The hearing in the so-called “KCK Cizre trial” was held at the 5th Heavy Penal Court of Malatya on Wednesday. 79 people stand trial in the lawsuit, among them several politicians including Cizre co-mayor Mehmet Zırığ.

HDP-run Cizre District Municipality in the province of Şırnak was seized by the AKP-MHP government on 29 October 2019 after the removal of elected co-mayor Mehmet Zırığ who was then replaced by a state-appointed trustee.

Not the defendants but lawyers attended the hearing via the video-conferencing system SEGBIS.

The court sentenced 67 of the defendants to prison terms between 6 and 10 years for alleged “membership to an illegal organization”. Co-mayor Mehmet Zırığ was also sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison with the same accusation. 11 other defendants were acquitted.