Tuncer Bakirhan (born 1970,

Susuz Susuz ( tr, Cılavuz, ku, Cilawûz, russian: Ново-Дубовка) is a town and a district of Kars Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The population is 2,448 as of 2010.The mayor is Oğuz Yantemur from the Republican People's ...

Kars Kars (; ku, Qers; ) is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. Its population is 73,836 in 2011. Kars was in the ancient region known as ''Chorzene'', (in Greek Χορζηνή) in classical historiography ( Strabo), part of ...

) is a former chairman of the Democratic People's Party (DEHAP) and the former Mayor of

Siirt Siirt ( ar, سِعِرْد, Siʿird; hy, Սղերդ, S'gherd; syr, ܣܥܪܬ, Siirt; ku, Sêrt) is a city in southeastern Turkey and the seat of Siirt Province. The population of the city according to the 2009 census was 129,188. History Pr ...

. He was dismissed from his duties as mayor by the Turkish ministry of the interior, arrested and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Early life and education

He grew up in Susuz and attended his primary and secondary education in Kars and studied at the

Uludağ University Uludağ (), the ancient Mysian or Bithynian Olympus (Greek: Όλυμπος), is a mountain in Bursa Province, Turkey, with an elevation of . In Turkish, ''Uludağ'' means "great mountain". In ancient times the range of which it is a part, ext ...

Bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

. During his studies he was detained and accused for supporting 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) but released shortly after.

Political career

He began to be involved in the youth wing of the People's Labour Party (HEP) in 1989 and was a candidate for Kars in the local election 1999, but was not elected. Later he was elected the party chairmen of the

People's Democracy Party People's Democracy Party ( tr, Halkın Demokrasi Partisi, HADEP) was a Kurdish political party in Turkey. Murat Bozlak founded the party on 11 May 1994. The party disbanded in 2003. History Bozlak's first chairmanship Party founder and att ...

(HADEP) for the province of Kars. After the HADEP was closed down in 2003 he joined the DEHAP. He was elected chairman of the DEHAP on the second extraordinary party congress in June 2003. In the parliamentary election in 2002 his party received the most votes in his electoral district but could not assume due to the fact that the party did not pass the

electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...

. Under his leadership, the party initiated a peace campaign for the conflict between the PKK and the Turkish Government and he called for an general amnesty for the members of the PKK in order to facilitate the rebels to participate in the political process. The DEHAP dissolved itself in November 2005 and following he joined 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) and became the parties vice chairmen. He was the DTP candidate for

Esenyurt Esenyurt () is a district of the Istanbul Province and is a part of the metropolitan municipality of Istanbul. Located in the European side of Istanbul, Esenyurt borders with Avcılar and Lake Küçükçekmece on the east, Büyükçekmece on the ...

in the local elections 2009, but was not elected. In the local elections in 2014 he was elected the Mayor of

for 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). He was dismissed by the

Ministry of Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

in November 2016 and detained the same day. He was formally arrested on the 16 December 2016 and in July 2018 he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for being a member of terrorist organization and making propaganda for a terrorist organization. The

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...

ruled against Turkey over his arrest in September 2021.

Other legal prosecution

During his political career he was prosecuted many times often relating to "freedom of expression". In 2004 he was prosecuted for saying hello and good bye in

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 ...

during an election rally. He was arrested on 17 January 2012 due to an investigation in the

Kurdistan Communities Union The Kurdistan Communities Union ( ku, Koma Civakên Kurdistanê, italic=yes, KCK) is a Kurdish political organization committed to implementing Abdullah Öcalan's ideology of democratic confederalism. Öcalan, Abdullahbr>Declaration of Democratic ...

(KCK) and released from prison on the 30 April 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bakirhan, Tuncer Turkish Kurdish politicians Democratic Society Party politicians People expelled from public office Politicians arrested in Turkey People from Kars Province People from Susuz 1970 births Living people Democratic People's Party (Turkey) politicians People's Labor Party politicians