Seyid Riza
Encyclopedia
Seyid Rıza was born in 1863 in Lirtik, a village in Dersim (is now officially called as Tunceli). His father's name was Seyid Ibrahim from the Hesenan tribe.
He was a political leader of the Alevi
Zazas
, a religious figure and the leader of the Kurdish
movement in Turkey
during the 1937-1938 Dersim Rebellion
.
In explaining the reason for the Kurdish
rebellion to the British foreign secretary Anthony Eden
he said the following:
He was captured on 5 September 1937 and was hanged.
. Rıza and his fellows were not informed about the basics of their rights and the details of their case. It was not found necessary to provide a lawyer to them. They were not able to understand the language of the trial (which was Turkish) since they were all Zazas. However no interpreter was provided. The trial ended after three hearings and in two weeks. The final judgement was given on a Saturday, a day which the courts do not work normally. The cause behind it was Atatürk's forthcoming visit to the region and the government's fear for a possible amnesty claim for Rıza during the visit. The head judge of the court resisted to give his final decision on a holiday and alleged the lack of electricity at night time and a hangman. After giving the guarantees on lightening the courtroom with car lights and to make ready a hangman, everything was ready for the final stage. Eleven men including Seyit Rıza himself, his son Uşene Seyid, Aliye Mırze Sili, Cıvrail Ağa, Hesen Ağa, Fındık Ağa, Resik Hüseyin ve Hesene İvraime Qıji were sentenced to the death. Four of the eleven death sentences was mitigated to 30 years imprisonment sentence. Seyit Rıza was almost 78 years old when the sentence was announced. This made it impossible to hang him. Yet the court accepted that he was 54, not 78. Rıza did not understand the meaning of the judgement till he sees the gallows. His final moments were witnessed by the then by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil: Seyit Rıza understood the situation immediately after he sees the gallows. "You will hang me." he said. Then he turned to me and asked: "Did you come from Ankara to hang me?" We've exchanged glances. It was my first time when I see a man who is going to be hanged. He flashed a smile at me. Prosecutor asked whether he wants to pray? He didn't want it. We asked his last words. "I have forty liras and a watch. You will give them to my son." he said... We brought him to the square. It was cold and there were nobody around. However, Seyit Rıza addressed to the silence and emptiness like the square is full of people. "We are the son of Karbala. We are blameless. It is shame. It is cruel. It is murder!" he said. I had goose bumps. This old man swept to the gallows, pushed the gypsy. He stringed the rope on his neck. He kicked the chair, executed himself...
was requested to disclose the location of the grave of Seyit Rıza and his companions,who were executed back then. "This is not a difficult issue, it is in the state archives." said Mr.Hüseyin Aygün
a lawyer working in the region.
He was a political leader of the Alevi
Alevi
The Alevi are a religious and cultural community, primarily in Turkey, constituting probably more than 15 million people....
Zazas
Zaza people
The Zazas, Kird, Kirmanc or Dimilis are an ethnic Iranic people whose native language is Zazaki spoken in eastern Anatolia. They primarily live in the eastern Anatolian provinces, such as Adıyaman, Aksaray, Batman, Bingöl, Diyarbakır, Elazığ, Erzurum, Erzincan , Gumushane, Kars, Malatya, Mus,...
, a religious figure and the leader of the Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
movement in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
during the 1937-1938 Dersim Rebellion
Dersim Rebellion
The Dersim rebellion was an uprising against the Turkish government in the Dersim region of eastern Turkey, which includes Tunceli Province, Elazığ Province, and Bingöl Province...
.
In explaining the reason for the Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
rebellion to the British foreign secretary Anthony Eden
Anthony Eden
Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC was a British Conservative politician, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957...
he said the following:
The government has tried to assimilate the Kurdish peopleKurdish peopleThe Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
for years, oppressing them, banning publications in KurdishKurdish languageKurdish is a dialect continuum spoken by the Kurds in western Asia. It is part of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian group of Indo-European languages....
, persecuting those who speak KurdishKurdish languageKurdish is a dialect continuum spoken by the Kurds in western Asia. It is part of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian group of Indo-European languages....
, forcibly deporting people from fertile parts of Kurdistan for uncultivated areas of AnatoliaAnatoliaAnatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
where many have perished. The prisons are full of non-combatants, intellectuals are shot, hanged or exiled to remote places. Three million KurdsKurdish peopleThe Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
, demand to live in freedom and peace in their own country.
He was captured on 5 September 1937 and was hanged.
The Trial and His Execution
Seyit Rıza was tried and sentenced after a show trialShow trial
The term show trial is a pejorative description of a type of highly public trial in which there is a strong connotation that the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt of the defendant. The actual trial has as its only goal to present the accusation and the verdict to the public as...
. Rıza and his fellows were not informed about the basics of their rights and the details of their case. It was not found necessary to provide a lawyer to them. They were not able to understand the language of the trial (which was Turkish) since they were all Zazas. However no interpreter was provided. The trial ended after three hearings and in two weeks. The final judgement was given on a Saturday, a day which the courts do not work normally. The cause behind it was Atatürk's forthcoming visit to the region and the government's fear for a possible amnesty claim for Rıza during the visit. The head judge of the court resisted to give his final decision on a holiday and alleged the lack of electricity at night time and a hangman. After giving the guarantees on lightening the courtroom with car lights and to make ready a hangman, everything was ready for the final stage. Eleven men including Seyit Rıza himself, his son Uşene Seyid, Aliye Mırze Sili, Cıvrail Ağa, Hesen Ağa, Fındık Ağa, Resik Hüseyin ve Hesene İvraime Qıji were sentenced to the death. Four of the eleven death sentences was mitigated to 30 years imprisonment sentence. Seyit Rıza was almost 78 years old when the sentence was announced. This made it impossible to hang him. Yet the court accepted that he was 54, not 78. Rıza did not understand the meaning of the judgement till he sees the gallows. His final moments were witnessed by the then by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil: Seyit Rıza understood the situation immediately after he sees the gallows. "You will hang me." he said. Then he turned to me and asked: "Did you come from Ankara to hang me?" We've exchanged glances. It was my first time when I see a man who is going to be hanged. He flashed a smile at me. Prosecutor asked whether he wants to pray? He didn't want it. We asked his last words. "I have forty liras and a watch. You will give them to my son." he said... We brought him to the square. It was cold and there were nobody around. However, Seyit Rıza addressed to the silence and emptiness like the square is full of people. "We are the son of Karbala. We are blameless. It is shame. It is cruel. It is murder!" he said. I had goose bumps. This old man swept to the gallows, pushed the gypsy. He stringed the rope on his neck. He kicked the chair, executed himself...
His Grave
Seyit Rıza was buried in a secret place and its whereabouts is still unknown. There is an ongoing campaign to find his grave. In his latest visit to Tunceli president Abdullah GülAbdullah Gül
Dr. Abdullah Gül, GCB is the 11th and current President of the Republic of Turkey, serving in that office since 28 August 2007. He previously served for four months as Prime Minister from 2002-03, and as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2003-07....
was requested to disclose the location of the grave of Seyit Rıza and his companions,who were executed back then. "This is not a difficult issue, it is in the state archives." said Mr.Hüseyin Aygün
Hüseyin Aygün
Hüseyin Aygün, is a Turkish lawyer and political figure.Hüseyin Aygün worked as a lawyer in his hometown after graduating from the Faculty of Law at Ankara University....
a lawyer working in the region.
Popular media
- The rebellion which he led is explained in Çayan Demirel's award winning documentary film 38. There is also an interview with Seyit Rıza's daughter Leyla Polat in it.
See Also
- Human Rights in TurkeyHuman rights in TurkeyHuman rights in Turkey are theoretically protected by a variety of international law treaties, which take precedence over domestic legislation, according to Article 90 of the 1982 Constitution....
- Zaza PeopleZaza peopleThe Zazas, Kird, Kirmanc or Dimilis are an ethnic Iranic people whose native language is Zazaki spoken in eastern Anatolia. They primarily live in the eastern Anatolian provinces, such as Adıyaman, Aksaray, Batman, Bingöl, Diyarbakır, Elazığ, Erzurum, Erzincan , Gumushane, Kars, Malatya, Mus,...
- Alevis
- Kurdish PeopleKurdish peopleThe Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...