Dersim co-mayor Birsen Orhan, who was taken into custody after the trustee coup and given house arrest on 24 November, has been detained on Saturday morning. Birsen Orhan was taken from her home in the Pertek (Pêrtag) district.

Orhan posted on her social media account, “I am being detained.”

The co-mayor will be taken to Dersim. It was stated that Birsen Orhan was detained on the allegations of "Opposing the law on demonstrations and marches" and "Resisting the police."

Orhan had gone to the police headquarters on 24 November to give a statement as an accused. She was first referred to a court, then to Tunceli Criminal Judicature of Peace on Duty with a demand for her arrest on the charges of ‘inciting people to hatred and hostility’ and ‘insulting a public officer’. After testifying to the judge, she was released in the evening on condition of judicial control and placed under house arrest with a ban on leaving the country. The accusations against Birsen Orhan relate to statements she made against the appointment of a trustee to Dersim Municipality.

Birsen Orhan had called the trustee appointment ‘occupation’ at a protest rally and called the governor an ‘instrument of occupation’. She criticised the court ruling against Konak as politically motivated and the result of a politicised judiciary that plays into the hands of the AKP government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in his campaign against his opponents. According to her lawyers, it is still unclear whether and when charges will be filed.