Trustees appointed to Tunceli and Ovacık Municipalities

In a statement by the Ministry of Interior, it was stated that the two mayors were temporarily removed from office.

Tunceli Governor Bülent Tekbıyıkoğlu was appointed as the Deputy Mayor of Tunceli.

Disturbance occurred in front of the Tunceli Municipality. Citizens who broke through the police barricade were met with pressurized water from water cannon vehicles (TOMA).

Ovacık District Governor Hüseyin Şamil Sözen was appointed as the Deputy Mayor of Ovacık to replace the Ovacık Mayor.

GAS INTERVENTION IN TUNCELI

Police first used pressurized water against citizens who wanted to enter the municipality and break through the police barricade, and then carried out a gas intervention.

First statement from Tunceli Mayor Cevdet Konak, who was replaced by a trustee:

A group of plainclothes police officers in dozens of vehicles did not allow my vehicle to move. They blocked the road and said that the ministry had a notification for me. I said that I would not accept this notification. What is happening here is the image of MHP-AKP fascism.

The Ministry of Interior announced that Tunceli Mayor Cevdet Konak and Ovacık Mayor Mustafa Sarıgül have been removed from office.

Governor Bülent Tekbıyıkoğlu was appointed as the Deputy Mayor of Tunceli. District Governor Hüseyin Şamil Sözen was appointed as the Deputy Mayor of Ovacık.

STATEMENT FROM OVACIK MAYOR SARIGÜL

Ovacık Mayor Sarıgül, who was replaced by a trustee, said the following regarding the appointment:

They did not allow us to enter the municipality, they removed us from office. This is not a very crowded place, yet a large number of police are blocking the front of the municipality. This is my sixth year since the investigation began. During this time, we have been in contact with all public officials and worked together. It was said that a lawsuit was filed against us in 2022. We attended the hearing and it was said that it was unimportant for that period... However, over time, they have somehow attributed a crime to us.

REACTION TO THE TRUSTEE FROM ÖZGÜR ÖZEL

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel made a post on his social media account after a trustee was appointed to the CHP-run Ovacık Municipality.

CHP has faced a trustee this time in Ovacık, following Esenyurt. CHP Chairman Özgür Özel made the following post on his social media account regarding the trustee decision:

"The decision to appoint a trustee to our Ovacık Municipality and Tunceli Municipality is a theft of national will that could not even be covered up.

A funeral ceremony that our Ovacık Mayor Mustafa Sarıgül attended in 2012 was made the subject of a lawsuit in 2022 and was considered a crime in 2024.

Condolences are offered to the living, not the dead.

Neither can a family be held responsible for the crime of their child, nor those who come to offer condolences...

Removing a mayor who has been elected by the people's vote for two terms due to a funeral he attended 12 years ago has no validity other than being the final struggles of a departing government.

We will resist this lawlessness, just as we have resisted all attacks against elected mayors. We will not surrender this nation to those who put their own interests above the interests of Turkey."

REACTION FROM CHP GROUP DEPUTY CHAIRMAN BAŞARIR

Appointing a trustee to Tunceli Municipality and our Ovacık Municipality with fabricated justifications is a coup against the will of the people and a clear plan of those who feed on unrest.

The fact that a lawsuit filed 2 years ago against our Ovacık Mayor Mustafa Sarıgül was concluded these days has once again shown that the AKP uses the judiciary as a tool for ambush and political operations.

This nation will never forgive those who usurp what they cannot win at the ballot box through bullying and reach out to the will of the people; they will be held accountable at the ballot box!

The statement made by the Ministry of Interior included the following expressions:

1. Tunceli Mayor Cevdet Konak

a) Due to receiving a 6 YEAR 3 MONTH PRISON SENTENCE for the crime of "BEING A MEMBER OF THE PKK/KCK ARMED TERRORIST ORGANIZATION" within the scope of Tunceli 1st High Criminal Court's 2022/99 file number, and

b) Due to the ongoing investigation by the Tunceli Chief Public Prosecutor's Office with file number 2024/1146 for the crime of "MAKING PROPAGANDA FOR THE PKK/KCK TERRORIST ORGANIZATION";

Cevdet Konak has been removed from office by the Ministry of Interior as a temporary measure in accordance with Article 127 of the Constitution and Article 47 of the Municipal Law No. 5393.

In accordance with Articles 45 and 46 of the Municipal Law No. 5393, Tunceli Governor Bülent Tekbıyıkoğlu has been appointed as the Deputy Mayor of Tunceli.

2. Ovacık Mayor Mustafa Sarıgül

Due to receiving a 6 YEAR 3 MONTH PRISON SENTENCE for the crime of "BEING A MEMBER OF THE PKK/KCK ARMED TERRORIST ORGANIZATION" within the scope of Tunceli 1st High Criminal Court's 2022/99 file number; Mustafa Sarıgül has been removed from office by the Ministry of Interior as a temporary measure in accordance with Article 127 of the Constitution and Article 47 of the Municipal Law No. 5393.

In accordance with Articles 45 and 46 of the Municipal Law No. 5393, Ovacık District Governor Hüseyin Şamil Sözen has been appointed as the Deputy Mayor of Ovacık by the Tunceli Governorship.

Respectfully announced to the public."

SCUFFLE IN FRONT OF TUNCELI MUNICIPALITY

The crowd gathered in front of Tunceli Municipality wanted to break through the police barricade. The barricade was breached for a short interval during the pushing and shoving between the two groups, and the resulting scuffle ended with the intervention of support police. Police teams set up barricades with their shields at the points where the barricades were taken. Those moments were reflected on Halktv television.

WHAT HAD HAPPENED?

The Tunceli Chief Public Prosecutor's Office had filed separate lawsuits against DEM Party Tunceli Mayor Cevdet Konak and CHP Ovacık Mayor Mustafa Sarıgül on the allegation of "being a member of an armed terrorist organization."

In the hearings held separately at the Tunceli 1st High Criminal Court, Konak and Sarıgül were sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison each. A travel ban was also imposed on the defendants.

DETAILS ARE COMING...