In the province of Van, the state of emergency imposed after the 2016 coup attempt continues de facto to this day. There is an absolute ban on activities in public spaces, which is extended every 15 days by the governor of the HDP stronghold, which is under trustee administration, due to alleged "security concerns”. This means that the approximately 1.2 million inhabitants are unable to engage in any political, social or cultural activities.

For the first time, all public gatherings in Van were banned on November 21, 2016. In practice, however, the measure only applies to the democratic opposition and Kurdish organizations, but not to Islamists and AKP supporters. Since the ouster of the HDP co-mayors in 2019, the city has been administered by a government-appointed trustee. Bans on meetings and extreme militarization of the region are intended to nip any oppositional movement in the bud.

Numerous lawsuits dismissed

The Van Bar Association has appealed this prohibition practice to the Administrative Court 15 times so far. The most recent complaint was filed in March. The lawyers base their complaints on the fact that a general ban on demonstrations, rallies, information stands, issuing of press releases and similar activities in public spaces violates both the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Turkish constitution. All complaints against this have been dismissed so far.