An İstanbul court sentenced Ahmet Özer, the dismissed mayor of İstanbul’s Esenyurt district, to six years and three months in prison on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization.”
Özer, a member of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), was tried over his role in a political alliance between the CHP and the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party during the 2024 local elections.
The cooperation, known as the “urban consensus,” involved DEM not fielding candidates in certain İstanbul districts and some of its members entering municipal council races on CHP lists. Prosecutors claimed the arrangement was orchestrated by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The hearing was attended by CHP Chair Özgür Özel, İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Mayor Nuri Aslan, and CHP İstanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik.
This case is part of a wave of criminal proceedings launched after the 2024 local elections, targeting the CHP and municipalities under its control. The CHP views the legal crackdown as retaliation by the government for its electoral success, while the government points to widespread corruption allegations within CHP-run municipalities.
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Özer's defense
Özer was arrested on Oct 30, 2024, and remained in pretrial detention for over a year before his release in November. Rejecting the charges, Özer said, “These allegations do not even amount to a reasonable suspicion, let alone constitute a crime.”
During his final defense, Özer criticized the indictment for relying heavily on anonymous witness testimonies that he argued were not backed by factual evidence. “The so-called evidence in this file does not prove any organizational link,” he told the court.
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Özer highlighted his 35-year academic and political background, stating that he had always supported peace and human rights. “Not only am I not a member of any terrorist group, but even the suggestion of such a connection is unacceptable,” he said.
He also criticized the conditions of his detention and the broader investigation, noting the seizure of his digital materials and what he described as violations of his home’s privacy. Özer questioned the timing of media reports on the potential appointment of a trustee before he had even appeared before a judge.
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He said the case misrepresented his communications, financial transactions, and social contacts, arguing that they were taken out of context. One example he gave was the inclusion of a religious donation sent to his brother, which was listed in the case file as a suspicious transfer. He also noted that while his contacts with academics and public officials were used as grounds for suspicion, his official meetings with state authorities were excluded from the file.
“Defending peace should not be treated as a crime,” he said. “If it is, then I will continue to commit this crime.”
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'Legal disaster'
Özer's lawyer, Hüseyin Ersöz, also denounced the verdict, describing it as a "legal disaster."
“Every piece of evidence showed his innocence, and they were collected by the court itself. There was not a single piece of evidence against him," he said.
Ersöz claimed the case exposed the political nature of the judiciary process. “Where there is politics, there is no law,” he said, adding that the ruling “will go down in legal history as a dark day.”
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He added that the legal team would appeal the decision, expressing confidence that higher courts would overturn the verdict.
Meanwhile, Özer is also named in a separate case involving allegations of rigging a public tender, which concerns dozens of municipal officials from the CHP, including suspended İstanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who has been in pretrial detention for over 10 months.
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