Ayla Akat Ata (born 16 February 1976) is a

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

–Turkish jurist and former member of the

Grand National Assembly of Turkey The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...

of the

Peace and Democracy Party The Peace and Democracy Party ( tr, Barış ve Demokrasi Partisi, ku, Partiya Aştî û Demokrasiyê, BDP) was a Kurdish political party in Turkey existing from 2008 to 2014. Development BDP succeeded the Democratic Society Party (DTP) in 20 ...

(BDP). She is a women's rights activist and the co-founder of the Free Women's Congress (KJA). Besides she was also involved in the negotiations between 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) and the

Turkish Government The Government of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Hükûmeti) is the national government of Turkey. It is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative democracy and a constitutional republic within a pluriform multi-party ...

in 2013.

Early life and education

Ayla Akat Ata was born in

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, ...

in 1976. Since graduating from the Faculty of Law at

Dicle University Dicle University ( tr, Dicle Üniversitesi, ku, Zanîngeha Dîcleyê) is a public university located in Diyarbakır, Turkey, and one of the largest higher education institution. Vocational schools are located in Ergani, Çermik, Çüngüş, B ...

in Diyarbakır, she has been working as a lawyer. She is a member of the

Turkish Human Rights Association The Human Rights Association ( tr, İnsan Hakları Derneği, İHD) is an NGO for advancing Human rights in Turkey, founded in 1986 and headquartered in Ankara. Establishment The İHD's origins can be traced to the victims of the purges in the ...

(İHD), and a co-founder of the Free Women's Congress (KJA), which is organized through an assembly of 501 members.

Political career

In July 2007, she stood as an independent candidate in the Turkish parliamentary elections and entered the

Turkish Parliament The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...

, joining the

Democratic Society Party The Democratic Society Party ( tr, Demokratik Toplum Partisi, DTP, Kurdish: ''Partiya Civaka Demokratîk'', PCD) was a Kurdish nationalist political party in Turkey. The party considered itself social-democratic and had observer status in the Soci ...

(DTP). After the DTP was banned on 11 December 2009, she joined the

(BDP). She was re-elected in the 12 June 2011 general election. In January 2013 she was involved in the

peace process A peace process is the set of political sociology, sociopolitical negotiations, agreements and actions that aim to solve a specific armed conflict. Definitions Prior to an armed conflict occurring, peace processes can include the prevention of ...

between the

(PKK) and the Turkish Government and met with

Abdullah Öcalan Abdullah Öcalan ( ; ; born 4 April 1949), also known as Apo (short for Abdullah in Turkish and Kurdish for "uncle"), is a political prisoner and founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Öcalan was based in Syria from ...

İmralı prison İmralı prison is an F-Type high security prison on the island of İmralı in the Sea of Marmara in Turkey. It is currently used as a prison for a few prisoners from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and one prisoner of the Communist Party of T ...

together with

Ahmet Türk Ahmet Türk (born 2 July 1942, Derik, Turkey) is a Turkish politician of Kurdish origin from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP). He has been a member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey for several terms and was elected twice as the May ...

. In 2015, she unsuccessfully demanded the abolition of the article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code, which criminalizes insulting the Turkish president.

Legal prosecution

In September 2007, she and

Aysel Tuğluk Aysel Tuğluk (; born 17 July 1965 in Elâzığ, Turkey) is a Kurdish politician from Turkey and was a founding member of the Democratic Society Party (DTP) in Turkey. Aysel Tuğluk is currently imprisoned at the Kocaeli F-Type Prison, located n ...

were charged with “conducting propaganda for an outlawed organization” and “aiding and abetting a terrorist organization.” On the 26 October 2016, she was detained and later arrested while attending a protest against the dismissal of the Co-Mayors

Gültan Kışanak Gültan Kışanak (born 15 June 1961) is a Kurdish journalist, author and politician from Turkey. Kışanak was born in Elazığ in 1961. Her family is originally from Dersim Tunceli ( ku, Dêrsim) is a city and municipality in eastern Turkey. ...

and Fırat Anlı and accused of "managing a terrorist organization" also due to her activities in the

Democratic Society Congress The Democratic Society Congress (, ) is a pro-Kurdish NGO favouring the implementation of Democratic Confederalism in Turkish politics. Its foundation congress was held between 26-29 October 2007. Structure It has 2 co-chairs, a chairman and ...

(DTK). She was released on the 4 May 2017. She was re-arrested in February 2018 for a speech she gave in relation of Kamber Moroç who had died as Turkish soldiers opened fire on a bus. In this case she was released in May 2018. In September 2020, she was detained with other 82 politicians over accusations that she supported the Kobanî protests in 2014, which were in support of the Kurdish population besieged in

Kobanî Kobanî (, , also rendered , ar, كُوبَانِي, Kūbānī) (Kurdish: Kobanî/ کۆبانی) officially Ayn al-Arab ( ar, عَيْن الْعَرَب, ʿAyn al-ʿArab ), is a Kurdish-majority city in northern Syria, lying immediately ...

by the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

(ISIL).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akat Ata, Ayla 1976 births People from Diyarbakır Living people Deputies of Batman Democratic Regions Party politicians Democratic Society Party politicians Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey) politicians Members of the 24th Parliament of Turkey Members of the 23rd Parliament of Turkey Dicle University alumni 21st-century Turkish women politicians 21st-century Turkish politicians Politicians arrested in Turkey Turkish Kurdish politicians Kurdish jurists