Skip to main content

Mayors of Turkey's Diyarbakir arrested in 'terrorism' probe

Top elected officials in the Kurdish-majority town were detained by counter-terrorism police on Tuesday night
A Turkish policeman stands guard outside the Sur municipality building during a police operation on 11 September 2016, in Diyarbakir (AFP)

The co-mayors of Turkey's Kurdish-majority Diyarbakir were arrested on Tuesday night as part of an investigation into "terrorism," the state news agency reported. 

Gultan Kisanak and Firat Anli, who jointly run the largest city in south-eastern Turkey, were detained by local anti-terrorism police.

https://twitter.com/DiegoCupolo/status/790995516305838080

Kisana, elected in 2014 as the first female mayor of Diyarbakir, had given evidence to the 15 July Coup Hearing Committee, established to probe a failed coup earlier this year, in the capital Ankara.

There were reports of a lockdown amid a police raid on the city's main municipal building, as well as a search of the house of one of the co-mayors.

Stay informed with MEE's newsletters

Sign up to get the latest alerts, insights and analysis, starting with Turkey Unpacked

 
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.