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Abdullah Zeydan
Mayor of Van
Assumed office
2 April 2024
Preceded byOzan Balci
Member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey
In office
June 2015 – November 2016
Constituency Hakkari
Personal details
Born13 March 1972
Yüksekova
Political party HDP
DEM Party
ParentMustafa Zeydan

Abdullah Zeydan (born 13 March 1972 in Yüksekova) [1] is a Turkish politician of Kurdish descent and a member of the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party). [2]

Education

He attended primary school and high school in Yüksekova in the Hakkari Province. [3]

Political career

Abdullah Zeydan was elected as a member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in the general elections of June 2015 representing Hakkari [4] and re-elected on the snap elections in November of the same year. [5] Zeydan, running on a pro-Kurdish DEM party ticket, came first in the Van local election held on 31 March 2024, but the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court annulled his election as mayor of the city with a decision taken on 4 April 2024.[ citation needed] Zeydan appealed to the Supreme Election Board and was instated as mayor. [6]

Judicial prosecution

In 2015, he was criticized for saying "(If PKK wanted,) PKK would drown you in spit" [7] then he was imprisoned on 4 November 2016 together with fellow HDP deputies [8] and charged for having attended funerals of members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) but also the Peoples Protections Forces (YPG) who fought against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). [9] Zeydan was imprisoned in the F-type prison in Edirne together with Selahattin Demirtaş, with whom he joined a hunger strike in protest of the detention conditions in March 2017. [10] He also joined a hunger strike in protest of the detention conditions of Abdullah Öcalan, which was initiated by Leyla Güven. [11] He was to take part in it for 10 days. [11] He was punished for this the same month by the prison authorities, but Abdullah Öcalan was permitted a visit of his brother days after Zeydan joined the hunger strike. [11] In January 2018, Zeydan was sentenced to 8 years imprisonment for allegedly supporting a "terrorist" organization and making "terrorist" propaganda. [9] In November 2019, a court ruled he be released. But this decision was opposed by the prosecutor of Diyarbakır on the same day, after which the court reconsidered and decided to keep him imprisoned. [12] The State Prosecutor to the Court of Cassation in Turkey Bekir Şahin filed a lawsuit before the Constitutional Court on 17 March 2021, demanding a five-year ban from participating in politics for Zeydan and 686 other HDP politicians. [13] The lawsuit was filed together with the request for a closure of the HDP due to the party's alleged organizational links with the PKK. [14] [13]

On 6 January 2022, after having attended a hearing in Elâzığ, Zeydan was released from prison. [15]

Personal life

He is married to Dilsah Zeydan and the couple has three daughters. [2] He is the son of Mustafa Zeydan, a former deputy of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) [1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Hakkari Milletvekili Abdullah Zeydan Kimdir?". Bianet. Archived from the original on 2016-11-05. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Jailed Kurdish lawmaker allowed first family visit in months". www.kurdistan24.net. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
  3. ^ "Abdullah Zeydan - Hakkari Milletvekili Adayları - 7 Haziran 2015 Genel Seçimleri | SABAH". www.sabah.com.tr. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  4. ^ IHA. "Yüksekova'da Resmi Seçim Sonuçları Açıklandı". Hürriyet (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  5. ^ Şafak, Yeni (2020-08-13). "Hakkari Seçim Sonuçları 2015 - Genel Seçim Kasım 2015". Yeni Şafak (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  6. ^ "Turkey's top election authority restores newly elected pro-Kurdish mayor's right to hold office". Associated Press. 3 April 2024. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  7. ^ "Van Büyükşehir Belediye Başkanı seçilen DEM Partili Abdullah Zeydan'ın seçilme hakkı geri alındı, İl Seçim Kurulu AKP'li adaya mazbata verme kararı aldı" (in Turkish). 2024-04-02. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  8. ^ SCF (2018-01-11). "Turkish court sentences pro-Kurdish HDP deputy Zeydan to 8 years in prison". Stockholm Center for Freedom. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
  9. ^ a b Khalidi, Ari. "Kurdish MP in Turkey sentenced to 8 years in prison". www.kurdistan24.net. Archived from the original on 2018-01-11. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
  10. ^ "Jailed pro-Kurdish party leader begins hunger strike". Associated Press. 2017-03-31. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
  11. ^ a b c "Arrested Politician Zeydan on Hunger Strike". Bianet. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  12. ^ "Turkey's pro-Kurdish party former co-chair, MP to remain in prison". www.duvarenglish.com. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  13. ^ a b "HDP indictment seeks political ban for 687 members, including Demirtaş, Buldan and Sancar". Bianet. Archived from the original on 2021-03-18. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  14. ^ "Turkish prosecutor seeks political ban on 687 pro-Kurdish politicians". www.duvarenglish.com. Gazete Duvar. 2021-03-18. Archived from the original on 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  15. ^ "Abdullah Zeydan hat berdan". Rûdaw. 6 January 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
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