A Turkish court has sentenced Van Mayor Abdullah Zeydan to almost four years in prison on conviction of “aiding a terrorist organization,” the BBC Turkish service reported on Tuesday.
The sentence was handed down by the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court in a retrial. Zeydan was originally sentenced to over five years in prison for aiding and abetting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and an additional three years for spreading PKK propaganda in 2017.
In 2021 Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals upheld the charge of aiding and abetting but overturned the propaganda conviction, citing the lack of a proper investigation.
Having spent more than five years in prison, Zeydan was released on January 6, 2022 pending retrial. However, following the Supreme Court’s partial reversal, his case was retried in the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court, culminating in the latest February 2025 conviction.
Accusations against Zeydan stem from his alleged participation in a 2015 protest in Yüksekova, a district in Turkey’s southeastern Hakkari province, which authorities claimed violated a restricted military zone. Prosecutors also cited a past speech in which Zeydan reportedly said, “The PKK will drown you in its spit.”
The PKK, designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies, has been waging a bloody war in Turkey’s southeast since 1984. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict.
Following the decision, Zeydan addressed supporters gathered outside Van City Hall and accused authorities of using the judiciary for political purposes. “It is no longer necessary to explain to the people of Turkey how the judiciary operates under the orders and ambitions of the political authorities. There is no justice, no rule of law, no constitution — only a judiciary that carries out the will and commands of the ruling power,” he said.
The latest ruling has renewed fears that the authorities may attempt to remove Zeydan and appoint a trustee in his place. Lawyer Mehmet Emin Aktar, representing Zeydan, claimed the charges were politically motivated and warned that the conviction could be used as a legal basis for intervention.
“If Abdullah Zeydan had not been a lawmaker, he would not have faced prosecution. If he had not been elected mayor, this conviction would not have been upheld,” Aktar said.
Turkey has previously removed hundreds of elected mayors, replacing them with government-appointed trustees, particularly after the 2019 local elections. Aktar noted that past cases showed inconsistent practices regarding trustee appointments, with some municipalities placed under state control even before court rulings were finalized.
Zeydan, a member of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), was elected mayor of Van in the March 31, 2024 local elections. His legal troubles date back to his tenure as a lawmaker for the now-defunct Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), when he was arrested in a 2016 crackdown on HDP politicians and subsequently stripped of his parliamentary immunity.
After securing over 55 percent of the vote in Van’s 2024 local elections, Zeydan’s victory was challenged by Turkey’s Justice Ministry, which argued that his civil rights had not been fully reinstated. The Supreme Election Council initially revoked his right to assume office, instead awarding the post to Abdulahat Arvas, the candidate from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), who had received 27 percent of the vote.
The move sparked widespread protests, with DEM Party officials and supporters rallying against the decision. Security forces intervened with tear gas in demonstrations outside the party’s provincial headquarters.
Amid a public outcry, Turkey’s election authority later reversed its decision, reinstating Zeydan’s right to hold office and officially recognizing him as Van’s mayor.
