Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer was arrested on Wednesday night. Özer was taken into custody on Wednesday morning and was brought before a judge with a request for arrest on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” following his testimony to the prosecutor’s office.
It was stated that the Turkish Ministry of Interior appointed a trustee to Esenyurt Municipality, effectively seizing its control.
While CHP (Republican People’s Party) Mayor Prof. Dr. Ahmet Özer was giving his statement to the prosecutor, pro-government media announced that the Turkish Ministry of Interior had appointed Oğuzhan Bingöl, the Kaymakam (district governor) of Beşiktaş, as the trustee for Esenyurt Municipality.
Özgür Çelik, the CHP Istanbul Provincial Chair, stated on social media: “I have spoken with the official authorities in Istanbul; there is no official correspondence or information regarding the appointment of a trustee to Esenyurt Municipality as reported in some media.”
Ali Ekber Cömert, the Deputy Chair of the CHP Istanbul Provincial Organization, also denied the claims that a trustee had been appointed to Esenyurt Municipality, stating: “There is currently an attempt to create a perception for the appointment of a trustee.”
