Heroes for a Better World

Leyla Zana
(1961-)

Turkish Human Rights Activist
1994 Rafto Prize for Human Rights
1995 Bruno Kreisky Prize for Human Rights
1995 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought
1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005

birthdate: May 3
birthplace:
Silvan near Diyarbakir, in the southeast of Turkey

Leyla Zana was the first Kurdish woman elected to the parliament in Turkey. After taking her parliamentary oath in the Turkish Parliament in 1991, she spoke Kurdish, which was against the law, and for the next 3 years in Parliament continued to speak out for a peaceful resolution of the Kurdish peoples' struggle for human rights and freedom. For these actions, in 1994 she was arrested and faced the death penalty for treason. Amnesty International declared her a Prisoner of Conscience, and led a worldwide call for Leyla Zana's release. International pressure forced the Turkish government not to implement the death penalty, but Leyla Zana was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Leyla Zana was awarded the 1994 Rafto Prize for human rights, and the next year was awarded the Sakharov Prize by the European Parliament and the German Aachen Prize but she was unable to collect any of these awards until she was released in 2004. In 2005, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Turkish government had violated her human rights. After her release from prison, Leyla Zana and others formed a new political party, the Movement for a Democratic Society, which is focused on supporting the process of Turkey’s joining the European Union and working for a peaceful and democratic solution to the Kurdish question. Leyla Zana is now openly calling for Turkey to be divided into states, including the State of Kurdistan. In 2005 she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize as part of the 1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize project.


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