The AKP government has appointed trustees after removing the freely and democratically elected HDP co-mayors on the municipalities of Batman, Silvan, Lice, Eğil, Ergani Güroymak, Gökçebağ and Halfeli on 23 March. 

Most co-mayors were detained. One of the HDP municipalities which has been appointed a trustee is Halfeli central town municipality, in Iğdır. Halfeli co-mayor Hasan Safa was detained.

HDP Iğdır MP Habib Eksik said that the appointment of a trustee was unlawful. Deputy Eksik added that the AKP violation of the people's will is a concrete indicator of Kurdish hostility.

"We cannot and won't accept this unlawfulness and nor will our people," said Eksik adding that the appointment of trustees violating the will of the people in such a process is a shame. "It is unacceptable to appoint trustees to our municipalities during the epidemic period and to arrest our co-mayors."

Emphasizing that trustees were appointed to many HDP municipalities before, Eksik added: "We were providing very good services and carrying out important work for our people in the municipalities we had been elected to. Halfeli Municipality in particular was seen as an exemplary municipality in terms of its approach to public service.

Halfeli Municipality was previously in the hands of the AKP. In the last election, however, the people voted for the HDP having seen through the AKP politics of plunder, corruption and injustice. AKP appointed trustees to our municipality as it could not bare to see the progress our government was making. At a time when all the peoples of the world are acting together in solidarity to counter the coronavirus pandemic, the AKP has appointed a trustee to our municipality to make room for its own supporters."

Eksik underlined that the corruption and the expenses carried out by trustees in Amed, Van and Mardin were reflected in the reports of the Court of Accounts. He added that people know well about these corrupted policies which benefited the AKP friends through illegal tenderings and payments.

Eksik reminded that "Hasan Safa, co-mayor of Halfeli, was summoned to the Governorship of Iğdır. Our co-mayor thought he was summoned to talk about the coronavirus outbreak. The governor's office wanted him to keep the people calm when the trustee will be appointed. Our co-mayor Hasan Safa did not accept this and as soon as he went out, he was detained under the pretext of a previous lawsuit. This practice is completely unlawful and indicative of injustice. AKP brought only unlawfulness, injustice, looting, corruption and extortion to this territory."