Turkey removes pro-Kurdish mayor in south-east from post
Pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party Mayor Abdullah Zeydan of the south-eastern city of Van was replaced with the local governor over his conviction on "assisting an armed terrorist organization," the ministry said in a statement.
Police in Van used tear gas and water cannon to disperse demonstrators protesting the replacement, local broadcaster Halk TV and the DEM Party said.
The DEM Party condemned the move as a blow to the people's will and said that it "will not bow to this lawlessness," in a statement on social media platform X.
Zeydan was last week sentenced to nearly four years in prison over alleged membership in the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
His DEM Party has recently faced increasing pressure, with several of its elected mayors removed from office.
The removal comes amid an anticipated start of peace talks between the Turkish state and the PKK, which have been in conflict since the early 1980s.
As part of this, a DEM Party delegation recently visited the PKK founder Abdullah Öcalan, who is imprisoned on an island off Istanbul.
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