In the context of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict an itirafçı (, 'defector' or 'confessor') is a former member of the

Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of south ...

(PKK) who worked as an informant or collaborator for the

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

security forces against the PKK. Some merely provided intelligence, while others were persuaded or coerced into taking active roles in the conflict. İtirafçıs played a significant role in the conflict in southeastern Turkey in the 1990s, as they were often used to do the extralegal work of security forces, particularly in the case of the unofficial Turkish Gendarmerie unit

JİTEM Jandarma İstihbarat ve Terörle Mücadele or Jandarma İstihbarat Teşkilatı (abbr. ''JİTEM'' or ''JİT''; English: "Gendarmerie Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism" or "Gendarmerie Intelligence Organization") is the unofficial and illegal intel ...

. Human Rights Watch (1999)
VI. VIOLENCE AGAINST JOURNALISTS. Political Killings
/ref> According to figures of the Ministry of Justice, about 1,950 PKK militants became confessors after their arrest.See th
article in Haber Vitrin of 9 February 2009
accessed on 27 September 2010 Unofficial figures put the number of confessors that were used and paid in the fight against the PKK at 500. Abdülkadir Aygan has been described as "the most well-known among PKK members turned informants".''

Today's Zaman ''Today's Zaman'' (Zaman is Turkish for 'time' or 'age') was an English-language daily newspaper based in Turkey. Established on 17 January 2007, it was the English-language edition of the Turkish daily '' Zaman.'' ''Today's Zaman'' included dom ...

'', 28 January 2009
Portrait of a JİTEM hit man: Abdülkadir Aygan
/ref> A confessor was involved in the 2005

Şemdinli incident The Şemdinli incident occurred on 9 November 2005 when a bookshop in Şemdinli, Hakkari Province, Turkey was attacked with grenades. One person died and several were injured in the attack on the Umut bookshop. The attack was carried out by Turkish ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Itirafci Kurdistan Workers' Party JİTEM Turkish words and phrases Defectors by type