The verdict came out in the lawsuit filed against Birsen Orhan, the ousted co-mayor of Dersim Municipality. The DEM Party politician is accused of “publicly inciting people to commit crimes” over her speeches during the protests against the usurpation of the municipality in November 2024 and her book ‘Introduction to Jineolojî’.

Orhan herself did not attend the hearing held at Tunceli 1st Criminal Court of First Instance on Friday.

The court considered Birsen Orhan's speeches during the protests as “imminent danger” and sentenced her to 5 months in prison.

Background

On 22 November, the AKP-MHP regime usurped the municipality of Dersim under the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) by appointing a trustee in the place of the democratically elected co-mayors, Cevdet Konak and Birsen Orhan. Both mayors were then removed from office and replaced by a trustee, Tunceli Governor Bülent Tekbıyıkoğlu, following an instruction from the Ministry of Interior. The reason given for the usurpation is a not yet legally binding prison sentence against co-mayor Cevdet Konak for alleged membership of a ‘terrorist organisation’.

Two days later, co-mayor Birsen Orhan was taken into custody and then placed under house arrest and banned from leaving the country.

The Kurdish politician for the DEM Party was taken into custody in her house in the district of Pertek on 30 November for “violating the assembly law and resisting the police” and remanded in custody.

After Birsen Orhan's lawyer appealed the decision, the Kurdish politician was released on 4 December with a ban on traveling abroad.