The following is an incomplete list of arrested mayors in Turkey.
Mayor | District | Arrested | Released | Status | Charge | Party | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mehdi Zana | Diyarbakır | March 1980 | 1992 | released | Independent | [1] | |
1999–2009 | |||||||
Recep Tayyip Erdogan | Istanbul | 27 March 1999 | July 1999 | released after four months | sentenced to 10 months imprisonment for citing a poem | Welfare Party | [2] |
Feridun Çelik | Diyarbakır | Feb. 2000 | 28 Feb. 2000 | released | For allegedly supporting the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). | HADEP | [3] [4] |
Selim Özalp | Siirt | Feb. 2000 | Feb. 2000 | released | For allegedly supporting the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). | HADEP | [3] [5] |
Feyzullah Karaaslan | Bingöl | Feb. 2000 | Feb. 2000 | released | For allegedly supporting the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). | HADEP | [3] [5] |
2009–2014 | |||||||
Ferit Çelik | Karliova | 5 April 2012 | sentenced to 8 years | Sentenced for aiding and abetting the PKK [6] | BDP | [7] [6] | |
Abdullah Akengin | Dicle | Dec. 2009 | February 2013 [8] | imprisoned for over 3 years | In relation with the KCK trial | BDP | [9] |
Abdullah Demirbaş | Sur | Dec. 2009 | May 2010 | released on medical grounds | Among other charges were "using the Kurdish language in his official capacity" [10] | BDP | [11] [10] |
Aydin Budak | Cizre | 23-24 Dec. 2009 | sentenced to 7 years and 6 months | BDP | [12] [13] | ||
Zülküf Karatekin | Kayapınar | 23-24 Dec. 2009 | sentenced to 9 years | for being “member of an organization“ [14] during a trial of members of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) | BDP | [13] | |
Nejdet Atalay | Batman | 23-24 Dec. 2009 | sentenced to 1 year and 8 months | Sentenced for calling Members of the PKK "warriors of the Kurdish people in mountains" [15] | BDP | [13] | |
Etem Şahin | Suruç | 23-24 Dec. 2009 | sentenced to 1 year and 9 months | For speaking Kurdish during his election campaign and violated the law concerning marches and manifestations. [16] | BDP | [13] | |
Leyla Güven | Viranşehir | 29 Dec. 2009 | Sep. 2014 | more than 4 years in prison | BDP | [17] [18] | |
Ferhat Türk | Kiziltepe | 28 De. 2009 | Feb. 2013 | imprisoned for over 3 years | In relation with the KCK trial | BDP | [19] [8] |
Yusuf Yilmaz | Patnos | 13 Feb. 2010 | sentenced to 7 years 6 months | For membership in an illegal organization in the KCK-trial [20] | BDP | ||
2014–2019 | |||||||
Sevil Rojbin Çetin | Edremit | 14 Aug. 2015 | sentenced to 10 years | For membership in a terror organization [21] | DBP | [21] [22] | |
Dilek Hatipoğlu | Hakkari | 23 Aug. 2015 | sentenced to 15 years. [23] In Sincan prison [24] | After having made declarations of self-rule in August 2015, she was sentenced for disrupting the "unity and integrity of the state" [25] | DBP | [26] | |
Seyit Narin | Sur | 24 Aug. 2015 [27] | sentenced to 11 years and 3 months, [28] arrested in Rize [29] | prosecuted for terror related charges | DBP | [28] | |
Diba Keskin | Erçis | 15 Oct. 2015 | sentenced to 13 years, 9 months | DBP | [30] [31] | ||
Leyla Îmret | Cizre | 22 Jan. 2016 | prosecuted, in exile | DBP | [32] [33] | ||
Zeynep Sipçik | Dargeçit | March 2016 | sentenced to 13.5 years. [34] In Sincan prison [22] | Convicted of membership in a terrorist organization [34] | DBP | ||
Hazal Aras | Diyadin | 3 March 2016 | June 2017 | prosecuted | DBP | [35] [36] | |
Abdullah Çalışkan | Saray | 20 April 2016 [37] | sentenced to 7 years, 6 months | for membership in a terror organization | DBP | [38] | |
Mehmet Muhdi Aslan | İdil | 25 Sept. 2016 | DBP | [31] | |||
Abdurrahman Zorlu | Hani | 1 Oct. 2016 | DBP | [31] | |||
Gültan Kişanak | Diyarbakır | 30 Oct. 2016 | prosecuted | DBP | [39] [40] | ||
Sabite Ekinci | Varto | 10 Nov. 2016 [41] | Imprisoned in Sincan prison. [24] | For membership in a terrorist organization. [42] | DBP | ||
Ahmet Türk | Mardin | Nov. 2016 | Feb 2017 | prosecuted | DBP | [43] [44] | |
Mehmet Ali Bul | Tunceli | Nov. 2016 | sentenced to 8 years and 9 months | DBP | [28] | ||
Hüseyin Olan | Bitlis | 25 Nov. 2016 | Imprisoned between 2014 and 2022 [45] | DBP | [31] [46] | ||
Halis Çoskun | Malazgirt | 29 Nov. 2016 | sentenced to 12 years imprisonment | DBP | [47] [48] | ||
Ismail Asi | Kiziltepe | 2 Dec. 2016 | prosecuted, arrested in Sakran prison in Izmir | DBP | [49] | ||
Seferi Yılmaz | Semdinli | 6 Dec. 2016 | DBP | [50] | |||
Mehmet Ali Aydin | Kayapinar | 8 Dec. 2016 | DBP | [51] | |||
Selim Kurbanoğlu | Yenişehir | 8 Dec. 2016 | DBP | [51] | |||
Servet Tunc | Çukurka | 8 Dec. 2016 | DBP | [51] | |||
Tuncer Bakırhan | Siirt | 16 Dec. 2016 | sentenced to 10 years and 15 days imprisonment | DBP | [52] | ||
Fırat Öztürk | Tutak | Jan. 2017 | prosecuted | DBP | [53] | ||
Sara Kaya | Nusaybin | Jan. 2017 | sentenced to 1 year, and another 16 years imprisonment | DBP | [54] [55] | ||
Süleyman Tekin | Ömerli | 5 Jan. 2017 | DBP | [56] | |||
Celalettin Bartu | Çatak | 5 Jan. 2017 | DBP | [28] | |||
Zeynel Taş | Bozova | 6 Jan. 2017 | sentenced to 11 years and 10 months imprisonment [57] | DBP | [58] | ||
Sadiye Süer Baran | Kulp | 6 Jan. 2017 | prosecuted | DBP | [59] [60] | ||
Emrullah Cin | Viranşehir | 6 Jan. 2017 | sentenced to 6 years and 3 months imprisonment | DBP | [58] [61] | ||
Murat Ruhat Özbay | Dogubayezit | February 2017 | membership in a terrorist organization | DBP | [62] | ||
Afüllah Kar | Koçaköy | February 2017 | membership for a terrorist organization | DBP | [63] | ||
Bekir Kaya | Van | 11 June 2017 | sentenced to 8 years, 3 Months and another 15 Years imprisonment | DBP | [64] [65] [66] | ||
Rezan Zuĝurlu | Lice | 17 Nov. 2017 | sentenced to 4 years, 2 Months imprisonment | DBP | [67] | ||
Şerafettin Özalp | Özalp | 7 May 2018 | 27 May 2018 | prosecuted | DBP | [68] [69] | |
2019 - | |||||||
Mehmet Fatih Taş | Kulp | Sep. 2019 | prosecuted | HDP | [70] | ||
Melike Göksu | Karayazı | Sep. 2019 | prosecuted | HDP | [71] | ||
İrfan Sarı | Yüksekova | 15 Oct. 2019 | prosecuted | HDP | [72] | ||
Adnan Selçuk Mızraklı | Diyarbakır | 21 Oct. 2019 [73] | sentenced to 9 years, 4 months imprisonment. [74] Having been imprisoned in Diyarbakir and Kayseri he is currently in Edirne [75] | Sentenced with being a member of the PKK [74] | HDP | ||
Rojda Nazlıer | Kocaköy | 22 Oct. 2019 | sentenced to 9 years imprisonment | Charged with being a member of the PKK | HDP | [76] [77] | |
Keziban Yılmaz | Kayapınar | 22 Oct. 2019 | March 2020 [78] | sentenced to 7 years and 6 months but released | HDP | [76] | |
Azim Yacan | Ipekyolu | Nov. 2019 | prosecuted | HDP | [79] | ||
Hatice Çevik | Suruç | 20 Nov. 2019 | prosecuted | HDP | [80] | ||
Gülistan Öncü | Savur | 26 Nov. 2019 | prosecuted | HDP | [81] | ||
Nalan Özaydın | Mazıdağı | 26 Nov. 2019 | prosecuted | HDP | [81] | ||
Mülkiye Esmez | Derik | 26 Nov. 2019 | prosecuted | HDP | [81] | ||
Yılmaz Şalan | Muradiye | 10 Dec. 2019 | prosecuted | HDP | [82] | ||
Dilan Örenci | Özalp | 10 Dec. 2019 | prosecuted | HDP | [82] | ||
Nilüfer Elik Yılmaz | Kiziltepe | 16 Dez. 2019 | prosecuted | Arrested in Tarsus | HDP | [83] [84] | |
Feyme Filiz Buluttekin | Sur | 23 Dec. 2019 | sentenced to 7 years and 6 month imprisonment | HDP | [85] [86] | ||
Mustafa Akkul | Eğil | 25 March 2020 | prosecuted | HDP | [87] | ||
Casim Budak | Alınova | 16 May 2020 | prosecuted | HDP | [88] | ||
Yaşar Akkuş | Iğdır | 19 May 2020 | sentenced to 7 years and 6 month imprisonment | HDP | [89] [90] | ||
Ayhan Bilgen | Kars | 2 Oct. 2020 | released pending trial in June 2021 [91] | Charged with organizing the Kobanî protests [92] during the Siege of Kobani by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). | HDP | [92] |
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Ahmet Türk is a Turkish politician of Kurdish origin from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP). He has been a member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey for several terms and was elected twice as the Mayor of Mardin. He was born into a family of Kurdish clan and tribal chiefs in southeastern Turkey.
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Gültan Kışanak is a Kurdish journalist, author and politician from Turkey. Kışanak was born in Elazığ in 1961. Her family is originally from Dersim. She is a former member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and Mayor of Diyarbakır. She has been imprisoned since October 2016.
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Selahattin Demirtaş is a Turkish politician, author, political prisoner and former member of the parliament of Turkey. He was the co-leader of the left-wing pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), serving alongside Figen Yüksekdağ from 2014 to 2018.
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