An İstanbul court has denied the release request of Ahmet Özer, the recently removed Esenyurt district mayor, whose detention sparked widespread opposition protests.
Özer, a distinguished Kurdish academic and a member of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), was detained during an Oct 31 raid on his home and subsequently remanded in custody on “terrorism” charges.
Özer’s attorneys had filed a 40-page petition early yesterday requesting his release, describing his detention as a politically motivated decision that "deeply undermines democratic values."
Thousands protest opposition municipality's takeover in İstanbul
The petition, reviewed by the magistrate's court, argued that the charges against him are outdated and unfounded, with accusations reaching back to alleged interactions over a decade ago. The ousted mayor is charged with being a member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group.
Özer’s attorneys asserted that "the charges are unfounded and represent a political tactic aimed at silencing him and undermining his standing." They emphasized that Özer, who has served as a public figure for nearly 40 years, was wrongly labeled as a member of the PKK, an accusation that "tarnishes his decades-long public service."
Who is Ahmet Özer, the arrested mayor of İstanbul's Esenyurt district?
The petition also highlighted alleged inconsistencies in how political affiliations have affected legal accountability, pointing to claims that some Justice and Development Party (AKP) members had ties with figures associated with both PKK and the Gülen group, the Islamic community held responsible for the 2016 coup attempt, during the early 2010s. Özer’s defense team argued that such interactions, common among politicians and journalists engaging in the Kurdish issue, were selectively scrutinized only when politically expedient.
Özer, a seasoned academic and advocate of regional development and dialogue, had won the March 2024 local election in collaboration in a landslide after securing the backing of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party. His arrest came as the ruling coalition discusses a potential new opening in the Kurdish issue, with the nationalist MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli recently calling for PKK founder Abdullah Öcalan to declare the group’s disbandment from within parliament.
Return of trustees
Under Turkish law, the interior ministry has the authority to suspend mayors under criminal investigation, appointing trustees to act in their stead. The trustee appointment also dissolves the municipal councils, which are separately elected bodies typically composed of members from various political parties.
The government widely implemented trustee policies during the period of state of emergency following a failed coup in 2016, taking over almost all municipalities run by the HDP in the country’s Kurdish-populated regions. The party regained the municipalities in 2019 by winning the elections in 65 municipal areas, including eight cities. All but five district and town municipalities were eventually taken over, citing “terrorism” investigations and cases against the mayors.
The DEM Party, the HDP’s successor, won 11 cities among 75 municipalities in the 2024 polls. The government has so far refrained from a widespread takeover of municipalities but appointed a trustee to the Hakkari city in June. With the most recent takeovers, the DEM has lost three of the 11 cities it won.
Additionally, the Interior Ministry took over İstanbul’s Esenyurt district municipality on Oct 31, replacing its mayor citing a “terrorism” investigation against him. This marked the first incident where the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lost a municipality for this reason. The mayor, Ahmet Özer, a distinguished academic and an ethnic Kurd, was endorsed by DEM in the March elections.
(VK)
