Ayşe Gökkan

Ayşe Gökkan (born 1965 in Kulince, Sanliurfa) is a Kurdish journalist, feminist, spokeswoman of the Free Women Movement (TJA)[1] and a former Mayor of Nusaybin.[2] As a journalist, she has been active in news outlets such as Özgür Gündem or Azadiya Welat.[3] Gökkan was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment on grounds that she was a leader and a member of a terror organization in October 2021.[2]

Early life and education

She was born in the village Kulince in Suruç, Şanlıurfa Province.[3] After having attended primary school in her village, she graduated from high school in Urfa.[3] Later she studied journalism at the American University of Northern Cyprus from which she graduated in 1998.[4]

Political career

She was an active member of the People's Labour Party (HEP), the Democracy Party (DEP), the People's Democracy Party (HADEP) the Democratic People's Party (DEHAP) and the Democratic Society Party (DTP).[4] For the HADEP she was a candidate for the Grand National Assembly of Turkey but was not elected as the party didn't pass the electoral threshold of 10 %.[4] Representing the DTP, she was elected as the mayor of Nusaybin in the local elections of 2009.[3][5] As Mayor of Nusaybin she opposed the construction of the border wall between the pro-Kurdish administration in Rojava and Turkey in 2013.[6]

Human rights activist

In February 2020, she was elected as the new spokeswoman of the TJA.[7] In June 2023, she filed a criminal complaint against Hakan Fidan, the former Director of the National Intelligence Organization and other public officials who protected a commander of the Ahrar al Sharqiya who graduated from the Artuklu University in Mardin in June 2023.[8]

According to a news-statement from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Gökkan has been detained for more than 80 times.[9] She was detained again in January 2021[9] at her house in Kayapinar, Diyarbakir and accused of being a member of the Kurdistan Communities Union, the Democratic Society Congress, the Free Women Movement[4] and a leader and member of a terrorist organization.[10] In October 2021, Gökkan was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment on grounds that she was a leader and a member of a terror organization.[2][11] According to the International Federation of Human Rights, she was not permitted to defend herself in the Kurdish language during the trial and her lawyers abstained of preparing a defense in the last hearing because they and representatives of the Diyarbakir Bar Association were assaulted and mistreated by the police present in the courtroom in a past hearing.[11]

References
  1. "Turkish court sentences political activist Ayşe Gökkan to 30 years in prison - ANHA | HAWARNEWS | English". www.hawarnews.com. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  2. van Wilgenburg, Wladimir (20 October 2021). "Kurdish feminist sentenced to 30 years jail in Turkey". Kurdistan24. Archived from the original on 2021-10-20. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  3. "Ayşe Gökkan Kimdir ? - Ayşe Gökkan Hayatı ve Biyografisi". www.haberler.com. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  4. "'No legal reasons' for women's rights defender Gökkan's arrest, says attorney". Bianet. 29 January 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-01-29. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  5. "Nusaybin Seçim Sonuçları". www.haberler.com (in Turkish). 2009. Archived from the original on 2021-10-21. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  6. "Ayşe Gökkan speaks from ground zero". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  7. "Ayşe Gökkan elected new spokeswoman of the TJA". ANF News. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  8. "Criminal complaint against former Ahrar al-Sharqiya commander now graduating in Turkey". Bianet.
  9. "TJA Spokesperson Gökkan detained upon arrest warrant". Bianet. 28 January 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-01-28.
  10. "Kurdish political activist Ayşe Gökkan facing long prison sentence". Medya News. 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  11. "Turkey: Sentencing of woman rights defender Ayşe Gökkan". International Federation for Human Rights. 4 November 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
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