Vigil of Will

​The vigil of will initiated in front of the Van Metropolitan Municipality once again demonstrated the people's determination to defend their democratic will.

The 3-year, 9-month prison sentence handed down to Van Metropolitan Municipality Co-Mayor Abdullah Zeydan was met with widespread outrage in the city. Following the ruling, the people of Van began a vigil in front of the municipal building to protest the appointment of a trustee to the municipality.

The vigil continued until morning in the city, where temperatures dropped to minus 10 degrees Celsius. In the protest that began in front of the municipality building, mothers spent the night sitting on chairs in the municipality halls, wrapped in blankets. While some citizens slept in the municipal council halls, young people spent the night around fires lit outside.

The vigil became a symbol of the Van people's resistance and determination.

Throughout the night, fires were lit in front of the municipal building, people danced, and the voices of solidarity and resistance echoed through the city streets.

Van Metropolitan Municipality Co-Mayors Neslihan Şedal and Abdullah Zeydan also spent the night with the people in front of the municipality.