Many of the historical buildings in North Kurdistan, which are symbols of Kurdish history and culture, are under the occupation of Turkish soldiers and police. One of these structures is Mir Castle, located in the city center of Hakkari.

After the 12 September 1980 military coup, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense declared the Mir Castle a military zone and banned entrance to the public for security reasons. The castle has been closed to everyone except the Turkish state forces for 42 years.

The castle is currently under the occupation of the special police teams. The entire architectural structure of the castle has been destroyed.

In 2014, HDP's Hakkari Municipality co-mayors filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of National Defense demanding to reopen it to the public. However, this case was not even processed by the Turkish Ministry of Justice.

Although the castle is located in the city center of Hakkari, it is not known to the people of Hakkari. Thousands of Hakkari people born since 1980 had to look at Mir Castle from afar. Those who want to take a closer look at the castle face the risk of being detained, tortured, imprisoned or even killed as soon as they are noticed.

A person living in the neighbourhood around Hakkari Mir Castle, who did not want to reveal his name for security reasons, said that the castle has been used by special police units for years. Saying that they could not see the inside of the castle despite living next to it, the man said: “We have lived in this neighbourhood for 30 years. There is a castle of historical importance right next to us, but we cannot go and see it. As soon as the police realize we're looking at the castle, we risk being detained. We, as the people of Hakkari, want our castle to be returned to the city.”