Turkey Charges 33 Over Protests Against Kurdish Mayors’ Removal

Turkish prosecutors announced criminal charges against over 30 individuals linked to recent protests over the removal of three pro-Kurdish mayors in the Kurdish-majority southeast who were replaced by government-appointed trustees over alleged “terrorism” ties. 

The Interior Ministry stated Sunday that 33 people had been charged, 37 placed under judicial surveillance, and three placed under house arrest for their involvement in demonstrations against the decision. 

In March’s nationwide municipal elections, opposition candidates claimed several mayoral seats, delivering a significant setback to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling right-wing nationalist coalition. The removed mayors are members of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM). 

The central government cited the DEM politicians’ alleged connections to the PKK, a group that has led a decades-long insurgency against Ankara, as the basis for the dismissals. The move spurred public outrage and widespread demonstrations across southeastern Turkey, with more than 250 protesters reportedly detained. Authorities subsequently banned rallies in several Kurdish-majority areas. 

Meanwhile, over the weekend, Turkish drone strikes targeted PKK positions in northern Iraq, killing five individuals, including “a senior PKK official,” according to Iraqi Kurdistan’s counterterrorism services. One strike late Saturday hit a vehicle in the mountains near Dohuk province, while another on Sunday killed two fighters from the PKK-affiliated Sinjar Resistance Units in Sinjar district, local security sources reported. Turkey regularly conducts military operations against PKK bases in northern Iraq and northeastern Syria.