First statement from Esenyurt Municipality: 'We are at peace with our conscience and the law'

A detention warrant has been issued for Osman Yalçın, who served as the Deputy Mayor responsible for the Directorate of Science Affairs, the Directorate of Parks and Gardens, the Directorate of Licensing and Inspection, and the Directorate of Municipal Police during the term of Esenyurt Mayor Prof. Dr. Ahmet Özer, who was arrested and removed from office, with a trustee appointed in his place. Oktay Kılıç, a Deputy Mayor of Esenyurt and a colleague of Yalçın, spoke to 12punto regarding the arrest warrant.

'DIFFERENT FROM THE GROUNDS FOR ÖZER'S ARREST'

Stating that the decision was not legal but politically motivated by the ruling power, Kılıç said, “They do not need evidence for a detention warrant. We say the same thing for all our colleagues; we did our jobs properly and were in no way involved in anything other than the interests of this public. We are at peace with our conscience and the law, but politically, they are the ones making the decisions right now.”

Stating that they cannot reach him at the moment, Kılıç said regarding the grounds for Yalçın's detention warrant, “We estimate that the grounds for the detention warrant issued for Osman Yalçın are different from the grounds for the arrest of Prof. Dr. Ahmet Özer.”