Esenyurt's CHP Mayor Ahmet Özer arrested
Esenyurt's CHP Mayor Ahmet Özer has been arrested. Before the decision was even announced, allegations had surfaced that a trustee had been appointed to the Esenyurt Municipality. Gül Çiftçi, the CHP Deputy Chair responsible for Election and Legal Affairs, made significant statements regarding the arrest decision.
Nagihan Yılkın
This browser does not support the video element.
Nagihan YILKIN
CHP Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer was detained at his home in the morning hours. Özer was referred to the courthouse following his processing at the police station. While Özer's proceedings at the prosecutor's office were ongoing, a flash development occurred.
According to a report in the Sabah newspaper, Beşiktaş District Governor Oğuzhan Bingöl has been appointed as a trustee to the Esenyurt Municipality by the Ministry of Interior.
AHMET ÖZER ARRESTED
While reports of a trustee continue to be debated, information has been released that Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer has been arrested on charges of "being a member of the PKK/KCK armed terrorist organization."
Statement from Gül Çiftçi, CHP Deputy Chair responsible for Election and Legal Affairs:
They sent our mayor to prison with baseless questions dating back 10 years, which were asked during his statements at the police station and the criminal judgeship of peace. As the CHP, we have stood against this lawlessness and will continue to do so...
Unfortunately, the ruling party is attempting to seize the positions of our mayors by instrumentalizing the judiciary, as they could not defeat our party at the ballot box. Just as the CHP emerged victorious from March 31, it will also emerge victorious from this process.
SOCIAL MEDIA POST FROM ÖZGÜR ÖZEL FOLLOWING THE ARREST DECISION:
Those who gave a clean record to our Esenyurt Mayor Prof. Dr. Ahmet Özer 6 months ago have arrested our Mayor today based on abstract allegations and statements in a book he wrote years ago.
Undoubtedly, the real target is the will of our citizens in Esenyurt.
Undoubtedly, we will show the strongest reaction to these actions, dismantle this disgusting plan that ignores the nation and does not respect the people's choices, and we will defeat this vile mindset.
Under these conditions, we have canceled the Antalya Camp that we announced we would hold between November 1-3, informed our MPs to go to Istanbul, and I have also called our Central Executive Board to an extraordinary meeting tomorrow at 13:30 at our Esenyurt District Headquarters.
We will meet with our MPs in Istanbul on November 1-2-3 to evaluate the developments.
We will convene our Party Assembly in Istanbul on Sunday, November 3.
Furthermore, I invite all the people of Esenyurt and all Istanbulites to the front of the Esenyurt Municipality tomorrow at 16:00.
TRUSTEE STATEMENT FROM THE ISTANBUL GOVERNOR'S OFFICE
In a statement made by the Istanbul Governor's Office, it was stated: "There is no instruction or letter received by our governor's office from the Ministry regarding the appointment of a trustee to the Esenyurt Municipality."
CHP Istanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik also included the following statements in a post on his social media account:
I have spoken with official authorities in Istanbul; there is no official correspondence or information in the media regarding the appointment of a trustee to the Esenyurt Municipality.
Immediately afterward, CHP Istanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik made the following call on his social media account:
I invite our entire organization and all Istanbulites who stand for democracy to oppose this lawlessness in front of the Çağlayan Courthouse against the unlawful process being carried out against our Esenyurt Mayor Prof. Dr. Ahmet Özer.
DEM PARTY ALSO ISSUED A CALL
Following the referral of CHP Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer to the criminal judgeship of peace with a request for arrest, the DEM Party issued the following call:
The unlawful detention of Esenyurt Mayor Prof. Dr. Ahmet Özer and the attempts to appoint a trustee to the municipality are a coup against the will of the people. We call on all our people to come to the front of the Istanbul (Çağlayan) Courthouse now to support Ahmet Özer, who took office through a city consensus and embraces all the people of Esenyurt.
CHP CENTRAL EXECUTIVE BOARD (MYK) TO MEET IN ISTANBUL
In a statement made by the CHP following the developments, it was shared that the Central Executive Board (MYK) will meet in Esenyurt around noon today.
Following the trustee news, party members waiting in front of the courthouse began chanting slogans such as "the day will come, the tide will turn, the AKP will be held accountable to the people" and "shoulder to shoulder against fascism."
WHO IS OĞUZHAN BİNGÖL?
After graduating from the Department of Finance at the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences of Gazi University, he began his service as a District Governor candidate in Yozgat by the Ministry of Interior in 2004.
He served as acting District Governor in the Han district of Eskişehir and the Akkışla district of Kayseri, respectively. While serving as the District Governor of Harmancık in Bursa, he was appointed as the District Governor of Dargeçit in Mardin in 2008. After serving in Dargeçit for 2 years, he was appointed as Deputy Governor of Mardin.
After serving as the acting District Governor of Bismil in Diyarbakır in 2011, Oğuzhan Bingöl was appointed as the District Governor of Baskil in Elazığ by the Ministry of Interior via a decree in the same year.
After taking office as the District Governor of Baskil on October 5, 2011, he continued his duty as the District Governor of Midyat for 4 years.
Oğuzhan Bingöl, who was appointed as the Head of Department at the General Directorate of Provincial Administration within the Ministry of Interior on November 10, 2017, was appointed as the District Governor of Yüreğir with the Presidential Decree dated 01/08/2018 and numbered 2018-157, and began his duty as the District Governor of Yüreğir on 19/09/2018.