29.10.2026 13:43
While it was certified by the district governorship that Abdulhalik Taşkın, Mayor of Ağrı Patnos, had an unlicensed house built on pasture land in his village and unjustly occupied an area of 14,000 square meters, Taşkın’s defense of the situation by saying “80 percent of the houses in the village are on pasture land, that’s how it is around here” drew reaction.
It has emerged that in the Patnos district of Ağrı, AK Party Mayor Abdulhalik Taşkın had an unlicensed house built on pasture land in his village. In the investigation conducted against him, while it was recorded by cadastral teams that there had been an unjust intervention in the pasture area, Taşkın's defense against the allegations, "That's how it is around here," caused astonishment.
EVERYTHING STARTED WITH A CITIZEN'S COMPLAINT The process was initiated after a citizen filed a complaint saying, "Using public power to his own advantage, he had a building constructed on pasture land and uses municipal vehicles and workers for his personal business." Following allegations that political pressure was applied to the Patnos District Governorship, the neighboring Tutak District Governorship handled the complaint by proxy.
The road through the greenery leads to the illegal mansion. Abdulhalik Taşkın's illegal mansion is right in the middle of the pasture... THE OCCUPIED AREA IS THE SIZE OF 2 FOOTBALL FIELDS Cadastral technicians who conducted an inspection in the village determined that a 14,405-square-meter pasture area, equivalent to approximately 2 football fields, had been unjustly occupied and drew up a report. The District Governorship, meanwhile, issued an official decision "to restrain the trespasser Abdulhalik Taşkın's unjust intervention on the pasture."
"IT'S NOT A CHATEAU OR ANYTHING, THAT'S HOW IT IS AROUND HERE" Responding to the allegations against him and the district governorship's decision, Patnos Mayor Abdulhalik Taşkın claimed that the complainants were former municipal employees who had been dismissed, and defended himself with the following words: "Those who complained about me are people who previously worked at the municipality and were dismissed; they are slandering because they are resentful. Eighty percent of the houses in the village were built on pasture land—which one has a title deed? That's how it is around here. Not a single nail of the municipality was used. It's not a chateau or anything, just a two-story place of 150 square meters."