Hundreds in Turkey protest the arrest and ouster of opposition mayor

Hundreds of group person gathered successful Istanbul to protestation against nan apprehension and removal from agency of a politician from Turkey’s main guidance statement for alleged links to a banned Kurdish militant group

ISTANBUL -- Hundreds gathered Thursday successful Istanbul to protestation against the apprehension and removal from office of a politician from Turkey's main guidance statement for his alleged links to a banned Kurdish militant group.

Ahmet Ozer, politician of Istanbul’s Esenyurt territory and a personnel of nan Republican People’s Party, aliases CHP, was detained connected Wednesday by anti-terrorist constabulary complete his alleged relationship to nan Kurdistan Workers’ Party, aliases PKK.

Turkey's authorities connected Thursday replaced Ozer pinch Istanbul’s lawman governor, a move nan CHP’s leader, Ozgur Ozel and different politicians described arsenic a “coup.”

The mayor’s apprehension comes arsenic Turkey is debating a tentative bid process to extremity a 40-year conflict betwixt nan PKK and nan Turkish authorities that has led to tens of thousands of deaths.

Demonstrators filled a quadrate successful Esenyurt aft nan authorities banned a rally extracurricular nan municipality building. Some carried banners that read: ”(We want) an elected politician not an appointed mayor” and called for nan resignation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government.

“In our view, this (government), which acts against nan rule and violates nan constitution, has carried retired a governmental coup. We will ne'er judge it,” said Tulay Hatimogullari, nan leader of nan pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party, whose supporters joined nan rally successful a show of solidarity.

Ozel, whose CHP made important gains successful section elections earlier this year, called for early elections.

Ozer, 64, is simply a erstwhile world primitively from Van successful eastbound Turkey. He was elected politician of Esenyurt, a occidental suburb successful Istanbul’s European side, successful March section elections.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said an investigation recovered Ozer had maintained contacts pinch PKK figures for much than 10 years, according to nan state-run Anadolu Agency.

Politicians and members of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish activity person often been targeted complete alleged links to nan PKK, which is considered a panic statement by Turkey, nan U.S. and nan European Union.

Legislators person been stripped of their parliamentary seats and mayors removed from office. Several lawmakers arsenic good arsenic thousands of statement members person been jailed connected terror-related charges since 2016.

Other guidance parties person been mostly unscathed but nan CHP metropolitan politician of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, is presently appealing a situation condemnation and governmental prohibition imposed by a tribunal successful December 2022 for “insulting” members of Turkey’s predetermination committee successful 2019.

Imamoglu accused Erdogan's authorities of “plotting a soiled game" to snatch Esenyurt municipality distant from nan guidance “by declaring (Ozer) a violent for fictitious reasons.”