Mansur Yavaş broke his silence about Ahmet Özer: Why was there a wait until this date?

The CHP's Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer was taken into custody at his home early yesterday morning on charges of being a member of the "PKK/KCK armed terrorist organization." While statements from CHP mayors regarding the issue have been coming in succession, Ankara Metropolitan Mayor Mansur Yavaş's sharing of an exhibition drew attention.

Following the decision to arrest Özer, the first statement from Yavaş came. Reacting to the arrest decision on his social media account, Mansur Yavaş emphasized that Özer's detention was not in accordance with the law.

In his post, which he made in bullet points, Yavaş used the following expressions:

"1. Firstly, it is not lawful for an elected mayor to be taken into custody at 5:30 in the morning by raiding his home when he could have been summoned by invitation. This is merely an indication that there is an intention to discredit him.

2. It is stated that the events and allegations mentioned in the arrest request of the public prosecutor published online in the evening have been identified going back 5-10 years. Why has there been a wait until this date?

3. No one has the freedom to commit crimes. While it is possible to prosecute and punish the mayor if there is a crime in accordance with the law, it is against procedure and law to arrest him when there is no possibility of evidence tampering, he has a fixed residence, and similar reasons exist for a trial without detention.

4. Recently, while there are attempts to grant legal status to the leader of a terrorist organization (despite the fact that very concrete and serious evidence is sought for membership in a terrorist organization in the Supreme Court's precedents), the arrest of Ahmet Özer based on vague and abstract accusations is alarming for democracy and the rule of law.

5. Even before the arrest was made, the claims on some websites that a trustee would be appointed to the Esenyurt Municipality and the realization of this claim show that the political dimension of the matter has become undeniable."