Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer has been referred to the courthouse.

```html

Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer was detained today as part of an investigation into "membership in a terrorist organization." A search was conducted at Özer's home and the municipality building.

"14 MEETINGS HELD WITH A TERRORIST WANTED BY RED NOTICE"

In a statement regarding the matter from the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the following was noted: In the investigations conducted by our Chief Public Prosecutor's Office to identify the members and activities of the PKK/KCK terrorist organization; based on the evidence in our investigation file, it was summarized that the suspect Ahmet Özer, who is currently serving as the Mayor of Esenyurt district in Istanbul, has established an organic connection with the terrorist organization in a continuous and intense manner, committing the crime of Being a Member of the PKK/KCK Armed Terrorist Organization. This conclusion was reached due to the documents seized from members of the terrorist organization, which were also delivered to the leadership cadre of the organization located in the Qandil region of Northern Iraq (the appropriateness of his assignment in the so-called democratic autonomy project during a meeting with terrorist organization leader Abdullah Öcalan on Imralı Island), the transcripts obtained as a result of the communication interception measure applied against him, physical surveillance records, and the contents of the examined account movements. Additionally, considering the communication records with 694 different individuals who have criminal records due to their membership in the mentioned terrorist organization over approximately 10 years, and particularly with Remzi Kartal (Co-Chairman of KONGRA-GEL - Member of the KCK Executive Council - one of the individuals wanted by Red Notice) 14 times, it was understood that there is strong suspicion of crime. Therefore, based on the decision obtained from the Istanbul Duty Magistrate, a search was conducted at his residence, workplace, and vehicles, evidence of the crime was seized, and the suspect was detained by the Istanbul Police Department's Counter-Terrorism Branch in accordance with the instructions given for his capture by 06:00 on October 30, 2024. The search operations are still ongoing. We respectfully present this information to the public.

HE WAS REFERRED TO THE COURT

Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer, who was detained in the investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office's Terror and Organized Crimes Investigation Bureau to identify the members and activities of the PKK/KCK terrorist organization, has been referred to the court.

HIS NAME APPEARS IN DOCUMENTS SEIZED FROM A PKK CONVICT IN JULY 2023

It has emerged that an investigation was initiated by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in July 2023 after Özer's name appeared in documents seized from a convicted PKK member in Diyarbakır Prison.

HIS REMARKS ABOUT DEM PARTY BECAME AGENDA

While the repercussions of the detention incident, which has shaken the political agenda, continue, the remarks made by Ahmet Özer regarding the DEM Party during a program have come back to the forefront. Özer stated, "The DEM Party is a party established according to the Constitution and laws, just like the AK Party and MHP. It is a guarantee for the peace of this country. The demonization and criminalization of this is not in line with Turkey's interests. However, some individuals, seeing their own political fortunes and interests above Turkey's interests, are willing to sabotage Turkey's political peace with statements to maintain their own power."