Istanbul district mayor’s arrest sparks protests: “A coup against people’s will”

The opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) mayor of Istanbul’s Esenyurt district, Prof. Ahmet Özer, was arrested on terrorism  charges and removed from his position, sparking protests in Istanbul.

Opposition parties and supporters gathered in Esenyurt on Oct. 31 to protest what CHP leader Özgür Özel called a “coup” against democracy.

The situation became tense when police initially prevented a CHP campaign bus from entering the square.

Speaking at the protest, CHP Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu said these appointments are “an attempt to override electoral results through judicial means.”

“They want to subjugate the nation from now on to win and dominate the next election, but you won’t be able to do it,” he said.

Mayor arrested

The protests came after the arrest of Professor Ahmet Özer, who was elected as Esenyurt’s mayor in March elections with 49 percent of the votes through an alliance between CHP and Kurdish-issue focused DEM Party.

Özer was detained on Oct. 30 in a raid and arrested on charges of membership in the PKK/KCK armed terrorist organiztation.

The Interior Ministry appointed Can Aksoy, Deputy Governor of Istanbul as a trustee to replace Özer.

The prosecution claims that Özer had contact with 694 alleged organization members over the past decade and had communicated 14 times with Remzi Kartal, a high-ranking PKK leader wanted on a red notice, in 2015.

In his court statement, Özer strongly denied the charges.

“These are all fabrications, forced political maneuvers invented to remove me from office. They’ve built the groundwork for appointing a trustee,” he said.

CHP leader: “Targetting Istanbul’s municipality”

The trustee practices has been increasingly used against opposition-held municipalities, particularly in the country’s Kurdish-majority regions.

After the arrest, CHP leader Özgür Özel suggested that the move to be a part of a larger strategy, potentially targetting Istanbul’s metropolitan municipality.

“The malicious intent that started with Esenyurt could continue through the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Thes wouldn’t be beyond the opposing mindset we are facing,” he said.

“The arrest of our mayor and appointment of a trustee is a coup,” Özel said, calling people to gather in Esenyurt to protest.

DEM Party co-chair Tülay Hatimoğulları addressed the crowd in Esenyurt, emphasizing the previous trustee appointments in Kurdish-majority cities.

“We know the trustee regime from Van and Hakkari, and we’ve learned how hostile it is to democracy. We will win through resistance. We will claim what is rightfully ours and resist together for a democratic republic. In the second century of the Republic, we will win together on the common ground of democracy with all our differences in Turkey,” she said.