On 29 November, Ayvaz Hazır, the joint mayor of Bahçesaray (Miks) in Van (Wan), Turkey, was sentenced to three years and 11 months in prison on charges of “membership of an organisation”. Immediately thereafter, Turkish authorities seized the Miks municipality, appointing Harun Arslan Ergon as a trustee, ousting the democratically elected joint mayors Ayvaz Hazır and Nebahat Benekê.
This decision, combined with the police raid on the municipal building, sparked widespread outrage, with hundreds of citizens gathering outside to protest the Turkish government’s actions.
In response, the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, issued a statement condemning the move and encouraging citizens to exercise their democratic right to protest against the Turkish state’s policy of appointing trustees in Kurdish cities.
“By justifying the sentencing of Ayvaz Hazır, the government has created a pretext for appointing a trustee to Miks municipality. This illegal and illegitimate coup undermines our will. We call on our people to exercise their legal right to protest,” the party said.
In an interview with Mezopotamya Ajansı, Ayvaz Hazır condemned his politically motivated sentencing, asserting, “I would have been acquitted if I were not the co-mayor. What we see here is the application of enemy law.”
“They aim to take Miks, which they could not win through elections, by orchestrating such coups. Although they delayed giving us our mazbat for 15 days, we resisted then, and we will resist now. This is not just my trial—it is a trial against the will of the people. This is a coup against the democratic aspirations of our people,” Hazır further elaborated.
Hazır was elected as the co-mayor of Miks on 31 March, representing the DEM Party. The court sentenced him in a case filed nine years ago, alleging that he had “committed a crime on behalf of an illegal organisation without being a member of it.”
