Başak Demirtaş

Başak Demirtaş (born 1977) is a Kurdish-Turkish teacher, author, and the wife of Selahattin Demirtaş, the former leader of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), who she has been campaigning to get released from prison since 2016.

Başak Demirtaş
Born1977 (age 43–44)
Sur, Diyarbakır, Turkey
NationalityKurdish
CitizenshipTurkish
OccupationTeacher
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 2002)​
Children2

Life

Başak was born and grew up in the Sur district of Diyarbakır.[1]

Talking about her husband's arrest by Turkish authorities in 2016, she told Cumhuriyet that it had reminded her of her own childhood: "They took my dad away in 1982. We were in Diyarbakır and the police also came in the middle of the night."[2]

Başak Demirtaş travels regularly from Diyarbakır to Edirne in Turkey's North West to visit her husband.[3] She told the BBC that she tried to be her husband's voice outside the prison during the 2018 Turkish Presidential election, in which he competed as the candidate for the HDP.[4] On 6 June 2018, Selahattin Demirtaş made a campaign speech through his wife's phone from prison.[5]

She met with the EU Rapporteur Kati Piri in 2018 to advocate for her husband's release.[6] During the COVID-19 pandemic she campaigned for the inclusion of the political prisoners into a law which would release thousands of prisoners.[7][8] She took part in the annual congress of the Progressive Alliance in 2019 in Stockholm, where she received an Award for Political Courage on behalf of her husband Selahattin Demirtaş.[9] In June 2020, she was the target of a sexual threat from a twitter account, which lead to a wave of solidarity from human rights activists and female politicians.[10][11] In September 2020, she quit her job as a teacher due to the unpredictable nature of her visits to her husband due to the COVID-19 crisis.[12]

Family

She married Selahattin Demirtaş in 2002.[13] They have two daughters.[14]

References
  1. Gall, Carlotta (2018-07-31). "Erdogan's Most Charismatic Rival in Turkey Challenges Him, From Jail". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  2. "Through his wife's eyes: The night Selahattin Demirtaş was arrested". www.cumhuriyet.com.tr. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  3. "Başak Demirtaş: This is a good trek". www.cumhuriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  4. Girit, Selin (2018-06-20). "Başak Demirtaş: Erdoğan seçmenlerine ölmeyi ve öldürmeyi vadetti". Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  5. "Jailed HDP candidate Demirtaş makes campaign speech through wife's phone - Turkey News". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  6. "EP Rapporteur Kati Piri visits HDP and the Demirtas family". ANF News. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  7. "Wife of imprisoned Kurdish leader urges release of political prisoners in Turkey". www.kurdistan24.net. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  8. "Turkey to free thousands of prisoners due to coronavirus pandemic". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  9. "Jailed Kurdish leader Demirtaş receives international award for political courage". Ahval. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  10. Tremblay, Pinar (2020-06-20). "Sexual threat against HDP leader's wife backfires as Turks rally around women". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  11. "Turkish police release man who threatened top politician's wife". Ahval. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  12. "Former HDP co-chair Demirtaş's wife quits teaching job as COVID-19 prison visitation schedule hinders work". www.duvarenglish.com. 2020-09-16. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  13. "Demirtas: From prison to the palace?". Rudaw. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  14. France-Presse, Agence (2015-06-08). "Turkey election 2015: Kurdish Obama is the country's bright new star". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
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