Zübeyir Aydar (born 1961) 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, lawyer and

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) Executive Council Member, making him the de jure political leader of the outlawed

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).

Biography

Born in Yanıkses village in the Eruh District of

Siirt Province Siirt Province, (, ; ) is a province of Turkey, located in the southeast. The province borders Bitlis to the north, Batman to the west, Mardin to the southwest, Şırnak to the south, and Van to the east. Its area is 5,717 km2, and its pop ...

, he graduated from the Law Faculty of

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

after which he worked as a lawyer in Siirt from 1986 to 1991. There he organized the local branch of the Turkish Human Rights Association (IHD) and joined the first Kurdish party in Turkey, the

People's Labor Party The People's Labour Party (, HEP), sometimes translated as the People's Work Party, was a pro- Kurdish political party in Turkey. History It was founded on 7 June 1990 by seven members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly expelled from the ...

(HEP). He was elected to 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 ...

in 1991 on a ticket with the Social Democratic Populist Party for the

Siirt province Siirt Province, (, ; ) is a province of Turkey, located in the southeast. The province borders Bitlis to the north, Batman to the west, Mardin to the southwest, Şırnak to the south, and Van to the east. Its area is 5,717 km2, and its pop ...

. When HEP was banned in 1993, he joined the new Kurdish party, the Democracy Party (DEP). When DEP was banned in 1994, Aydar fled to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

as most party members were arrested by Turkish authorities. He has been living in

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 ...

since then. In Europe he joined the Kurdistan Parliament in Exile (PKDW) and later the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) and Kurdistan Union of Communities (KCK), where he became head of the legislature in 2003. He is wanted in Turkey for being "member of an illegal political party" and since October 14, 2009 wanted by the U.S. for alleged "narcotics trafficking", along with Murat Karayılan and Ali Riza Altun. In June 2010, Belgian authorities arrested Aydar along with

Remzi Kartal Remzi is both a Turkish surname and given name. Notable people with the name include: Given name: * Remzi Başakbuğday (born 1989), Turkish taekwondo practitioner * Remzi Sedat İncesu (born 1972), Turkish basketball coach * Remzi Aydın Jöntü ...

, Adem Uzun and Faruk Doru for involvement with financial transactions to PKK accounts. Several academic and political figures in Europe protested the arrest as counter-productive to finding a political solution for the Kurdish movement. After three weeks, Aydar and his co-defendants were released on lack of evidence. In 2017, Belgian authorities uncovered a plot to assassinate Kurdish politicians Zübeyir Aydar and Remzi Kartal. The alleged hit team included Zekeriya Çelikbilek, a former Turkish military officer; Yakup Koç, found with a Turkish police ID; and Hacı Akkulak, a Kurdish Belgian resident. Surveillance of the Kurdish National Congress building in Brussels led to police intervention. While Çelikbilek and Koç fled Belgium, they were later convicted in absentia and sentenced to five years in prison by the Brussels Court of Appeals in 2024. Aydar asserts that the assassination attempt is linked to the Turkish state, citing evidence of connections between the suspects and Turkish officials, including photographs with the Turkish ambassador to France and at the presidential palace. The case highlights concerns over alleged Turkish intelligence operations targeting dissidents in Europe.https://www.demorgen.be/nieuws/turken-planden-aanslag-tegen-koerden-in-belgie-we-sturen-een-team-naar-binnen~b664c0f6/?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fturkishminute.com%2F

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aydar, Zubeyir 1961 births Turkish Kurdish politicians Living people Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni Democracy Party (Turkey) politicians Exiled Turkish politicians People from Siirt Province