Dr. Selçuk Mızraklı: Turkey is Going Through a Massacre of the Judiciary

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Dismissed and recently arrested Metropolitan Co-Mayor of Diyarbakır Dr. Adnan Selçuk Mızraklı has sent a letter from Bünyan Prison in Kayseri. Mızraklı has made the following call in his letter:

"As an elected mayor and politician in a prison, I call international public opinion, rights organizations and democratic dynamics to take concrete steps against the seizure of the election rights of Kurds in Turkey, to raise their voices to remove the pressure on opponent political parties and movements, and, to struggle for the establishment of justice."

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In the introduction to his letter, Mızraklı has written, "I am writing this letter to you as the Mayor of Diyarbakır, who was elected on the local elections in March 31, 2019 with 62.9% of the votes; however dismissed on August 19, replaced with an appointed trustee; and finally arrested on October 22, 2019." Mızraklı has briefly stated the following in his letter:

'Local administrations have been unlawfully seized'

"One of Turkey's trustee appointed 95 HDP municipalities as of 2016, we got back Diyarbakir Metropolitan Municipality on March 31, 2019 local elections and started to build up the local democracy once again. However, only 4 months later, the central government has appointed a trustee once again and unlawfully seized the local administrations of Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van provinces that it could not succeed to gain through elections.

"This coup, which was addressed to local democracy on August 19, 2019, has been directly against Kurds' right to vote and to be elected, contrary to the perception of 'terror' that the AKP government tries to create in public opinion. The seizure of local people's will was not a reasoned decision of law, but a clear statement that the Kurds cannot elect the people who will rule the cities in which they live.

'Trustee assignment letters prepared before elections'

"The AKP government, which violates Article 127 of the Constitution, which binds the dismissal of mayors to offenses only related to their duties, dismissed us for prosecutions and investigations that were not related with our duty and based on the unlawful amendments made on the Law on Municipalities nr. 5393 through a government decree during the State of Emergency (OHAL) process.

"In fact, the trustee assignment letters were already prepared only one day after the elections, on April 1, 2019, when we even didn't receive our election certificates. Turkey is going through a massacre of the judiciary. Presumption of innocence has long been an exception.

'My participation in activities of HDP cited as reason for my arrest'

"Another reason for my arrest is my participation in the activities of the political party HDP, which I am a member of. HDP is the 3rd largest party in Turkey with 6 million voters and it cannot be a crime to participate in the activities of a political party. Neither the political party activities of a deputy who has the parliamentary immunity, nor a political party employee or an ordinary citizen can be regarded as a crime in any country that defines itself as democratic, except Turkey!

"The investigation files of the other co-mayors, who have been suspended and replaced with the trustees, also include baseless allegations. Even the participation in the press statements, which are the simplest party activities, has been considered as a crime and ground for detention. The false news published in the pro-government press which targets us are used as 'evidence' in the case files. All kinds of disinformation are considered legitimate in order to legitimize the trustee appointments in public.

'Prisons are torture places without rights and law'

"I am one of my numerous comrades and political prisoners who have been imprisoned during this process that the presumption of innocence is violated. When I was arrested, I was left in a solitary cell for the first three days.

"Then, I was sent to Kayseri prison, which is far away from my family, with the women co-mayors of Kayapınar and Kocaköy municipalities who were arrested on the same day as me.

"Prisons are torture places without rights and law. The political prisoners here are under heavy pressure. I know that we will be deprived of even the most innocent human rights in these places where there are intense violations of rights. Justice does not go beyond being a word that adorns the walls of the courts in this country. The entire justice system is in the service of a single political party." (AS/SD)

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