Fidan Doğan (17 January 1982 – 9 January 2013) was 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 ...

activist who worked at the Kurdish information centre in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and also represented the

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

-based Kurdish National Congress in France.

Biography

Born in

Elbistan Elbistan (;Aksüt, Ali"''On the Alevism of Elbistan, Nurhak, Ekinozu and Afsin - Elbistan Nurhak Ekinözü Afşin Aleviliği Üzerine - Zum Alevitentum in Elbistan, Nurhak, Ekinözü und Afşin''"- Alevilik-Bektaşilik Araştırmaları Dergisi 201 ...

in southern

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 ...

, Doğan moved to France when she was young. She grew up in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

, where she completed her university education. She was involved in the Kurdish Information Center in Paris which is considered a liaison office to 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 Kurdish militant political organization and armed gu ...

(PKK) by

France Info France Info (; stylised as franceinfo:) is a French public broadcasting service is a brand of news service participated by France Télévisions, Radio France, France Médias Monde and the Institut national de l'audiovisuel. The service in ...

. She was also engaged in the Kurdistan National Congress. In 2012 she was the speaker of a hunger-strikers who demanded the liberation of the

imprisoned Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...

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 founder of the PKK.

Assassination

She was assassinated in Paris on 9 January 2013, along with

Sakine Cansız Sakine Cansız (; , ; 1958 – 9 January 2013) was one of the co-founders of the Kurdistan Workers' Party also recognised as a terrorist organisation by the EU and NATO countries. Australia and NZ have also designated it is a terrorist org ...

and Leyla Şöylemez. On 17 January in Diyarbakir tens of thousands of Kurds remembered the three women in a ceremony. Fidan Doğa was buried in her family's village in the

district of

Kahramanmaraş province Kahramanmaraş Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality of Turkey. Its area is 14,520 km2, and its population is 1,177,436 (2022). Its provincial capital is the city o ...

, Turkey. The funeral, conducted by an

Alevi Alevism (; ; ) is a syncretic heterodox Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Islamic teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, who taught the teachings of the Twelve Imams, whilst incorporating some traditions from shamanism. Differing ...

dede, was attended by around 5,000 people, the coffin was wrapped in the flag of the PKK whilst mourners wore white scarves to symbolise peace. The mourners included

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 ...

co-chair Gülten Kışanak, and deputies Nursel Aydoğan, Ayla Akat Ata, Hasip Kaplan as well as the mayor of

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, it is ...

Osman Baydemir. Speaking at the funeral, Kışanak is quoted as saying; "''We promise to all Kurdish women and these three women: We will bring peace and freedom to this land'',”.

Aftermath

Tributes after her death revealed that she was well known in political circles. The President of the European Parliament,

Martin Schulz Martin Schulz (born 20 December 1955) is a German politician who was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Germany from 1994 to 2017 and a Member of the Bundestag (MdB) from 2017 to 2021. During his tenure he was Leader of the Progress ...

, made a point of receiving her family to pay his condolences in person. The rapporteur for Turkey of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly,

Josette Durrieu Josette Durrieu (born 20 March 1937) is a French politician and a member of the Senate of France. She represents the Hautes-Pyrénées department and is a member of the Socialist Party. In the Senate, Durrieu serves as vice-chairwoman of the Com ...

, also paid tribute in glowing terms.

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...

's statement that he knew one of the three women assassinated in Paris (which provoked a strong reaction from Turkish Prime Minister

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

), raised speculation that Doğan was also in regular contact with the French president. After her death, there was considerable speculation that the killing of the three women was an attempt to derail the fledgling peace process that had recently begun between the Turkish authorities and Öcalan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dogan, Fidan 1982 births 2013 deaths 2013 murders in France Assassinated activists Assassinated Kurdish politicians 21st-century Kurdish politicians Assassinated Turkish people Deaths by firearm in France Female murder victims Kurdish activists Kurdish Alevis 21st-century Turkish women politicians People from Elbistan People murdered in Paris Turkish human rights activists Turkish people murdered abroad Turkish women's rights activists Unsolved murders in France Assassinated Turkish politicians Turkish Kurdish politicians 2010s murders in Paris Kurdish human rights activists Kurdish women's rights activists Members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party European politicians assassinated in the 2010s Politicians assassinated in 2013 Kurdish women in politics

Biography

Assassination

Aftermath

See also

References