İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu joined several hundred demonstrators late on Wednesday to protest the arrest of an elected official accused of membership of an outlawed Kurdish group, Agence France-Presse reported.
The demonstrators gathered in front of the city’s main courthouse to denounce the arrest of Ahmet Özer, the mayor of Esenyurt, a district in İstanbul.
Özer was detained earlier on Wednesday on accusations of membership in a terrorist organization, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The PKK, which has waged an on-off insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 that has killed thousands, is designated as a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies.
Özer’s arrest was announced by his party, the main opposition Republican Peoples’ Party (CHP), on social media.
Writing on X, the CHP denounced the “abstract allegations based on a book written [by Özer] years ago” and promised to “react in the strongest possible manner.”
The demonstrators also denounced the replacement of Özer as mayor and called for more protests to be held on Thursday.
İstanbul Deputy Governor Can Aksoy has been appointed as a trustee to replace Özer.
Özer is a university professor who was elected during municipal elections in March that saw opposition candidates capture the helms of numerous cities and towns, including İstanbul.
