Turkish Interior Ministry ousts village head who advocated for Alevi rights

Turkey's Interior Ministry has removed Şahismail Göyük, an elected village head in the eastern Ardahan province because of an ongoing investigation of "terrorism propaganda." Göyük claimed he was targeted for advocating for "equal citizenship" for Alevis.

Friday November 29 2024 05:39 pm

Duvar English

The Turkish Interior Ministry on Nov. 26 removed village head Şahismail Göyük from his position and appointed a trustee in his place. Göyük was elected in the Burmadere village of the eastern Ardahan province in the 2024 local elections.

Göyük was detained and questioned in recent weeks for sharing a post about the leftist revolutionary leaders of 1968 on social media, according to a local association.

Göyük, in an interview with Tele 1, said the Damal district has 28 Alevi villages and that he was summoned to the Ardahan Governor’s Office about a month and a half after being elected.

He noted that a representative from the Interior Ministry also attended the meeting. “They told us they would provide support to cemevis, assign a salaried dede (religious leader), address shortcomings, and attach cemevis to the Culture Ministry,” Göyük said.

Göyük responded, ‘We are not a dance troupe. The Alevi community has its own ancient faith. What do we have to do with the Culture Ministry?’ He rejected the proposal, saying that all Alevis wanted was “equal citizenship.”

“I was the only one who spoke up. None of the other headmen supported me. Two months later, counterterrorism officers detained me. They pulled up my Facebook page and found that I had commemorated the 1968 generation. That’s why they arrested me,” Göyük explained the process leading to his ousting.

Göyük said he was referred to court with a request for his arrest after his questioning. “My only crime is being a socialist and a leftist, and most importantly, an Alevi. But they didn’t include this in my testimony,” he said. Following his court appearance, Göyük was released under judicial control.

The Ardahan Governor’s Office issued a statement regarding the trustee appointment. The office claimed that social media posts and reports in some news outlets about the situation did not reflect the truth.

The office stated that Göyük was temporarily removed from office due to a decision made by the Interior Ministry as part of an investigation launched by the Ardahan Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into allegations of “making propaganda for a terrorist organization.”