ISTANBUL: Turkish opposition political parties protested on Thursday against what they said was the politically-motivated arrest of Ahmet Ozer, the 64-year-old opposition mayor of Istanbul’s Esenyurt district, on charges of alleged connections to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The arrest prompted strong criticism from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the pro-Kurdish Democracy Party (DEM), who denounced the move as a “political coup.”
Following Ozer’s early Wednesday arrest, the government appointed a trustee to replace him, fueling opposition claims of undermining democracy. In response, opposition groups organized a protest outside Esenyurt town hall, only to be met with police restrictions and an area-wide ban on gatherings.
Despite the restrictions, approximately a thousand protesters assembled at a different location to voice their dissent, waving banners and chanting, “The government-appointed trustee will go, but we will stay!”
The Turkish Interior Ministry stated that Ozer was detained for alleged “membership in the PKK terrorist organization,” claiming that he had been in contact with people linked to the PKK for the past decade.
The PKK, considered a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies, has been engaged in a prolonged insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.
After being taken to Caglayan courthouse on Wednesday night, Ozer denied the allegations. Meanwhile, protests erupted outside the courthouse, with Istanbul’s influential opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu joining the demonstrators.
“What they’re doing is nothing more than protecting their power, which is steeped in corruption and lawlessness,” Imamoglu told the gathered crowd. Imamoglu is seen as a prominent figure within the CHP and a potential candidate in the 2028 presidential election.
