On 4 November, the municipality of Batman, along with the municipalities of Mardin and Halfeti, was usurped by the government through the appointment of a trustee to replace the democratically elected co-mayors.
The resistance that started after the appointment of trustees to Mardin, Halfeti and Batman municipalities continues on its fifth day. During the protests in Batman, 140 people were detained in five days and 39 people are still under custody.
During the residents’ protests against the usurpation of their will, Vedat Özer, a member of the Youth Assembly of the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) said, “Attention, this is a public announcement, evacuate our municipalities immediately.”
Özer, who was violently detained by the police on 6 November as protests continued, was referred to Batman Courthouse after the procedures at the Provincial Security Directorate.
Without taking Özer’s testimony, the prosecutor demanded the arrest of the young man on the charge of ‘preventing an officer from performing his duty’. Özer appeared before the judge and was remanded in custody.
