Çağlar Demirel (born 29 July 1969, Kulp,

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

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

politician and a former 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 ...

of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).

Early life and education

Çağlar Demirel was born the Kulp in the

Diyarbakır province Diyarbakır Province (; ; ) is a province and metropolitan municipality in southeastern Turkey. Its area is 15,101 km2, and its population is 1,804,880 (2022). The provincial capital is the city of Diyarbakır. The Kurdish majority province ...

. She enrolled into the

Dicle University Dicle University (, ) is a public university located in Diyarbakır, Turkey, and one of the largest higher education institution. Vocational schools are located in Ergani, Çermik, Çüngüş, Bismil, and Silvan, Turkey, Silvan History Dicle Uni ...

where she studied nursing and graduated in 1995. Following, she was an adviser on health care for several women and governmental institutions in Turkey and was involved in a variety of NGO's focusing on women's rights.

Political career

She was elected as the Mayor of

Derik Derik () is a municipality and district of Mardin Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,381 km2, and its population is 62,028 (2022). History The town is first mentioned in the late 14th century, however a Roman fort indicates that the area has be ...

Mardin Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...

in the municipal elections of 2009 for the

Democratic Society Party The Democratic Society Party (, 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 Socialist International. It was c ...

(DTP). After DTP was banned in December 2009 she joined

Peace and Democracy Party The Peace and Democracy Party (, , BDP) was a Kurdish political party in Turkey existing from 2008 to 2014. Development BDP succeeded the Democratic Society Party (DTP) in 2008, following the closure of the latter party for its alleged conne ...

(BDP). 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 The Kurdistan Communities Union (, KCK) is a Kurdish political organization committed to implementing Abdullah Öcalan's ideology of democratic confederalism. The KCK also serves as an umbrella group for several confederalist political parties o ...

(KCK). While in prison, she joined a

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...

in protest of the detention conditions of

Abdullah Öcalan Abdullah Öcalan ( ; ; born 4 April 1948 or 1949), also known as Apo (short for Abdullah in Turkish; Kurdish for "uncle"), is a founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Öcalan was based in Syria from 1979 to 1998. He ...

, the detained leader of the

Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or the PKK, isDespite the PKK's 12th Congress announcing plans for total organisational dissolution, the PKK has not yet been dissolved de facto or de jure. a Kurds, Kurdish militant political organization and armed ...

(PKK). She was elected to the Turkish parliament in the general elections of June 2015 and re-elected In the snap elections of November 2015, both times representing the HDP for Diarbakir. Following, she became the vice-chair of the HDP parliamentarian group. As such, she supported 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 Turkish Government and the PKK.

Legal prosecution

On the 14 December 2016 ''

Bianet Bianet (acronym for ) is an Independent news agency based in Beyoğlu, Istanbul. Focused on human rights in Turkey it is mainly funded by a Swedish organization. Bianet was established in January 2000 by journalists around , former representative ...

'' reported that Demirel was arrested and prosecuted for membership in propagandizing for a terrorist organization. In July 2017, she was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months imprisonment for being a member of a terrorist organization. On the 17 March 2021, the State Prosecutor before the

Court of Cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case; they only interpret the relevant law. In this, they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In ...

Bekir Şahin Bekir Şahin (born 1 March 1960, Mecitözü, Turkey) is a jurist, former judge and the current State Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation in Turkey. Education He was educated at the Imam Hatip school and studied law at the Dokuz Eylül Univer ...

filed a lawsuit before 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 ...

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. In September 2021, the

ordered a retrial and Demirel was released.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demirel, Caglar Women mayors of places in Turkey Mayors of places in Turkey 1969 births Living people People from Kulp, Turkey Democratic Regions Party politicians Turkish prisoners and detainees Turkish Kurdish politicians 21st-century Turkish women politicians 21st-century Turkish politicians 21st-century Kurdish politicians Turkish women MPs Kurdish women in politics 21st-century Kurdish women