Former Diyarbakır Co-Mayor Selçuk Mızraklı was released from Edirne Prison following the completion of his sentence, after spending approximately seven years in custody according to reports from Sozcu and BBC. Mızraklı was greeted at the prison exit by his wife, Zeynep Mızraklı, alongside a high-level delegation from the DEM Party, including group deputy chairs Sezai Temelli and Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit, party spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan, and lawmakers Saruhan Oluç, Serhat Eren, and Cengiz Çandar as noted by Cumhuriyet and T24.
Selçuk Mızraklı Released from Edirne Prison After Nearly Seven Years
The release date and upcoming transition were publicized ahead of time by former HDP Co-Leader Selahattin Demirtaş, who shared a cell with Mızraklı for approximately the last five years of their imprisonment Birgun. In his message, Demirtaş noted that Mızraklı would travel to Diyarbakır following his release Halktv.
Background on Legal Proceedings and Imprisonment
Mızraklı was elected as the Co-Mayor of Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality in the 2019 local elections with 63 percent of the vote, representing the HDP. On August 19, 2019, he was removed from office by the Ministry of Interior, and a government-appointed trustee was installed in his place. He was subsequently arrested on October 22, 2019, on accusations of membership in a terrorist organization and terrorist propaganda.
The prosecution’s case relied heavily on the statements of a confidential witness code-named Bermal, a PKK member who surrendered in Nusaybin in 2016 and alleged in March 2019 that Mızraklı had operated on a wounded organization member while working as a general surgeon at a private hospital without reporting the matter to security forces. Mızraklı rejected the allegations during his defense.
On March 9, 2020, the Diyarbakır 9th Heavy Penal Committee sentenced Mızraklı to 9 years, 4 months, and 15 days in prison. Following an initial annulment ruling by the Court of Cassation, the Diyarbakır 9th Heavy Penal Committee re-sentenced him to the same term in 2023. Having spent time in Diyarbakır Prison and Kayseri before being transferred to Edirne Prison in February 2022, Mızraklı ultimately walked free upon completing his sentence term via conditional release.
Statements on Democracy, Law, and the Peace Process
Addressing journalists and supporters outside Edirne Prison, Mızraklı emphasized the resilience maintained by inmates against what he characterized as unlawful, fabricated legal cases. He remarked that the period following 2015 marked a peak in departures from the rule of law, comparing the legal environment to past periods of heavy state intervention and stating that both democracy and law had suffered severe erosion.
Mızraklı called for careful management of the current political climate, warning against external provocations and urging greater transparency, information-sharing, and institutional steps toward democratization and societal trust.
Travel Itinerary and Planned Memorial Visits
Following his release from Edirne, Mızraklı’s itinerary includes stops in Istanbul, where he is scheduled to visit author İsmail Beşikçi and pay respects at the gravesite of Sırrı Süreyya Önder at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery. He is then scheduled to fly from Istanbul Airport to Diyarbakır to visit the graves of his parents, alongside other figures including Mehdi Zana, Tahir Demirtaş, Tahir Elçi, Mehmed Uzun, and İlhan Diken.
