The Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD) shared its report on 9 municipalities taken over by government-appointed trustees after the removal of democratically elected mayors.

The report emphasized that the appointment of trustees to municipalities is a usurpation of the people’s will and a violation of the “right to elect” of 1,777,120 voters in total. 

The report noted that the Ministry of Interior first appointed a trustee to the municipality of Hakkari on June 3, 2024, followed by the municipalities of Esenyurt, Mardin, Batman, Halfeti, Dersim, Ovacık, Bahçesaray and Akdeniz.

The report pointed out the Legal Commissions of the CHP (Republican People’s Party) and DEM Party (Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party) filed a lawsuit demanding a “stay of execution” as part of the legal processes regarding the trustee appointments.

On the other hand, the total amount of debt left from the previous period was 8 billion 700 million TL, while the debt burden left to the DEM Party by the trustees reached 24 billion 727 million TL. 

The report stated that in the cities where trustees were appointed to municipalities, protests were violently attacked by the police and bans were imposed by the governor’s offices. Pepper spray, rubber bullets and water cannons were used in police crackdowns and demonstrators were handcuffed behind the back.

The report includes the following data on those detained and imprisoned following the appointment of trustees and protest demonstrations: 

- Batman: 219 detained, 37 imprisoned 

- Halfeti: 27 detained, 12 imprisoned 

- Mardin: 41 detained, 9 imprisoned 

- Dersim: 29 detained, 11 imprisoned 

- Hakkari: 26 detained 

- Mersin (Akdeniz Municipality): 16 imprisoned, including 2 co-mayors and 3 councilors

- Istanbul: 25 detained, 17 imprisoned

ÖHD stated that the trustee practices are a violation of human rights against the will of the people and called for an immediate end to the unlawful and unjust practices.