Kars (Qers) trustee, governor Türker Öksüz, who attained a position in the Kars Municipality, annulled the city council and deleted the municipality’s Kurdish-language social media account.
Background information
Ankara’s Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office detained 82 people in seven provinces within the scope of the investigation launched into the 6-8 October ‘Kobanî protests’ of 2014. Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Kars Municipality co-Mayors Ayhan Bilgen and Sırrı Süreyya Önder were taken into custody as part of this operation.
The 20 HDP members were sent to the Penal Court of Peace on duty by the prosecutor’s office for arrest. Seventeen of the HDP politicians were arrested.
The HDP members who have been arrested are the HDP’s Kars co-Mayor Ayhan Bilgen, Berfin Köse, the HDP’s Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) member Ali Ürküt, HDP Foreign Relations Commission member Nazmi Gür, HDP former Central Executive Committee member Alp Altınörs, former member of the HDP Central Executive Board Can Memiş, HDP former deputy Ayla Akat Ata, Gülfer Akkaya, HDP former MYK member Bircan Yorulmaz, Professor Beyza Üstün, Dilek Yağlı, Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) former co-Chairs Emine Ayna and Günay Kubilay Bülent Parmaksız, Pervin Oduncu, İsmail Şengün, Cihan Erdal and Zeki Çelik.
Minutes after the court’s ruling, the Interior Ministry appointed a trustee to Kars Municipality, replacing Kars co-Mayor Ayhan Bilgen with Governor Türker Öksüz.