Testimony of arrested Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer emerges: 'In the meeting held with Öcalan...'

The Istanbul 7th Criminal Judgeship of Peace has ordered the arrest of CHP Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer on charges of "being a member of the PKK/KCK armed terrorist organization."

Özer's testimony to the criminal judgeship of peace has been obtained.

In his testimony, Özer stated that he holds the title of professor, has worked in various levels of the state, including the Ministry of National Education, and has served as a dean at universities.

Explaining that he has never been subject to any investigation or prosecution to date and has been serving as the Mayor of Esenyurt for 7 months, Özer emphasized that the will of the people has been usurped.

"THE PURPOSE OF THE INVESTIGATION IS TO CREATE PUBLIC OUTCRY"

Özer stated that the investigation was conducted with the aim of creating public outcry in Istanbul and noted the following:

"It will have consequences both in terms of the municipality and politically. As can be understood from the file, I am being accused with claims that are not based on any evidence. For example, I am an author who has written around 40 books. Some of these are novels, some are about regional development, and some are about the Kurdish issue. Around 200 of my national articles and around 300 papers have been published.

This being the case, an accusation is being made regarding the claim that my name was mentioned in a meeting held with Öcalan in 2002, outside of my will. I am an author; anyone can read and express their views. Is the fact that my name was mentioned there any evidence? Does the mention of another person's name create this crime? I have no connection with any organization; I completely reject this."

In his testimony, Özer claimed that the investigation was political, stating that it was alleged that the relatives of a person named M.K. were members of a terrorist organization, that he did not know this person, and that he wondered which part of their conversation was considered a crime.

Stating that these allegations were fabricated to remove him from office, Özer said that the groundwork for appointing a trustee to the municipality had been laid.

Özer said that due to his political identity, a large number of people call him every day, and that he does not check the criminal records of those who call.

Ahmet Özer continued his testimony as follows:

"Remzi Kartal is also from Van; he was a Van deputy. We are members of the same tribe; I have had no contact with him since he went abroad. I do not have a similar ideology or worldview. I know his family. When I went to Van, I offered my condolences to them; almost a conclusion is going to be drawn from this as well. We held a concert; we organized this concert with the Esenyurt District Governor and opened it together.

Dozens of artists were invited. I have never seen Rojda in my life except for that stage; she is someone who sings songs and folk music here and there. Dozens of people were invited; I did not invite them. The civil servants there dealt with these matters. 450 thousand people came to the festival; it was said that slogans related to Öcalan were chanted by 3-5 people in the groups. If I had heard it, we would have intervened."

"IF I HAD BEEN SUMMONED, I WOULD HAVE COME RUNNING"

Stating that he was detained in an operation at 05.30 in the morning, Özer noted that if he had been summoned, he would have come running to give his statement.

Expressing that his office is a room where hundreds of people come and hundreds of magazines enter, Özer said, "Why am I being held responsible for a magazine that comes there? I don't know what is written in the magazine, whether it is a crime or not."

Noting that he was summoned to testify by the Mersin Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in 2016 or 2017, Özer argued that no crime was detected in the illegal wiretapping against him and requested his release.

News Source: AA