Özgür Çelik Alleges Coercion After Bayrampaşa Mayor’s Detention: “They threatened him with death and said, ‘Join the AK Party or there will be an operation’”

CHP Istanbul chair says Bayrampaşa Mayor Hasan Mutlu and councilors faced threats and blackmail following demolition of an alleged illegal café on public land.

What happened

Following the detention of Bayrampaşa Mayor Hasan Mutlu as part of an investigation led by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, CHP Istanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik addressed supporters outside the municipality. Çelik claimed Mutlu and several council members had been threatened for months, including with death, after the municipality demolished an allegedly illegal café built on public property beside a shopping mall.

According to Çelik, unnamed individuals he described as “interest groups” targeted the mayor and the municipality with “lies and slander” for four to five months. Ten days before the raid, prosecutors requested files from specific municipal departments, he said.

Allegations of coercion to switch parties

Çelik further alleged that figures “serving in various ranks of the AK Party” pressured Mutlu to switch parties, warning that “an operation” would follow if he refused.

“For ten days they threatened Hasan Mutlu and our councilors. After threats came blackmail. People from different levels of the AK Party called him and said: ‘Join the AK Party or there will be an operation.’ Last night they called again and said, ‘Tomorrow there will be an operation—join the AK Party.’ They are trying to take back at the table what they lost at the ballot box on March 31,” Çelik asserted.

The AK Party had not issued an immediate response to these specific claims at the time of writing.

“Enemy law” and family detentions claim

Describing the dawn raid, Çelik said the operation extended beyond municipal officials:

• Detained: the mayor, deputy mayors, eight council members, and municipal employees.

• Also taken into custody, per Çelik: family members of the mayor, councilors, and staff.
  He characterized this as “enemy law”, vowing CHP would oppose such practices and insisting, “Hasan Mutlu is the duly elected mayor of Bayrampaşa.”

Why the café matters

Per Çelik, the dispute stems from an unauthorized café built on public land, where sales had already started. The municipality, he said, documented transactions (receipts/invoices) and moved to demolish the structure under a “public-interest, social-democratic” approach.

“Mutlu said, ‘I stand with the people, not profiteers’—that’s why he’s at Vatan Security Directorate today,” Çelik claimed.

Broader political backdrop, per CHP

Framing the case in national terms, Çelik argued CHP-run municipalities have faced financial pressure (cuts to Iller Bank revenue shares, limited bank credit) and judicial harassment for “300 days”, yet continued to deliver services (pensions centers, city canteens, dorms, scholarships, nurseries). He alleged a wave of detentions targeting CHP mayors and asserted that 11 CHP district mayors in Istanbul are currently in prison, adding that Ekrem İmamoğlu—presented here as the “opposition’s presidential hope”—is also imprisoned. (These are CHP’s claims; official figures and case statuses should be independently verified.)

Call for Mutlu’s release

Çelik praised Mutlu’s local record—longtime party organizer, educator, and school founder—and called for his immediate release and return to office.

“We will not be intimidated or step back. With our allies, we will restore democracy and social peace,” he said.

Rumor mill: claims of CHP defections

Separately, political commentator Sinan Burhan told TV100 that eight more CHP figures may defect to the AK Party after the Sept. 15 congress-court case:

• Alleged breakdown: 3 from Ankara, 4 from Konya, and 1 from a major district in Samsun.
  Burhan cited recent moves—Aydın Metropolitan Mayor Özlem Çerçioğlu’s resignation from CHP and Beykoz Deputy Mayor Gürzel joining the AK Party—as part of a broader trend. He said several local leaders are “waiting on the court decision” and are “tired.” (This is a media claim; no official confirmation from the named parties at the time of writing.)

What to watch next

• Legal process: Formal charges, evidence presented, and court decisions in the Bayrampaşa case.

• Official statements: Responses from the AK Party, the Interior Ministry, and the Prosecutor’s Office to CHP’s allegations of threats and family detentions.

• Municipal governance: Whether Bayrampaşa services are disrupted and whether administrators are appointed.

• Party dynamics: Potential defections after Sept. 15 and their impact on local coalitions in Ankara, Konya, and Samsun.

• Public lands enforcement: How Istanbul municipalities continue to handle illegal structures on public property and whether enforcement triggers further investigations.