Turkey’s interior minister warned the mayor of Istanbul and other critics to keep quiet about the removal of elected officials in the country’s Kurdish southeast, adding to concerns about a potential government clampdown on opposition mayors recently voted into power.

During a lengthy meeting with international journalists, Suleyman Soylu defended the Turkish government’s controversial decision to suspend three elected Kurdish mayors on Monday and replace them with appointees.

He described it as a legally justified step to counter the outlawed separatist Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which is widely blacklisted as a terrorist organisation.

The move prompted widespread criticism, including from recently elected Istanbul opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who wrote on Twitter that “ignoring the will of the people is unacceptable”.

Scores were detained in protests following the suspensions, with police targeting demonstrators in Istanbul with rubber bullets and teargas.

Asked by The Independent whether those officials voicing support for the ousted mayors could also be accused of sympathy for terrorist groups, Mr Soylu – whose interior ministry oversees municipal governments – dismissed their criticisms as political posturing.

Election in Turkey: the reaction in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Election in Turkey: the reaction in pictures Election in Turkey: the reaction in pictures Supporters of Mr Erdogan celebrate in Istanbul Getty Election in Turkey: the reaction in pictures A supporter of Mr Erdogan carries his portrait in front of a Turkish flag Reuters Election in Turkey: the reaction in pictures Following the election, a shipowner reads a newspaper that covers the result AP Election in Turkey: the reaction in pictures Supporters of Muharrem Ince, defeated opposition candidate, wait outside the Republican People's Party (CHP) headquarters following Mr Erdogan's claim of victory Getty Election in Turkey: the reaction in pictures People in an Instanbul barber shop listen to Muharrem Ince's speech following the results EPA Election in Turkey: the reaction in pictures Supporters of the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) hold photos of its leader Selahatin Demirtas AFP/Getty Election in Turkey: the reaction in pictures Supporters of Mr Erdogan celebrate outside the AK party HQ in Ankara Getty Election in Turkey: the reaction in pictures Mr Erdogan waves to supporters in Ankara AP Election in Turkey: the reaction in pictures Mr Erdogan waves to supporters in Ankara AP Election in Turkey: the reaction in pictures Supporters of Mr Erdogan light flares as they celebrate the result AP

“To what extent should mayors engage in political commentary?” he said.

“My advice to them is, they should mind their business and should not make ridiculous comments about things they don’t understand.”

The removal of the mayors comes just months after the election of Mr Imamoglu, who trounced a pro-government candidate in June after his narrow 31 March victory was annulled under pressure by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and has rattled Turkey’s political scene. Mr Imamoglu is seen as a star in Turkish opposition politics, and there is worry that Mr Erdogan will attempt to hamper his rise.

He and the opposition mayor of Ankara, the capital, ended 25 years of rule by Mr Erdogan’s party in the two cities.

A protester is detained by police during a demonstration against the replacement of Kurdish mayors with state officials in three cities (AFP/Getty) (AFP/Getty Images)

“Who can say the removal of the mayors is not also a threat to municipalities currently ruled by other opposition parties?” wrote commentator Cigdem Toker in the daily newspaper Sozcu.

Even Ahmet Davutoglu and Abdullah Gul, former top officials and allies of Mr Erdogan as well as founding members of the reigning Justice and Development Party, criticised the suspensions as anti-democratic.

Mr Soylu’s team handed out dossiers detailing the alleged crimes Diyarbakir co-mayor Adnan Selcuk Mizrakli, Mardin mayor Ahmet Turk and Van co-mayor Bedia Ozgokce. All of them, members of the Kurdish-rooted People’s Democratic Party, had defeated government-appointed trustees in the 31 March elections.

Mr Soylu likened the removal and prosecution of the elected officials to Spain’s moves against elected Basque and Catalan elected officials who became part of separatist movements.

“Although there is no violent act, 12 Catalan officials were prosecuted for crimes of destroying constitutional order through violence and disobedience,” he said.

During a speech and a question-and-answer session with journalists that lasted three-and-a-half hours, Mr Soylu discussed Turkey’s anxieties about refugees and migrants that continue to flood the country’s borders.

He presented a six-minute video showing off the successes of some of the nearly 4 million Syrian refugees living in Turkey, but cautioned that the country had already spent $40bn over the past 18 years absorbing migrants from neighbouring and other countries, and was allocating 70 per cent of its coast guard budget on keeping migrants from reaching Europe as part of a $6bn deal.

He accused the west of not doing enough to help Turkey handle the migrants and contributing to instability in countries where war and economic malaise were producing outflows of people.