Mehmet Abbasoğlu (born Mehmet Tongac 10 June 1955 – 5 June 2015) was a Kurdish politician and former leader of Democratic People's Party (DEHAP). Abbasoğlu was born in Büyükkadikoy 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, it is ...

as the last of 5 children of Abas and Hani Tongac who were originally from

Dersim Tunceli (, , ) is a municipality (belde) in Tunceli District and capital of Tunceli Province, Turkey. The city has a Zaza majority. It had a population of 35,161 in 2021. Name During Ottoman times, the settlement was called ''Kalan'' or ''Mam ...

. His father died when he was 6. He attended the military school when he was 14 and started duty as a

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

. He married Feride Abbasoglu in 1976. After retiring from army service in 1995 Abbasoğlu became an active member of the

People's Democracy Party People's Democracy Party (, 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 attorney Murat Bozlak was the part ...

(HADEP). He founded the Democratic People's Party (DEHAP) in 1997 for the case that the Turkish authorities would ban the HADEP. In the parliamentary election of November 2002 his party won 6.2 of the popular vote. But because of the 10 percent

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

the party could not send representatives to

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

. After 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 ...

banned HADEP in 2003, the DEHAP became the continuation party. Mehmet Abbasoğlu was sentenced to 1 year 11 Months in prison in 2003 by Turkish courts for an alleged false documentation of DEHAP to the High Electoral Committee. He was imprisoned between October 2003 and August 2004. After released from prison in 2005 Abbasoğlu returned to politics and served in the Municipality Committee of the

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). On 14 April 2009 he was arrested along with several other politicians by the Turkish authorities and prosecuted for his involvement in 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). He was released pending trial in 2014 after 5 years. He returned to his job in Municipality Committee and continued to work until he was diagnosed with lung cancer in April 2015. After his cancer diagnosis, despite efforts, he died in Diyarbakir Memorial Hospital on 5 June 2015. After his remains was brought from Diyarbakır to

Tunceli Tunceli (, , ) is a municipality (belde) in Tunceli District and capital of Tunceli Province, Turkey. The city has a Zaza majority. It had a population of 35,161 in 2021. Name During Ottoman times, the settlement was called ''Kalan'' or ''Ma ...

(also known as Dersim), 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 ...

ceremony was held before he was buried in the Asri Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbasoglu, Mehmet 1955 births 2015 deaths Turkish Kurdish politicians Democratic People's Party (Turkey) politicians