Müşerref Geçer and Emrah Kılıç, the co-mayors of Patnos (Panos) in Ağrı (Agirî), a Kurdish-majority province in Turkey, along with Uğur Laçin, the Human Resources Manager of the municipality, were detained on Friday morning.
The specific reasons for their detention remain unknown, but Geçer was reportedly apprehended in the city centre of Ağrı, while Kılıç was detained in Istanbul. Currently, both co-mayors are being held at the Patnos District Security Directorate.
Geçer and Kılıç, representing the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), took control of the Patnos Municipality from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) after winning the municipal elections on 31 March 2019. While numerous HDP-controlled municipalities in the Kurdish-majority regions had trustees appointed to them, Patnos was an exception where no trustee was assigned. However, attempts were made to exert financial pressure on the HDP administration of the municipality which inherited a significant debt of 136 million TL in the municipal budget from the previous AKP administration.
When addressing the situation, Geçer disclosed that the previous AKP mayor, Cem Afşin Akbay, had left behind a substantial amount of debt. This debt has resulted in the municipality facing challenges in meeting the payment of staff salaries.
