Nurettin Demirtaş
Encyclopedia
Nurettin Demirtaş is a contemporary Zaza
speaking Kurdish
politician of the Peace and Democracy Party
(BDP).
He grew up and attended secondary school in Diyarbakır
. He then studied business at university in Muğla
, where he was arrested in 1993 for his political activities. He spent the following 12 years in prison. After his release he became the founding president of an association for the development of civil society.
He was elected the vice president of the Democratic Society Party
(DTP) in February 2007 and president of the DTP in November 2007, at the party’s second general assembly.
At the end of 2007 he was arrested on his return from a European tour an imprisoned on charges of forging a document to evade military conscription in a trial that was widely seen as political. He was released on Monday 28 April 2008 by a military court and enlisted in the army the following day. Turkish men are required to serve in the army for up to 15 months after the age of 20 unless they have health problems that prevent them from fulfilling military duty.
His brother Selahattin Demirtaş
is also an active BDP politician.
Zazaki
Zazaki is an Indo-European language spoken primarily in eastern Turkey. According to Ethnologue, the language is a part of the northwestern group of the Iranian section of the Indo-European family. Zazaki shares many features, structures, and vocabulary with Gorani, Talyshi and other Caspian...
speaking Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
politician of the Peace and Democracy Party
Peace and Democracy Party
The Peace and Democracy Party ) is a political party in the Republic of Turkey. It succeeded the Democratic Society Party following the closure of the latter party for its alleged connections with the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the EU.The BDP has observer status in the...
(BDP).
He grew up and attended secondary school in Diyarbakır
Diyarbakır
Diyarbakır is one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey...
. He then studied business at university in Muğla
Mugla
Muğla is a city in south-western Turkey. It is the center of the district the same name, as well as of Muğla Province, which stretches along Turkey´s Aegean coast. Muğla center is situated inland at an altitude of 660 m and lies at a distance of about from the nearest seacoast in the Gulf of...
, where he was arrested in 1993 for his political activities. He spent the following 12 years in prison. After his release he became the founding president of an association for the development of civil society.
He was elected the vice president of the Democratic Society Party
Democratic Society Party
The Democratic Society Party was a Kurdish Kurdish nationalist political party in Turkey. The party considered itself social democratic, and had observer status in the Socialist International. It was considered to be the successor of the Democratic People's Party...
(DTP) in February 2007 and president of the DTP in November 2007, at the party’s second general assembly.
At the end of 2007 he was arrested on his return from a European tour an imprisoned on charges of forging a document to evade military conscription in a trial that was widely seen as political. He was released on Monday 28 April 2008 by a military court and enlisted in the army the following day. Turkish men are required to serve in the army for up to 15 months after the age of 20 unless they have health problems that prevent them from fulfilling military duty.
His brother Selahattin Demirtaş
Selahattin Demirtaş
Selahattin Demirtaş is a Turkish-speaking pro-Kurdish politician whose parent speak Zazaki language. He became the chairman of Peace and Democracy Party in January 2010....
is also an active BDP politician.