The Co-Mayor of Akdeniz District Municipality, Hoşyar Sarıyıldız, who was removed from office and imprisoned in Mersin 11 days ago, was transferred to Kırşehir S Type Closed Prison.
The DEM Party-ruled Akdeniz Municipality co-mayors Hoşyar Sarıyıldız and Nuriye Aslan, and City Council members Özgür Çağlar, Neslihan Oruç, Yakup Danış and Hikmet Bakırhan, were taken into custody in Mersin on 10 January.
On 13 January, both co-mayors, as well as Özgür Çağlar, Neslihan Oruç Danış and Hikmet Bakırhan were remanded in custody on terror charges, for alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The district governor, Zeyit Şener, was appointed trustee to replace the co-mayors.
DEM Party Mersin MP Ali announced the following on his social media account on Friday: “We learned that the elected Co-Mayor of Akdeniz Municipality, Hoşyar Sarıyıldız, has been exiled from Tarsus Prison to Kırşehir S Type Prison. Your persecution is as great as your fear. One day you will say 'we did not make the decisions'. Anyone who consents to this oppression is a partner. Everyone who enjoys the trustee policies will be held accountable before the law.”
Born in 1991 in Şırnak’s Cizre district, Hoşyar Sarıyıldız migrated to Mersin with his family in 1994. After graduating from Istanbul University Faculty of Law, Sarıyıldız became co-chair of the Mersin branch of the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD) in 2016. In 2022, Sarıyıldız was elected as HDP Mersin Provincial Co-chair. In the 31 March 2024 local elections, he was elected the co-mayor of the DEM Party for Akdeniz Municipality.
