In Izmir and Van, two individuals were arrested due to the protests that began after the non-nomination of the DEM party candidate Abdullah Zeydan. Zeydan, a DEM party member who won the Van Metropolitan Municipality with 55% of the votes, had his right to run revoked by the Ministry of Justice two days before the election. Despite winning all 14 districts in Van, Zeydan’s opponent from the AKP, Abdullahat Arvas, was awarded the candidacy. The DEM party won all 14 districts in Van, making a significant impact. During a police operation at a press conference held by the Labor and Democracy Forces of Izmir during yesterday’s protests, 6 individuals were taken into custody. Of the six individuals referred to the Peace Criminal Court after a health check and taken to Izmir’s police security department, four were released under judicial control measures, while Sibel Örkmez and Sedanur Uğur were arrested.
The Izmir branch of the Contemporary Lawyers Association (ÇHD) issued a statement regarding the incident, stating that the police attacked and detained the crowd in Izmir who wanted to make a press statement against the usurpation of the people’s will in Van and the citizens. The statement mentioned that their member, lawyer Arman Atılgan, was misinformed about the location of the detained clients by the police, hindering their meeting.
The DEM party decided to protest in Van on April 3, with various organizations joining in. CHP Chairman Özgür Özel appointed a CHP delegation to Van, and protests erupted in many cities. The governors of Van and Bitlis implemented a ban on shows and marches in the two cities for 15 days, while a curfew was imposed in the Pervani district of Siirt.
Immunity rights, also known as banned rights, are rights revoked from an individual due to a criminal conviction under laws other than criminal law. The restoration of banned rights is a criminal institution aimed at regaining these rights.