The Mersin Province Akdeniz District Municipality Co-Chairs Hoşyar Sarıyıldız ve Nuriye Arslan and municipal assembly members Özgür Çağlar, Hikmet Bakırhan and Neslihan Oruç from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) have been detained in police raids carried out on their homes.
According to the report of the Anadolu Agency, the Mersin Chief Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation on charges of “propaganda of a terrorist organization”, “membership of an armed terrorist organization”, “violation of the Law on the Prevention of the Financing of Terrorism” and “opposition to Law no. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations”.
Five individuals including the chairpersons were detained within the scope of the investigation, while police carried out a search at the Akdeniz Municipality. Access to the municipal building has been sealed off with police barriers.
Mezopotamya Agency has stated that there is a secrecy order on the case file and that a 24-hour lawyer visit restriction has also been brought.
Bozan: Police told us a trustee had been appointed
DEM Party Mersin Member of Parliament stated that their entry into the municipal building had been blocked and that police told them there was an ongoing search in the building.
Ali Bozan said, “Police prevented us from entering the Akdeniz Municipality building, stating that the government trustee had banned entry. Police told us, ‘Government trustees have been appointed to Akdeniz Municipality, the decree will be published on the Mersin Governorate website. The appointment of trustees to elected positions constitutes usurpation, it is the theft of the people’s will. We do not accept the decision to appoint a government trustee to the Akdeniz Municipality”.
In a video message he shared on the social media platform X, Bozan said, “We won the Akdeniz Municipality at the 31 March local elections with the will of ten thousands of people. Today, they want to appoint a government trustee in place of that will. We invite everyone in this city who are on the side of justice to the front of the municipal building at 10 o’clock.”
Ali Bozan (Photograph: MA)
In 2024, trustees were appointed to 7 municipalities
Since the 31 March local elections, government trustees have been appointed to 5 DEM Party and 2 CHP municipalities.
DEM Party’s Hakkari Mayor Mehmet Sıddık Akış was dismissed from this position on 3 June, and Hakkari Governor Ali Çelik was appointed as government trustee in his place.
On 30 October, CHP’s Esenyurt District Mayor Ahmet Özer was also dismissed. Istanbul Deputy Governor Can Aksoy was appointed as government trustee in Özer’s place.
Then, on 4 November, Mardin Metropolitan Mayor Ahmet Türk, Batman Mayor Gülistan Sönük and Şanlıurfa Province Halfeti District Mayor Mehmet Karayılan were dismissed from their positions. In place of Türk, Mardin Governor Tuncay Akkoyun, in place of Sönük, Batman Governor Ekrem Canalp, and in place of Karayılan, Halfeti District Governor Hakan Başoğlu were appointed as government trustees.
On 22 November, by decree of the Interior Ministry, Dersim Mayor Cevdet Konak from DEM Party and Ovacık Mayor Mustafa Sarıgül from the CHP were dismissed from duty. In Konak’s place, Tunceli Governor Bülent Tekbıyıkoğlu and in Sarıgül’s place Ovacık District Governor Hüseyin Şamil Sözen were appointed as government trustees.
(VC/NHRD)
