Upon a midnight order from Turkish Ministry of Interior, the metropolitan municipalities of Amed, Van and Mardin, run by the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), were seized by the AKP regime with the replacement of the elected mayors with governors of the mentioned cities.

Following the suspension of the mayors, police forces laid a siege on the three municipalities and launched a crackdown against HDP members and people who took to the streets in protest at the unlawful seizure of their municipalities.

Masses gathered in front of the Mardin Metropolitan Municipality to protest the replacement of their elected mayor with a state-appointed trustee. The crowd, including HDP MPs and mayors, were attacked by hundreds of police as they chanted “Repression cannot intimidate us”.

Following the attack, the mass closed the Mardin-Kızıltepe road to traffic, after which the police aggression became even more violent. HDP deputies Tülay Hatimoğlu, Serpil Kemalbay and Pero Dündar felt faint in the crackdown and were hospitalized. They were discharged from hospital after getting treated.

In the meantime, Mezopotamya News Agency (MA) correspondents Ahmet Kanbal and Mehmet Şah Oruç, Jinnews correspondent Rojda Aydın and journalists Nurcan Yalçın and Halime Parlak were taken into custody while covering the protest in Mardin. Many people were also reported detained by the police.

On the other hand, journalist Yelda Özbek was taken into custody while following the protests in Amed.