Ayios Sergios, Cyprus. Turkish Cypriot Ayios Sergios mayor Katip Demir was convicted on Friday of document forgery and sentenced to six months in prison. According to Ozgur Gazete, he became the first Turkish Cypriot mayor to receive a criminal conviction while in office.
Case details
According to the newspaper, Demir had forged a municipal council decision in 2017.
Background
Demir was born in 1959 in Turkey’s Trabzon province and migrated with his family to northern Cyprus in 1975.
Political career
He is serving his third term as Ayios Sergios mayor, having previously held office from 2002 to 2006 and from 2014 to 2018. He was elected again in 2022 with the support of the north’s three ruling parties, the UBP, the DP, and the YDP.
At the 2022 election, he won 42 per cent of the vote, defeating incumbent Mustafa Zurnacilar and the opposition CTP’s Sifa Colakoglu.
Upcoming vote
The next Turkish Cypriot local elections will take place on December 6.