
• Ahmet Ü. was presented as having graduated from high school in Russia. He explained that he had heard rumors that law school registration was open without an exam, and that he had paid 20,000 lira to enroll in the university.
• Baran T. said he paid $8,000 for civil engineering.
• Celal B. graduated from high school in both Şanlıurfa and Ukraine in 2019. He enrolled in the Law Department of Medipol University for $5,000.
• Eylem B. appears to have graduated from a high school in Van in 2017 and a high school in Russia in 2019. She enrolled in the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at Istanbul Esenyurt University for $4,000.
• Hasan Hüseyin C. graduated from high school in both Istanbul and Russia in 2019. He enrolled in Medipol University's Faculty of Law for $20,000.
• İrem K. graduated from a high school in Diyarbakır in 2019 and a high school in Russia in 2020. She enrolled in Nişantaşı University Faculty of Medicine for 5,000 TL.
• Mehmet O. graduated from a high school in Gaziantep in 2017 and a high school in Ukraine in 2018. He enrolled in the dentistry department in Northern Cyprus for 5,000 TL.
• Mehmet Fadıl Ö. graduated from a high school in Ukraine in 2019 and a high school in Batman in 2020. He enrolled in Istanbul Yeni Yüzyıl University's Faculty of Pharmacy for $5,000.
• Melisa K. stated that she registered at Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine by paying 3 thousand dollars.
• Oğuzhan K. graduated from high school in both Şırnak and Serbia in 2018. He enrolled at Istanbul Altınbaş University for $2,000.

Source: İsmail Saymaz - Halk TV