Akın Birdal (born 2 January 1948,

Niğde Niğde (; grc, Νίγδη; Hittite: Nahita, Naxita) is a city and the capital of Niğde province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey at an elevation of 1,299 m. In 2017 the city population was 141,010 people. The city is small with plenty ...

, Niğde Province, Turkey) is a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

human rights activist and politician. He was a member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey for the Democratic Society Party (DTP) (2007 to 2009) and the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) from 2009 to 2011. He is an honorary President of the Human Rights Association of Turkey (IHD), having been its chair from 1992 to 1998. He has published a number of essays and short stories. He is married with two children.

Education and early life

Birdal is an agricultural engineer by training, graduating from

Ankara University Ankara University ( tr, Ankara Üniversitesi) is a public university in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in Turkey after the formation of the republic in 1923. The university has 40 vocat ...

Faculty of Agriculture, Soil Science Department.kimkimdir.gen.tr
Akın Birdal (1948 - .... )
/ref> He went on to do a master's degree in business at the Gazi University from where he graduated in 1973. As a university student, he was involved in several agricultural associations. His academic career, begun in 1979, was cut short by the

1980 Turkish coup d'état The 1980 Turkish coup d'état ( tr, 12 Eylül Darbesi), headed by Chief of the General Staff General Kenan Evren, was the third coup d'état in the history of the Republic of Turkey, the previous having been the 1960 coup and the 1971 coup by ...

, and for a time he made a living running a grocery store.

Political career and human rights

Birdal co-founded the Human Rights Association of Turkey in 1986, and became its Secretary-General. He was elected its chairman in 1992. On 3 September 1996 he was detained accused of collaborating with the PKK for being part of a delegation who wanted to negotiate the release of Turkish soldiers captured by the PKK. Eight captive soldiers were released. In December 1996 he was acquitted from the charges of collaborating with the PKK. In 1997 Birdal and others were investigated or detained for supporting a peace initiative for the Kurdish Turkish conflict called the

Musa Anter peace train The Musa Anter Peace Train was a failed 1997 campaign organized by the German Hannover Appell for a peaceful solution for the Kurdish-Turkish conflict. It was named in honor of the Kurdish poet and writer Musa Anter. The original plan was for a ...

. In December the same year Birdal was acquitted from the charges relating to his support for the peace train. On 12 May 1998, Birdal barely survived an

assassination attempt This is a list of survivors of assassination attempts, listed chronologically. It does ''not'' include those who were heads of state or government at the time of the assassination attempt. See List of heads of state and government who survived as ...

, when two assailants fired 13 shots at him in the office of the association. The Turkish Revenge Brigade claimed responsibility. In 1999 he was sentenced to 20 months' imprisonment under Article 312 (of which he served 14 months) for speeches made in 1995 and 1996.Details can be found on the website of the Human Rights Agenda Association in a report calle
Defend Human Rights Defenders
with a direct link to download the report as a word-file; accessed 26 August 2009 In his speeches, he was in favor of a peaceful solution in the conflict between Turkey and the PKK. He was released on medical reasons on 25 September 1999, but on 30 March 2000 a court ruled he must serve the rest of the sentence in prison. In the year 1999 he was adopted as a prisoner of conscience by

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

. In 2007 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the case breached Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as Article 6.1 (right to a fair trial). In 2002 Birdal was one of the founders of the Socialist Democratic Party, becoming its chairman, but stepped down after becoming Vice President of the

International Federation for Human Rights The International Federation for Human Rights (french: Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme; FIDH) is a non-governmental federation for human rights organizations. Founded in 1922, FIDH is the third oldest international h ...

. Hurriyet Daily News, 17 July 2004
Akin Birdal; a human rights defender and man of many parts
/ref> In July 2007, he stood as an independent candidate in the Turkish parliamentary elections and entered the Turkish Parliament, representing Diyarbakır. His candidacy was supported by the Thousand Hopes Candidates alliance. Following his election, he joined the Democratic Society Party (DTP) and for the Municipal Elections of March 2009, he was the DTP candidate for the Mayorship of Istanbul but he was not elected. Later in 2009, he joined the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).

Awards

* ''Jaime Brunet Prize for Human Rights'' (1999)unavarra.es
Akin Birdal, Jaime Brunet Prize 1999
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Birdal, Akin 1948 births Living people People from Niğde Democratic Society Party politicians Democratic Regions Party politicians Deputies of Diyarbakır Turkish human rights activists Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Turkey Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights European Court of Human Rights cases involving Turkey Members of the 23rd Parliament of Turkey Turkish prisoners and detainees Politicians arrested in Turkey