More than 30 of the 260 people detained for protesting the government's attempt to seize the municipality of Van through a political coup after the local elections were sent to prison.
DEM Party members Abdullah Zeydan and Neslihan Şedal received around 55.5 percent of the vote in the local elections in Van on 31 March. However, the Turkish regime wanted to appoint an AKP politician as mayor in their place and had Zeydan declared ineligible at short notice. The background to the decision to exclude Zeydan from the election is a court ruling on the 52-year-old politician's restoration of all civil rights after serving several years in prison, including the right to run for political office. The court had approved the application in 2022, but withdrew its own decision two days before the election on the initiative of the Ministry of Justice. Zeydan was not informed of the move, which, according to lawyers, was unlawful. Following massive protests, Ankara rowed back and finally confirmed Zeydan's election victory. The Council of Judges and Public Prosecutors (HSK) is now investigating the court that restored the Kurdish politician's civil rights.
Hundreds of people were detained after the historic resistance of the people for two days against the government’s attempt to usurp the mayoral office from Abdullah Zeydan.
260 people detained during protests or house raids were referred to court on the charges of "being members of an illegal organisation" and "committing action on behalf of an illegal organisation". Among those detained are 15 minors and 10 lawyers. The court decided for the imprisonment of more than 30 people, including two minors.
