Mahmut Toğrul (born 1967,

Pazarcık Pazarcık () is a municipality and district of Kahramanmaraş Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,253 km2, and its population is 70,173 (2022). It is in the southeastern part of the province. The cement plant is a major source of greenhouse ga ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

) is a Turkish chemist and politician of the Peoples Democratic Party (HDP). He is a member of the

Grand National Assembly of Turkey The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( ), usually referred to simply as the GNAT or TBMM, also referred to as , in Turkish, is the Unicameralism, unicameral Turkey, Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by ...

between 2015-2023, representing Gaziantep for the HDP. He is also one of the founders of the Mesopotamia Foundation, which envisions establishing a university where one could be taught in their native language.

Early life and education

Mahmut Toğrul was born to a

Kurdish Alevi Kurdish Alevism ( or ) refers to the unique rituals, sacred place practices, mythological discourses and socio-religious organizations among Kurds who adhere to Alevism. Kurdish Alevis consider their hereditary sacred lineages as semi-deific figu ...

family in the village Tilkiler, in the district of

in the

Kahramanmaraş Kahramanmaraş (), historically Marash (; ) and Germanicea (), is a city in the Mediterranean Region, Turkey, Mediterranean region of Turkey and the administrative centre of Kahramanmaraş Province, Kahramanmaraş province. After 1973, Maraş was ...

province. He attended primary school in Tilkiler and high school

Gaziantep Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Medi ...

. After his graduation from high school in 1985 he enrolled in the Dicle University where studied chemistry in the faculty of sciences and letters. During his studies at the Dicle University, he became an assistant in the department of chemistry. He graduated with a doctorate in

Organic Chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the science, scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic matter, organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain ...

in 2001. He then followed up on his studies at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

where he was a visiting scientist for the term from 2002 and 2003.

Professional career

Mahmut Toğrul lectured at the Dicle University since 2005 and later became an associate Professor. He was the representative of the Education and Science Workers' Union (Egitim Sen) of the Dicle University for fifteen years. He is the General Secretary of the Mesopotamia Foundation, which was established in 2013 with the aim to establish a university which provides education in the native language. In 2015 the foundation applied for the establishment for a Kurdistan University.

Political career

Mahmut Toğrul lectured on Quantum Mechanics at the political academy of the

Democratic Regions Party The Democratic Regions Party (, DBP, , PHD) is a Kurdish political party in the Republic of Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called Ea ...

(BDP). In the Parliamentary Elections of November 2015 he was elected to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey representing Gaziantep for the HDP. He was re-elected in the parliamentary elections in June 2018.

Political positions

Academics for Peace

In November 2012, Mahmut Toğrul joined dozens of academics to announce their support for the right to defend oneself in the native language, the end of the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan and a new start for the Kurdish-Turkish peace process. After several of the

Academics for Peace The Academics for Peace (, BAK) refers to an association of academics who support a peaceful solution to the Kurdish–Turkish conflict (1978–present), Kurdish Turkish conflict. They were established in November 2012 and their first public appea ...

were detained for signing the declaration "We are not a party to this crime" in which an end to the human rights violations committed in the Kurdish populated regions was demanded he demanded to be detained as well as he did the same crime. In the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, he submitted a bill in September 2019, which demanded the reinstating the dismissed Academics for Peace, as in July the same year the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...

ruled the Academics rights were violated by sentencing them for terrorist offenses.

Ethnic cleansing in Afrin

Mahmut Toğrul accused the Turkish military of carrying out an ethnic cleansing program in Afrin, Northern Syria in parliament following which a brawl between him and a fellow HDP lawmaker Müslim Doğan against MPs of the Governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) ensued. Both HDP lawmakers were wounded and entered the clinic of the parliament. Togrul was diagnosed with a broken

scapula The scapula (: scapulae or scapulas), also known as the shoulder blade, is the bone that connects the humerus (upper arm bone) with the clavicle (collar bone). Like their connected bones, the scapulae are paired, with each scapula on either side ...

Prosecution

In November 2018, Mahmut Toğrul was sentenced to over 1 year and 6 months imprisonment over alleged terror propaganda he made during two speeches he held in 2016. He defended himself claiming that his remarks were within the bounds of freedom of expression.

Personal life

Mahmut Toğrul is married and has one child.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toğrul, Mahmut Living people 1967 births Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey) politicians People from Pazarcık Turkish chemists Dicle University alumni