Ahmet Özer, the opposition mayor of İstanbul’s Esenyurt district who was detained earlier in the day under a terrorism investigation, has been remanded in custody for "membership in a terrorist organization."
Özer, a Kurdish academic and a member of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), was detained during a raid on his house early in the morning on charges of alleged ties to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
After questioning at the İstanbul Courthouse, prosecutors requested his arrest for the charged offense, which the judge complied with. Hundreds of CHP and DEM Party protested outside the courthouse.
In a statement issued following the raid on Özer's residence, the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office had cited alleged "continuous communication" between the mayor and senior PKK members as grounds for the investigation. Police had conducted searches at both Özer’s home and Esenyurt’s municipal offices as part of the investigation.
#Breaking İstanbul's Esenyurt district mayor has been remanded in custody on charges of "being a PKK member."
— bianet English (@bianet_eng) October 30, 2024
Ahmet Özer, a member of the main opposition CHP, was endorsed by the pro-Kurdish DEM in the local elections.
CHP and DEM members protest outside the courthouse. pic.twitter.com/ztGiM7GrS7
— bianet English (@bianet_eng) October 30, 2024
'Trustee' allegations
Meanwhile, the pro-government Sabah newspaper reported that the Interior Ministry has appointed the Beşiktaş district governor to replace Özer, citing sources from the ministry. Later, pro-opposition Halk TV also reported that Özer will be removed from office and the CHP will convene its Central Executive Committee in Esenyurt tomorrow. An official announcement on the matter has yet to be made though.
If the ministry chooses not to remove the mayor, the municipal council will elect a council member as the deputy mayor until the legal proceesings conclude.
The 64-year-old professor won nearly half the votes in Esenyurt in the local elections in March as the CHP candidate, with backing from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party. This cooperation led to pro-government media labeling him as "terror-affiliated" during the election period.
While this is the first instance of a CHP mayor facing "terrorism" charges, local administrators’ prosecution on these charges and removal from office has been a common practice in the Kurdish-populated regions over the past eight years. The government has refrained the widespread implementation of trustee policies 2024 local election though.
Under Turkish law, the interior minister can suspend local officials under investigation for terror-related charges and appoint deputies to replace them. In practice, this has usually resulted in governors or sub-governors permanently filling mayors’ posts.
Erdoğan’s backing
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) supported the detention. Speaking to the AKP parliamentary group earlier today, Erdoğan alleged that “terrorists are wreaking havoc in Esenyurt” and asserted, “We will not reverse our steps.”
Meanwhile, MHP Secretary-General İsmet Büyükataman urged legal scrutiny of other localities where the CHP and DEM Party cooperated in recent elections, particularly mentioning appointments of DEM-backed members to the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality Assembly by the city’s CHP mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu. (VK)