Trustees appointed as mayors in southeastern province, districts

MARDİN/HAKKARİ

The Interior Ministry of Turkey has appointed new mayors in the southeastern Hakkari and Mardin provinces following the arrest of their predecessors over terror-related charges.

Governor İdris Akbıyık was appointed as the new mayor of Hakkari province after Cihan Karaman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) was arrested as part of an ongoing terrorism investigation.

District Governor Osman Doğramacı was appointed as the mayor of Yüksekova district of Hakkari province after HDP’s Remziye Yasar was arrested in the same case.

District Governor Mehmet Balıkçılar assumed office of the mayor of Nusaybin district of Mardin after the HDP’s Semire Nergiz was arrested.

In mid-August, the mayors in Diyarbakır, Mardin and Van provinces were suspended over alleged terror links. They were all from the HDP, which Turkey’s government accuses of having links to the illegal PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.