The Turkish government has expelled and arrested four other Kurdish mayors in the country in line with the expulsion and arrest of elected mayors from the HDP in the country's Kurdish regions.

Nacho Sanchez Amur, the European Parliament's Special Rapporteur in Turkish affairs, called on Ankara to refrain from the arrest of elected mayors without a court order.

“Local councils should have, at least, the opportunity to choose a temporary mayor from among their members. The principles of democracy are in danger,” he wrote on his Twitter page.

The Associated Press reported that Human Rights Watch also described Turkey's arrest of the elected HDP mayors a violation of the rights of Turkey Kurdish voters.

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