ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Turkish government on Monday sacked three Kurdish mayors in the country's predominantly Kurdish southeast region, replacing them with state trustees, the Ministry of the Interior announced.  

The three pro-Kurdish politicians and the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) mayors of Mardin, Batman, and Halfeti, a district in Sanliurfa province, were removed from their positions on alleged terrorism charges.

Ahmet Turk, a veteran Kurdish politician, won the vote in Mardin in the local March elections, Gulistan Sonuk was Batman's mayor, and Mehmet Karayilan represented Halfeti. 

Turk strongly condemned the imposition of a state trustee in Mardin. 

"Never give up," Turk said in a post on social media X. "We will not step back from the struggle for Democracy, Peace and Freedom."

Turk added, "We will not allow the usurpation of the people's will. Let this be known!" 

Dismissed twice before, Turk was sentenced to 10 years in prison in May on charges of links to the PKK and taking part in 2014 protests to support Kobane in northeastern Syria which at the time was under an overwhelming siege by the Islamic State (ISIS).

The DEM party strongly slammed the removal of Turk, Sonuk, and Karayilan.

"This is a repetition of 30 years of attacks to eliminate the Kurdish people in democratic politics since 1994," the DEM party said in a statement. 

Their dismissal came days after another mayor from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was also removed from his position on alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in an Istanbul district, with the CHP and DEM party describing the Turkish government’s move as a “political coup.”

Since the failed coup of July 2016, the Turkish government has removed plenty of Kurdish mayors on terror-related charges. 

Thousands of Kurdish politicians and supporters of the DEM party are currently serving time behind bars across Turkey on charges of links to the PKK.

Updated at 10:08 am with a post on X by DEM party