Adnan Selçuk Mızraklı, who was elected Co-Mayor of Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality on March 31, 2019, with more than 62% of the vote, was removed from office on August 19, 2019, and arrested after a trustee was appointed in his place. Mızraklı, who was detained on October 21, was arrested on charges of “membership in an organization” and “propaganda for an organization.” The 9-year, 4-month and 15-day prison sentence handed down by Diyarbakır 9th High Criminal Court on March 9, 2020, was issued again on November 29, 2023, following the Court of Cassation’s reversal ruling in December 2022, and became final on October 9, 2024. His lawyers announced that they would apply to the Constitutional Court; his request for transfer to an open prison and supervised release in 2025 was denied. Having completed his sentence, Mızraklı was released from Edirne F-Type Prison. He is expected to be welcomed in Diyarbakır.
Why it matters
The release has brought back into focus the debate over what became of the will of the local electorate in Diyarbakır, as expressed in the March 31, 2019, elections, following the removal from office and trustee appointment process. Although Mızraklı’s prison term has ended, the legal dimension of the case has not been fully closed; his lawyers’ plan to apply to the Constitutional Court indicates that the conviction could also be considered through further avenues of review. The fact that his request for transfer to an open prison and supervised release in 2025 was denied shows that the execution process applied until his release is also part of the case. The expected welcome in Diyarbakır shows that the development is being followed not merely as an individual release, but as an issue with political and social significance in the city.