Trustees have been appointed to the Tunceli (Dêrsim) Municipality, led by the People’s Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, and the Ovacık (Pulur) Municipality, led by the Republican People’s Party (CHP), following the imprisonment of their mayors. This marks the latest development in Turkey’s wave of government interventions targeting local administrations in November 2024.
Tunceli Co-Mayor Cevdet Konak (DEM) and Ovacık Mayor Mustafa Sarıgül (CHP) were sentenced to six years and three months in prison for alleged “membership in a terrorist organisation.” Following the court decisions, residents were removed from municipal buildings, and protests have since taken place outside.
Kenan Çetin, the defence lawyer representing both mayors, criticised the legal process. “The charges do not amount to propaganda for a terrorist organisation. We intend to appeal the verdicts to higher courts, including the European Court of Human Rights,” he said. Konak defended his record, explaining, “Our responsibilities include attending funerals and protecting the environment. If these actions are considered criminal, we will not stop performing them.”
This marks the third wave of trustee appointments in 2024, with earlier interventions targeting municipalities in İstanbul’s Esenyurt district (CHP-led), Mardin (Mêrdîn), Batman (Êlih), and Halfeti (Xelfetî), all led by DEM. Since 2016, 149 municipalities, mostly in Kurdish-majority areas, have been taken over by government-appointed trustees under the pretext of national security.
