Ahmet Özer, a member of Turkey’s main opposition party CHP and mayor of Istanbul’s Esenyurt district, was taken into custody early on Wednesday morning (October 30) over alleged ties to PKK, a separatist militant group designated as a terrorist organization.

Following Özer’s detainment, his house as well as the Esenyurt municipal building were raided by authorities.
Özer is accused of having had contact with 694 PKK members over a ten year period, including 14 exchanges with PKK administrator Remzi Kartal.
Özer was originally elected as mayor of the Esenyurt district in March 2024, following an agreement in which the pro-Kurdish DEM Party chose not to run a candidate in the district, allowing Özer to gain support from Kurdish voters.
Following his detainment, Özer was sent to the Çağlayan courthouse to give a statement. Videos from outside the courthouse on Wednesday showed Özer’s daughter Seraf Özer, a lawyer, exchanging tense words with police forces.
Reactions from across the political spectrum
CHP chairman Özgür Özel criticized Özer’s detention saying: “We see this for the ugly plot that it is. We will not be a part of this plot nor give into it.” On Thursday, Özel held a rally in the Esenyurt district criticizing Özer’s removal.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan responded to Özel saying: “You cannot pretend to be upset when terror group members are wreaking havoc with Esenyurt.”
The opposition mayor of Istanbul Ekrem İmamoğlu, also a member of Özer’s CHP, criticised his colleague’s removal saying “We are fed up with this administration constantly trying to usurp the will of the public.“
The pro-Kurdish DEM Party also described Özer’s deposition as a.“usurpation of the public will” in a statement.
The ‘trustee’ system Ahmet Özer
Starting in 2019, Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP). government began deposing dozens of elected mayors from pro-Kurdish parties.in Turkey’s southeast over alleged ties to the PKK,. replacing these officials with AKP trustees. Following the victories of the DEM Party in numerous southeastern provinces in the. March 2024 local elections, many in. Turkey’s opposition feared the return of similar tactics. Despite these fears, the ‘trustee’ system has not been employed to the same.extent as five years prior.
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Following a controversial attempt in early April to disqualify. DEM Party mayor-elect Abdullah Zeydan of. Van province and replace him with the second-place. AKP candidate, Zeydan’s victory was reinstated by Turkey’s Supreme Election Council. The move was seen as a victory for the. Turkish opposition and allayed fears that the AKP would bring back the ‘trustee system’.
In June, however, the DEM Party Mayor of Hakkari province. Mehmet Akış was removed from office over alleged PKK. membership and replaced with an AKP appointee.
Despite the widespread appointment of AKP trustees since 2019,.Ahmet Özer’s removal and replacement represents the first time the system.has been used to target a CHP official. On Thursday (October 31), photos showed newly appointed. Esenyurt trustee Can Aksoy seated in Özer’s office in the district’s municipal building.
Written/translated for Medyascope by Leo Kendrick