Two mayors close to the opposition have been removed from office after being convicted of “terrorism”, Turkish authorities announced today, weeks after four other elected officials were ousted.

The mayors of Tunceli and Ovacik were sentenced this week to six years and three months in prison each as members of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). They were replaced by state-appointed mayors, Turkey’s interior ministry announced.

The ousted mayor of Tunceli, Cevdet Konak, is a member of Party of Equality of Peoples and Democracy (DEM, formerly HDP), Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish party. The DEM is the third largest party in the Turkish parliament and is often targeted by authorities who accuse it of links to the PKK.

Mustafa Sarigul, the mayor of Ovacik, is close to People’s Republican Party (CHP), the largest opposition party which won last March’s local elections.

Both told reporters Thursday that their convictions were baseless and merely preparing the ground for their impeachment.

Footage broadcast by several local media shows angry protesters gathered outside Tunceli’s town hall this evening. Some tried to break the police cordon.

In late October and early November four other mayors were also dismissed, accused of “terrorism”. Their replacement was condemned by the Council of Europe and human rights organizations.

The DEM condemned the dismissals of the two mayors stating that “the government is slowly destroying the will of the people». CHP leader Özgür Ozel denounced the “stealing of the nation’s will”.