Sibel Yiğitalp

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Sibel Yigitalp
Member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey
In office
June 2015 – 2018
ConstituencyDiyrabakır
Personal details
Born1 February 1971
Mardin
Political partyHDP
Alma materOndokuz Mayıs University

Sibel Yiğitalp (1 February 1971, Mardin, Turkey) is a politician of Kurdish descent and a former member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey for the People's Democratic Party (HDP).

Early life and education[edit]

Sibel Yiğitalp was born in Mardin and studied Health Sciences at the Ondokuz Mayıs University from where she graduated with a master's degree. Onwards she worked as a manager in various healthcare institutions. She was a member of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) and the Health Workers Union.[1]

Political career[edit]

In the Parliamentary Elections of June 2015 she was elected to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey representing Diyarbakir for the HDP.[2] She was re-elected in the snap elections in November 2015.[3]

Political views[edit]

As an MP she defended the rights of the Kurds during the curfews in 2016[4] demanding answers to the imposition of curfews in the Diyarbakir province[5] and attempted to visit the by a curfew affected locality of Silvan together with the Diyarbakir Bar Association.[6] She also opposed the dismissal of elected Kurdish Mayors.[7]

Legal prosecution[edit]

In August 2017, a state prosecutor demanded that her parliamentary immunity be removed.[8] In April 2018, another investigation into the lifting of her parliamentary immunity was initiated.[9] In January 2019, Yigitalp was accused of terror related charges for which the prosecution demanded between 10 and 26 years imprisonment.[10][11] She left Turkey for Germany, from where received support from the Die Linke.[12] The State Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation in Turkey Bekir Şahin filed a lawsuit before the Constitutional Court on the 17 March 2021, demanding for Yiğitalp and 686 other HDP politicians a five-year ban for political activities in Turkey.[13] The lawsuit was filed jointly with a request for the HDP to be shut down due to the parties alleged organizational links with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).[14][13]

Personal life[edit]

She is married and has two children.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Sibel Yiğitalp Kimdir ? - Sibel Yiğitalp Hayatı ve Biyografisi". www.haberler.com. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  2. ^ "Diyarbakır Seçim Sonuçları - 7 Haziran 2015 Genel Seçimleri | SABAH". www.sabah.com.tr. Sabah. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  3. ^ "1 Kasım Diyarbakır Seçim Sonuçları Son Durum". www.sozcu.com.tr. Sözcü. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  4. ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Families search for missing loved ones in Turkey's embattled Kurdish capital | DW | 19.03.2016". DW.COM. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  5. ^ "'Who is Responsible for Operations in Lice?', Asks HDP's Yiğitalp". Bianet - Bagimsiz Iletisim Agi. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  6. ^ "Turkey's Silvan under siege as Kurdish fighters assert authority". Middle East Eye édition française (in French). Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  7. ^ "28 Kurdish Mayors Removed for Office". KEDISTAN (in French). 2016-09-11. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
  8. ^ "Turkish prosecutor requests deputy's immunity be lifted". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  9. ^ "Garo Paylan Archives | Page 2 of 4". Gagrule.net. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  10. ^ "HDP'li Sibel Yiğitalp'e 26 yıla kadar hapis istemi". Milliyet (in Turkish). Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  11. ^ "Ehemaliger HDP-Abgeordneten drohen 26 Jahre Haftstrafe". ANF News (in German). Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  12. ^ "Sibel Yiğitalp (HDP) zum HDP-Verbot". DIE LINKE (in German). 18 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  13. ^ a b "HDP indictment seeks political ban for 687 members, including Demirtaş, Buldan and Sancar". Bianet. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  14. ^ "Turkish prosecutor seeks political ban on 687 pro-Kurdish politicians". www.duvarenglish.com. Gazete Duvar. 2021-03-18. Retrieved 2021-03-19.