DİYARBAKIR - The mayor of Yenişehir who was arrested yesterday, has been released and put under house arrest, while the detained co-mayor of Ergani was released with a ban on leaving the country.
Kurdish politician Belgin Diken, who was arrested in Diyarbakır at the instigation of the Turkish Ministry of the Interior yesterday, has been released. However, Diken has been placed under house arrest and is therefore not allowed to leave the house, and is also required to wear an ankle monitor.
Belgin Diken is deposed co-mayor of the Yenişehir district of Diyarbakır. On 13 November 2019 she was removed from office and replaced by a trustee. The HDP politician is under investigation in two preliminary proceedings for alleged "membership in a terrorist organisation". As long as the proceedings are pending, she is not allowed to remove her ankle monitor.
Ahmet Kaya, the co-mayor of Amed’s Ergani district, who was arrested at the same time as Diken, has also been released. However, the court imposed a ban on leaving the country.
Kaya's mandate was revoked yesterday and a trustee was appointed in his place. In connection with election campaign events, his participation in press statements, protests against appointment of trustees to Kurdish municipalities and funeral service for Zülküf Gezen, who ended his own life in prison Tekirdağ a year ago in protest against the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan, Kaya is also accused of membership in a terrorist organization. It is still unclear when the trial against him will be opened.