A Turkish court on Tuesday ordered the release of Ahmet Özer, the jailed mayor of İstanbul’s Esenyurt district from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), who had been held in pretrial detention for more than a year on organized crime and terrorism-related charges, Turkish Minute reported.
Lawyer Hüseyin Ersöz announced the decision on social media, saying the İstanbul 1st High Criminal Court ruled to free Özer under a preliminary hearing decision. “Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer has been granted release. He will be freed from Marmara Prison later today,” Ersöz wrote.
Özer, who was elected mayor of Esenyurt in March 2024, has been in pretrial detention since October 30, 2024 when he was arrested on charges of membership in a terrorist organization — the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its umbrella group, the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK). A trustee was appointed to replace him shortly after his arrest.
The release order for Özel came the same day prosecutors unveiled a long-awaited indictment of CHP presidential candidate and İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and 401 other suspects including Özer, which seeks a prison sentence of up to 2,430 years for İmamoğlu, who was arrested in March on corruption charges.
In July an İstanbul court ordered Özer’s release from prison on terrorism-related charges but he remained behind bars due to the separate investigation targeting the İstanbul Municipality, where he previously held a position. In that case, Özer was arrested on charges of bid rigging.
Özer was the first CHP mayor to be arrested and removed from office in an ongoing crackdown targeting the opposition party that began nearly a year ago.
According to a recent CHP report, 16 mayors from the party remain in jail, while government-appointed trustees have taken over 13 municipalities, including İstanbul’s Esenyurt and Şişli districts, in the year-long crackdown.
CHP leader Özgür Özel has repeatedly condemned the arrests as politically motivated, saying the detentions of opposition mayors and municipal officials are part of a broader effort to weaken local democracy and dismantle opposition control in major cities.
Özer is expected to be released from custody later Tuesday evening under judicial supervision.
