A mayor from Türkiye’s opposition arrested for his alleged links to the PKK gave jobs to six members of the terrorist group following his election in March, according to a report from the Turkish newspaper Sabah.
Ahmet Özer, mayor of Istanbul’s Esenyurt district and a member of the Republican People's Party (CHP), was detained last month by anti-terrorist police over his connection to the PKK, blacklisted as a terror organization by Türkiye, the U.S. and the European Union.
The six PKK members worked in the Esenyurt district municipality’s cultural affairs and cleaning directorates, according to documents obtained from Özer’s office.
Police found five people named in the lists of personnel hired during Özer’s term were connected to the PKK terrorists.
An Engin E.D., serving as a sociologist at the municipality since August 2024, is a member of the PKK’s so-called youth branch with a past criminal record, documents showed.
A Barış C., hired in July 2024, and a Gökhan B., hired in October 2024, were both processed on charges of being a member of an armed terrorist organization, while a Şenol K., also hired in October 2024, has a brother wanted for being a PKK member.
Özer was reportedly affiliated closely with the Peoples’ Equality Party (DEM Party) before he was fielded as a candidate by CHP in the latest municipal elections. DEM is known for its intricate links to the terrorist group and three of its own mayors were also sacked earlier this month after they were convicted of membership of PKK.
Authorities also found Özer sought support for his March 31 election campaign from MEBYA-DER, an organization with links to the PKK, and paid TL 482,750 ($14,047) to a figure with ties to the PKK during that period.
He was determined to have held phone calls with 694 suspects linked to the PKK. He had also planned to meet with PKK-linked Mehmet Kaya in Van province, prompting security forces to place him under surveillance.
The mayor went to Van on Dec.15 and met with nine PKK members, after which he visited MEBYA-DER. The association was found to have theoretical and ideological works that infuse the ideas of the terrorist organization.
Moreover, two days before the local elections, on March 29, Özer received $40,000 in his bank account from a sender whose identity could not be determined.
Other documents seized from Özer’s house, office and vehicle revealed the now-sacked mayor was being considered for a position in the PKK’s so-called democratic autonomy project during a meeting with PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan on the prison island Imralı.
CHP leader Özgür Özel has sought to rally other mayors to protest Özer’s arrest, but most mayors did not comply with his call, while several have shunned those who came out in support of Özer in Istanbul.
During local elections, the CHP had come under fire for "covertly" cooperating with the DEM Party, then known as the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP). In the case of Esenyurt, both parties had agreed on Özer as a joint candidate, as the HDP refused to nominate a candidate for the district.
Özer’s detention came amid increased debate around the end of terrorism and heightened security against PKK attacks in Türkiye after the terrorists killed five and injured 22 in an attack on the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) in Ankara last month.
