Çağlar Demirel

Çağlar Demirel
Member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey
In office
2015–2016
Personal details
Born29 July 1969
Kulp, Diyarbakır
Political partyHDP
Alma materDicle University

Çağlar Demirel (born 29 July 1969, Kulp, Turkey[1]) is a Kurdish politician and a former member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).[2]

Early life and education

Çağlar Demirel was born the Kulp in the Diyarbakır province. She enrolled into the Dicle University where she studied nursing[3] and graduated in 1995.[2] Following, she was an adviser on health care for several women and governmental institutions in Turkey[2] and was involved in a variety of NGO's focusing on women's rights.[4]

Political career

She was elected as the Mayor of Derik, Mardin in the municipal elections of 2009 for the Democratic Society Party (DTP).[5] After DTP was banned in December 2009[6] she joined Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).[7] She was detained together with more than 100 other politicians of the BDP in October 2011 due to an investigation into the activities of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK).[8] While in prison, she joined a hunger strike in protest of the detention conditions of Abdullah Öcalan, the detained leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).[9] She was elected to the Turkish parliament in the general elections of June 2015[10] and re-elected In the snap elections of November 2015, both times representing the HDP for Diarbakir.[11] Following, she became the vice-chair of the HDP parliamentarian group.[12] As such, she supported the peace process between the Turkish Government and the PKK.[13]

On the 14 December 2016 Bianet reported that Demirel was arrested and prosecuted for membership in propagandizing for a terrorist organization.[14] In July 2017, she was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months imprisonment for being a member of a terrorist organization.[15] On the 17 March 2021, the State Prosecutor before the Court of Cassation Bekir Şahin filed a lawsuit before the Constitutional Court demanding for Demirel and 686 other HDP politicians a five-year ban to engage in politics together with a closure of the HDP due to their alleged organizational links with the PKK.[16][4] In September 2021, the Court of Cassation ordered a retrial and Demirel was released.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Çağlar Demirel". www.tbmm.gov.tr. Archived from the original on 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  2. ^ a b c "ÇAĞLAR DEMİREL Haberleri - Yazılar, Videolar ve Galeri - Habertürk". haberturk. Archived from the original on 2021-01-22. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  3. ^ a b "Behind bars since 2016, HDP's Çağlar Demirel released". Bianet. 22 September 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-09-22.
  4. ^ a b "HDP indictment seeks political ban for 687 members, including Demirtaş, Buldan and Sancar". Bianet - Bagimsiz Iletisim Agi. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  5. ^ "DERİK SEÇİM SONUÇLARI". secim.haberler.com. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  6. ^ Arsu, Sebnem (2009-12-12). "Turkey Bans Kurdish Party (Published 2009)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  7. ^ "BDP'li Çağlar Demirel tutuklandı". Mardin Life (in Turkish). Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  8. ^ "English :: KCK Operation: 137 People in Custody". Bianet. 5 October 2011. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  9. ^ "Turkey-North Kurdistan News in brief. October 31, 2012". ekurd.net. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  10. ^ "Diyarbakır Seçim Sonuçları 2015 - Genel Seçim 2015". Yeni Şafak (in Turkish). 2021-01-16. Archived from the original on 2015-10-22. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  11. ^ "1 Kasım Diyarbakır Seçim Sonuçları Son Durum". Sözcü. Archived from the original on 2021-01-22. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  12. ^ "The Arrest of HDP Deputies Ms. Çağlar Demirel and Ms. Besime Konca". hdp.org.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  13. ^ "Erdogan: Gov't never made deal with terror organization". Anadolu Ajansı. 24 April 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  14. ^ "HDP Group Deputy Chair Çağlar Demirel Arrested". Bianet - Bagimsiz Iletisim Agi. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  15. ^ SCF (2017-07-14). "Jailed HDP deputy Demirel given 90-month prison sentence on terror charges". Stockholm Center for Freedom. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  16. ^ "Turkish prosecutor seeks political ban on 687 pro-Kurdish politicians". Gazete Duvar (in Turkish). 2021-03-18. Archived from the original on 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2021-03-19.