Turkish police late Sunday detained Mehmet Sıddık Akış, who was elected mayor of the southeastern province of Hakkari in the March 31 municipal elections. Akış, who represents the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), was in the eastern province of Van when he was detained. The DEM Party, a spiritual successor to the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), is known for its links to the terrorist group PKK. Akış was being transported to Hakkari on Monday.
The Interior Ministry released a statement about the detention and listed the charges against Akış. The charges include serving as a senior member of the PKK, collecting "taxes" for the terrorist group and "interrogating" people on behalf of the terrorist group. He is also accused of organizing funerals for slain members of PKK and forcing locals to join pro-PKK rallies and threatening those opposing the group. Other accusations include running the terrorist group's local units in southeastern Türkiye and brainwashing minors to join the group. The ministry said another charge against him was accommodating terrorists who traveled from the group's rural hideouts for plotting attacks in cities. The ministry's statement cited that a trial was already underway against Akış while the Chief Prosecutor's Office in Hakkari was conducting another investigation, which was the reason for his detention.
The ministry temporarily suspended Akış from office and appointed Hakkari Governor Ali Çelik as acting mayor of the province.
Hakkari has been a stronghold of the DEM Party’s predecessors but Akış narrowly won against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) candidate in the latest election. The party, however, took back municipalities in most of the southeastern Türkiye in the local vote. DEM and HDP’s links to the terrorist group paved the way for investigations into municipal officials accused of allocating resources to the group. Eventually, most of the municipalities in the region were appointed trustees long before the 2024 elections amid counterterrorism investigations.
DEM Party supporters tried to enter the municipal headquarters of Hakkari on Monday but police did not let them in as a search of the municipal building was underway. Local authorities also imposed a 10-day ban on public assemblies and demonstrations following Akış’s detention.
This is the second such detention of DEM Party members since the municipal elections. Last month, two municipal assembly members from the party for Şanlıurfa were detained as part of an investigation into the activities of PKK.
Cevdet Konak, DEM mayor for the eastern province of Tunceli, was also summoned to testify to prosecutors as part of a probe into allegations of spreading terrorism propaganda recently. He is known for several campaign speeches based on the rhetoric of a terrorist group.
On May 31, Betül Yaşar, former mayor of the eastern town of Diyadin for the HDP, was captured as she tried to flee abroad while she was wanted for membership in the PKK.
The DEM Party’s links to the terrorist group are a source of concern for authorities. Abdullah Zeydan, who was elected as mayor of Van for DEM, was ejected from office due to his criminal record linked to the PKK propaganda before the Türkiye’s Supreme Election Council (YSK) accepted his appeal and reinstated him to office.
