BREAKING NEWS... Another trustee: This time appointed to Siirt Municipality!

Siirt Governor Kemal Kızılkaya has been appointed as a trustee to the Siirt Municipality by the Ministry of Interior.

The 7th hearing of the case against Siirt Co-Mayor Sofya Alağaş, who was charged with 'being a member of an organization' during her time working as a journalist, had been held.

In the hearing held at the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court, Alağaş was sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Siirt Mayor Sofya Alağaş was sentenced to prison for membership in a terrorist organization in the case she was tried in.

The hearing was held at the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court. A lawsuit had been filed against Siirt Mayor Sofya Alağaş on the allegation of "being a member of an organization."

Alağaş was sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison at the 7th hearing of the case.

Thus, trustees have been appointed to 8 DEM Party municipalities since March 31.

The statement made by the Ministry of Interior regarding the matter is as follows:

PRESS RELEASE REGARDING THE REMOVAL OF THE SİİRT MAYOR FROM OFFICE BY THE MINISTRY OF INTERIOR: pic.twitter.com/b3jm6AISpe

— T.C. İçişleri Bakanlığı (@TC_icisleri) January 29, 2025

There were successive reactions from the DEM Party regarding the appointment of a trustee to the Siirt Municipality.

In the statement made by the DEM Party, it was said, "Since the March 31 elections, 8 of our municipalities elected by the votes of the people have been usurped," while DEM Party Co-Chair Tülay Hatimoğulları stated, "Peace is not achieved through insistence on a trustee mentality; it is achieved through democracy, rights, and law. We do not accept this usurpation of will that took place during these days when we are trying to cultivate the hope for peace." DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan reacted to the trustee decision by saying, "Peace and democracy cannot coexist with political trickery. Those who do not respect the will of the people are doing the greatest harm to this country. Ignoring the will of the Kurdish people by appointing trustees to municipalities is a colonial habit. Trying to govern the Kurdish people with colonial methods in the 21st century is a futile effort."

'8 OF OUR MUNICIPALITIES HAVE BEEN USURPED'

In the statement made from the DEM Party's social media account, it was said, "Following the 6-year and 3-month sentence given to our Siirt Co-Mayor Sofya Alagaş, our Siirt Municipality was usurped by the government early this morning and a trustee was appointed. Thus, 8 of our municipalities elected by the votes of the people, including Hakkari, Mardin, Batman, Dersim, Halfeti, Akdeniz, Bahçesaray, and most recently Siirt, have been usurped since the March 31 elections."

IT IS POLITICAL TRICKERY

DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan stated that they reject the appointment of the trustee and noted the following:

"We reject the appointment of a trustee to our Siirt Municipality. The will of the people will defeat the usurper mentality. Opening investigations against our Co-Mayors with fabricated justifications and sentencing them to pave the way for the lawlessness of trustees is political trickery. Peace and democracy cannot coexist with political trickery. Those who do not respect the will of the people are doing the greatest harm to this country. Ignoring the will of the Kurdish people by appointing trustees to municipalities is a colonial habit. Trying to govern the Kurdish people with colonial methods in the 21st century is a futile effort. We strongly reject this mentality that usurps the institutions of the people, which it could not win at the ballot box, through the judiciary and administration. The will of the people of Siirt is strong enough to bury all political tricks, conspiracies, and usurpations into history. We once again invite everyone to stand on the side of democracy."