Kurdish Politician Returns to Turkey After 20 Years
Yaşar Kaya, Kurdish politician and ex-president of DEP, returned to Turkey last night after 20 years.
Right after his plane landed on Esenboğa Airport, Kaya submitted his statement at Ankara Courthouse and released pending a trial.
Kaya met with his family after his release from the courthouse.
20 years in Cologne
Since 1994. Yaşar Kaya (76) had been living in the status of political-refugee in Cologne, Germany
On March 2011, Yaşar Kaya wrote a letter on his return request to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Ankara 11th High Criminal Court stated, if Yaşar Kaya, Yusuf Serhat Bucak and Şerafettin Kaya returns in 3 months, their trial will continue but the court won’t arrest them considering their health conditions and ages.
After the court’s non-arrest guarantee, Kaya decided to come back to Turkey. Yaşar Kaya and 30 others have a standing trial on being a member of Kurdish Parliament and Kurdish National Congress.
Yaşar Kaya is not getting arrested due to the 246th clause of Criminal Courts Law, “Assurance to the defendant.”
First owner of Özgür Gündem
Born in Kars, a north-eastern province of Turkey, Yaşar Kaya was arrested within 49s trial in 1959 while he was continuing his education at the Economy Faculty. The trial pursued for 10 years, after that, he went back to school and completed his education. Due to the same trial, he was exiled to Konya in 1968 and returned the same year.
Kaya became the first owner of Özgür Gündem Newspaper as one of the founders of Kurdish Foundation. During the termination process of People’s Labour Party (HEP) Kaya was elected as the president of DEP.
Kaya and seven other executives of the party were arrested on the verdict of Government Security Court (DGM).
He settled to Cologne, Germany in 1994.
* Click here to read the article in Turkish.