Hikmet Fidan
Encyclopedia
Hikmet Fidan a Kurdish-born Turkish politician, was the former deputy leader of the Democratic People's Party
(HADEP) until it was banned by the Constitutional Court in 2003.
He was assassinated on July 6, 2005 around noon in Diyarbakir
's Baglar district by two armed murderers who shot him once in the back of the head with a silencer.
Fidan had been working to form an alternative organization called the Patriotic Democratic Party (Partîya Welatparêzên Demokratên Kurdistan (PWD) with Osman Ocalan
, brother of the jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan
. The PWD declared that, just before his death, Fidan had met with PWD groups in Northern Iraq in order to organize their activities in Turkey. Fidan was the coordinator of the PWD which was established by Osman Ocalan after he left the PKK.
Hikmet Fidan's son, Zınnar Tarık Fidan, claimed the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was responsible for the assassination of his father. According to a Milliyet
daily report, Tarık Fidan said his father was against political interference coming from Abdullah Öcalan or the PKK groups in the north of Iraq, adding: “It's obvious who committed the murder. When one puts the pieces together, it points in one direction.” He said his father supported democratic efforts instead of armed confrontation, adding, “My father was a threat to them. He was dividing the organization. I was a witness to many threats made against him.”
In 2008, three years after his assassination, Fidan was bizarrely sentenced to nine months in prison by the 1st Criminal Court of First Instance of Antalya for “talking in Kurdish” during an election campaign.
Democratic People's Party (Turkey)
Democratic People's Party was a Kurdish nationalist political party in Turkey. DEHAP was founded 24 October 1997. It was the continuation of the People's Democracy Party , which was banned in March 2003 by the Constitutional Court on the grounds that it supported the Kurdistan Workers Party.At its...
(HADEP) until it was banned by the Constitutional Court in 2003.
He was assassinated on July 6, 2005 around noon in Diyarbakir
Diyarbakir
Diyarbakır is one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey...
's Baglar district by two armed murderers who shot him once in the back of the head with a silencer.
Fidan had been working to form an alternative organization called the Patriotic Democratic Party (Partîya Welatparêzên Demokratên Kurdistan (PWD) with Osman Ocalan
Osman Ocalan
Osman Öcalan is a former Kurdish militant leader.The younger brother of Abdullah Öcalan, Osman studied at teachers’ training college before joining the PKK when it was founded in 1978 and spending two years in Libya...
, brother of the jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan
Abdullah Öcalan
Abdullah Öcalan , Kurdish founder of the terrorist organization called Kurdistan Workers' Party in 1978.Öcalan was captured in Nairobi and extradited to the Turkish security force, and sentenced to death under Article 125 of the Turkish Penal Code, which concerns the formation of armed gangs...
. The PWD declared that, just before his death, Fidan had met with PWD groups in Northern Iraq in order to organize their activities in Turkey. Fidan was the coordinator of the PWD which was established by Osman Ocalan after he left the PKK.
Hikmet Fidan's son, Zınnar Tarık Fidan, claimed the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was responsible for the assassination of his father. According to a Milliyet
Milliyet
Milliyet is a major Turkish daily newspaper founded in 1950.-History:Milliyet came to publishing life at the Nuri Akça press in Babıali, Istanbul as a daily private newspaper on 3 May 1950...
daily report, Tarık Fidan said his father was against political interference coming from Abdullah Öcalan or the PKK groups in the north of Iraq, adding: “It's obvious who committed the murder. When one puts the pieces together, it points in one direction.” He said his father supported democratic efforts instead of armed confrontation, adding, “My father was a threat to them. He was dividing the organization. I was a witness to many threats made against him.”
In 2008, three years after his assassination, Fidan was bizarrely sentenced to nine months in prison by the 1st Criminal Court of First Instance of Antalya for “talking in Kurdish” during an election campaign.