A Turkish court on Monday ordered the release of Ahmet Özer, the opposition mayor of İstanbul’s Esenyurt district, in a terrorism-related case, but he will remain behind bars due to a separate investigation targeting the İstanbul Municipality, Turkish Minute reported.
Özer, a member of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) who was elected mayor of Esenyurt in March 2024, has been in pretrial detention since October 30, when he was arrested on charges of membership in a terrorist organization, namely 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 court ruled to release Özer, an ethnic Kurd, in the PKK case after his second hearing in İstanbul, but his pretrial detention is continuing in connection with another case related to the İstanbul Municipality, where he previously held a position. In that case, Özer has been arrested on charges of bid rigging and will remain in prison under that order.
The ruling came just days after the PKK symbolically laid down its arms in northern Iraq following peace talks with its jailed leader, Abdullah Öcalan, though it was not immediately clear whether the timing of the decision was connected.
The PKK, which has been waging a bloody campaign in Turkey’s southeast since 1984, is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.
Özer appeared in person at the hearing held at the İstanbul 14th High Criminal Court in the Marmara Prison complex in Silivri. Several high-profile opposition figures were present, including CHP parliamentary group leader Gökhan Günaydın, acting İstanbul Mayor Nuri Aslan, CHP İstanbul provincial chair Özgür Çelik and Dilek Kaya İmamoğlu, the wife of jailed İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
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.
CHP slams legal process as politically motivated
Following the hearing, Günaydın spoke to reporters outside the prison, calling the case “entirely baseless and political.”
“We have seen that this trial has no legal foundation. He’s been in jail for eight and a half months, and the charges are based on a phone call he had more than 10 years ago,” Günaydın said. “Since October 30, Esenyurt has been governed by the district governor, not the people’s elected mayor. This is a blow to democracy.”
Günaydın added that the opposition would continue fighting to have Özer and other detained mayors, including İmamoğlu, released. “The will of the people in Esenyurt must be restored,” he said.
İmamoğlu, a senior CHP member and his party’s presidential candidate for the next election, was detained on March 19 and later arrested on corruption charges criticized as politically motivated. His arrest, widely seen as targeting the biggest political rival to longtime President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the 2028 presidential election, sparked Turkey’s worst protests since 2013.
Özer: They couldn’t accept a Kurdish mayor
In a previous hearing, Özer claimed his prosecution was politically and ethnically motivated.
“As a Kurd from Van, some people couldn’t accept that I became a mayor,” he said. “The prosecution is trying to distinguish between Kurds in the west and those in the east. The people accusing us of separatism are the ones who divide.”
He denied any ties to terrorism. “I’ve never committed a crime. I’ve never stood trial before this. I’ve taught hundreds of teachers, some of whom became prosecutors and judges themselves. Could such a person be a terrorist?” he said.
Özer also pointed to his long academic career and said the terrorism charges were politically motivated.
A university professor, Özer was elected mayor of Esenyurt with 49 percent of the vote. His candidacy was also backed by the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party). Esenyurt is Turkey’s most densely populated district, home to nearly 1 million people.
Following his arrest, Özer was replaced by İstanbul Deputy Governor Can Aksoy, appointed as a government trustee. His removal triggered protests and widespread criticism, with opposition figures calling it a violation of the democratic process and politically motivated.
Meanwhile, a sweeping crackdown on the CHP that started with the arrest of Özer has intensified over the past year, with 17 mayors jailed and one put under house arrest so far.
The government has defended the arrests as lawful and unrelated to political considerations. However, opposition leaders and rights advocates say the judiciary is being used as a tool to eliminate political rivals.
