Arrested Ahmet Özer: The groundwork for appointing a trustee to the municipality has been laid.

CHP's Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer was detained at his home in the early hours of the morning as part of an investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office's Terror and Organized Crimes Investigation Bureau aimed at identifying the members and activities of the terrorist organization PKK/KCK. After his procedures at the police station, Özer was referred to the courthouse, where he was arrested on charges of membership in a terrorist organization following his statement to the prosecutor's office.

AHMET ÖZER'S STATEMENT IN COURT REVEALED

In his court statement, Ahmet Özer stated that he did not accept the accusations against him, emphasizing that it was a political case, that he was an academic and a professor, that he had worked in various levels of the state for 40 years, that he had worked within the Ministry of National Education, and that he had held positions such as dean, founding dean, and member of the senate and board of directors at universities. He highlighted that there had been no investigations or prosecutions against him during this time, that he had never even been to the courthouse, and that such a situation had never occurred until now.

"THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE IS BEING USURPED"

Özer stated: "After becoming the Mayor of Esenyurt, I have been successfully serving as mayor for 7 months by receiving the votes of one out of every two people, as it is a very large district. A political orientation is being made, the will of the people is being usurped, such a situation is unacceptable, it is being done to create a public outcry to disrupt the order in Istanbul, and it will have consequences both politically and in terms of governance."

"I AM BEING ACCUSED WITH BASELESS ALLEGATIONS"

As can be understood from the file, I am being accused of allegations that have no basis in any document. For example, I am an author of about 40 books, some of which are related to regional development, some are novels, and some are about the Kurdish issue. I have published around 200 national articles and about 300 presentations. I am a person whose opinion has been sought on various national television channels in Turkey. Given this, it is claimed and accused that my name was mentioned against my will in the meeting with Öcalan in 2002. I am an author; anyone can read and express their opinion. Is my name being mentioned there any evidence? Does mentioning another person's name create this crime?"

"IT HAS BEEN FABRICATED TO REMOVE ME FROM OFFICE"

Özer, stating that he has no connection with any organization, rejected the accusations, saying, "This is an indication that this case is political. It has been said that not Mehmet Kaya himself, but his relatives are members of a terrorist organization. I do not know him; his mother has passed away, and I expressed my condolences, saying that he had a valuable mother. What does this mean? I do not remember saying such things; if I did, where is the crime? All of these have been fabricated and concocted with political maneuvers to remove me from office, and the groundwork for appointing a trustee has been laid. Even while I was still at the prosecutor's office, news articles stated that a trustee had been appointed. I do not remember visiting a place called Medyader; I am a person with a political identity, and dozens of people call me every day. I cannot even respond to some of them; I do not know who those people are, and I cannot ask for their background checks. Even when passing by, greetings are exchanged, and there are people who want to take photos with me at the places I go. A scheme has been drawn; what connection do I have with it?" he said.

"REMZI KARTAL WAS A DEPUTY FROM VAN"

Ahmet Özer continued his remarks as follows: "I do not know a person named Faik Kaplan; I have a house here, and I had rented that house. According to what I learned from my daughter, the person who rented it is a relative of theirs, and if investigated, I have received rent money every month. I do not know who this man is; my daughter, who is a lawyer, has ensured that my rent is deposited every month through real estate agents. I cannot know the origin or source of the money. Remzi Kartal is also from Van; he was a deputy from Van, and we belong to the same tribe. I have had no contact with him since he went abroad; I do not share a similar ideology or worldview. I know his family; they are in Van. When I went to Van, I expressed my condolences to them; they will almost draw a conclusion from this as well. These are humanitarian acts we perform."

"WE ORGANIZED THE CONCERT WITH THE ESENYURT DISTRICT GOVERNOR"

Regarding the accusation related to a concert held in Esenyurt, Özer stated, "We organized a concert; we held the opening together with Esenyurt District Governor Fatih Çobanoğlu. The first concert was held with the governor and his wife along with 46 associations. Dozens of artists were invited; I have never seen Rojda in my life except on that stage; she is someone who sings songs here and there. Dozens of people were invited, and I did not invite them; the officials there took care of these matters, and the officials arranged who would come and when. About 450,000 people attended the festival; it has been said that slogans related to Öcalan were chanted by groups of 3-5 people there. If slogans were chanted, the police should have intervened; I did not see or hear it. If I had seen or heard it, I would have intervened. It is a huge area where 70,000 - 80,000 people came; how can I keep track of who did what and where?" he said.

"THE LAW MUST BE PROPERLY ADMINISTERED"

Özer, stating that he is the mayor of the CHP and that rallies attended by millions have been held, and that it is not possible to know and intervene with all those who chant slogans, used the following expressions: "The law and justice must be properly administered; when this does not happen, it leads to societal damage and corrupts society. I hope you will make a fair decision in this regard. I was detained at 5:30 AM in a dawn operation. I am the mayor of a city with a population of 1.5 million; if I had been called, I would have come running to give my statement."

My office has been searched; although my lawyer expressed his desire to accompany me, he was not allowed inside. It is an office where hundreds of people enter and exit, and hundreds of magazines come in. I do not know which magazines are coming; why am I held responsible for a magazine that comes there? I do not know what is written in the magazine; I do not know if it is a crime or not; these are also allegations. I am a scientist who has been raised in this country and is a professor at a young age; I am an academician, I have been a member of the CHP for more than 10 years, I ran for election in the last election, I worked as an advisor to İmamoğlu, and I served with Recep Yazıcıoğlu in the State Planning Organization. There has been nothing against me until now; I am being removed from my position by bringing up certain events from 10-15 years ago.

"I HAVE NO DOUBT OF ESCAPING OR HIDING"

Reiterating that the case is political, Özer said, "I reject all the allegations and crimes. In 2016 or 2017, I received a document from the Mersin Chief Public Prosecutor's Office stating that a wiretap had been conducted on me. The prosecutor called me, and it was determined that nothing was found in that wiretap, and I was informed that it was done unlawfully and that I could file a complaint against the prosecutor if I wished. I said yes, I would file a complaint if necessary. When the wiretap was conducted previously, no criminal evidence was found. I have a fixed residence, and I have no doubt of escaping or hiding. The evidence has largely been collected, and I have no possibility of affecting any potential evidence. I request to be released immediately, and if your court reaches a different conclusion, I request to be released under judicial control provisions," he said.