Turkey’s Ministry of Interior has appointed İstanbul Deputy Governor Can Aksoy as trustee to Esenyurt Municipality following the arrest and remand of Mayor Ahmet Özer on allegations of links to a Kurdish group. The Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party have announced nationwide protests, with CHP Group Deputy Chair Gökhan Günaydın calling on citizens “to take to the streets and defend their constitutional rights” against what he termed “a clear seizure of the public’s will”.
Özer was taken into custody during a series of police raids conducted at his home and office on Wednesday morning. Following his detention and questioning at İstanbul Police Headquarters, he was brought before prosecutors at İstanbul’s Çağlayan Courthouse to face allegations of membership in a prohibited organisation, specifically the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK). The court subsequently remanded him in custody pending trial, and he was transferred to jail.
In his defence before the court, Özer strongly rejected the charges, describing them as politically motivated. “I have served diligently as mayor for seven months without any prior investigation or prosecution against me,” he stated. “The claims levied against me, including attending a meeting with Abdullah Öcalan decades ago without my consent, are baseless. Am I to be criminalised simply because my name was mentioned? Such absurdity highlights the political nature of this case.”
Özer also defended his actions as mayor, including organising a concert featuring Kurdish artist Rojda, explaining it was arranged jointly with Esenyurt District Governor Fatih Çobanoğlu and attended by 450,000 people. “If there were illegal slogans as claimed, law enforcement should have intervened. How could I monitor what every person was doing in such a massive crowd?” he argued.
“Tomorrow, I am calling on citizens across Turkey to stand against this blatant attempt to rob them of their voice,” said Günaydın in a press briefing from parliament. He condemned Özer’s arrest as a “politically motivated plot” and confirmed that all CHP deputies, Party Assembly members, and high-ranking officials were en route to İstanbul. “The entire party will stand with Esenyurt Municipality,” he added.
In İstanbul, hundreds of CHP members gathered outside the Çağlayan Courthouse, where İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu denounced the arrest as “an attack on democracy”. He accused the judiciary of bowing to political pressure and condemned media outlets for prematurely publishing news of the trustee appointment. “They openly disregard the people’s choice,” said İmamoğlu, who called recent accusations against Özer, such as interpreting condolence calls as criminal, “a disgrace”.
CHP leader Özgür Özel shared a similar condemnation on social media, calling Özer’s arrest “a vile scheme against the people of Esenyurt.” Özel noted that Özer had received a clean record just six months ago and accused authorities of using outdated charges for political purposes. The CHP subsequently cancelled a scheduled event in Antalya and called an emergency Central Executive Board meeting in İstanbul.
The pro-Kurdish DEM Party, which also backed Özer through a “city consensus” arrangement in Esenyurt, issued a strong statement condemning the developments. “The arrest of Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer and the appointment of a trustee to Esenyurt Municipality is an outright coup against the people’s will and a usurpation of public authority,” the party declared in an official statement. “This attitude disregards local democracy and local authority. We will not remain silent against this lawlessness and political coup!”
The DEM Party announced that its Co-Chairs, Central Executive Committee members, and Members of Parliament would be in İstanbul tomorrow to “collectively defend democracy and the people’s right to have a say.” DEM İstanbul Chair Murat Kalmaz urged “all democracy supporters” to join the protests.
Amid escalating tensions, riot police surrounded Esenyurt Municipality, dispersing CHP supporters from a sit-in at the entrance and enforcing stringent controls on public gatherings as crowds continued to grow nearby.
CHP and DEM leaders plan further demonstrations in support of Esenyurt’s administration as they continue to challenge both Özer’s arrest and the trustee appointment through legal channels.
