Osman Baydemir

Osman Baydemir (born 1971 in Diyarbakır ) is a Turkish- Kurdish lawyer, human rights activist and politician. He studied at the Dicle University in Diyarbakir law and since 2004 has been Lord Mayor of that city.

Life

Baydemir was elected Diyarbakır Human Rights Association of İnsan Haklari Derneği the board of the branch in 1995. Until 2002, he held various positions as board member, vice president of the organization and chairman of the Diyarbakir branch held in İHD. In early 1999 he was among the first lawyers, who agreed to a defense of Abdullah Ocalan and wanted to visit him in prison. On November 3, 2002 Baydemir candidate in the parliamentary elections in Turkey for the Kurdish party DEHAP. However, the party could not overcome the 10 % election barrier. In 2003 he spent six months in the U.S. to improve his English skills. In 2004 Baydemir was elected mayor of Diyarbakir. He was confirmed by the local elections in 2009 in office. For the upcoming local elections in 2014 Baydemir she does not stand for more Diyarbakır, but for the Lord Mayor of the City of Şanlıurfa. For his current position candidate his party colleague Gültan Kisanak.

Baydemir is the Deputy Chairman of the İHD, the lawyer Reyhan Yalçindag married. The couple have a son called me Zanyar and a daughter named Ranya.

Prosecutions and processes

Both in his position as a human rights activist as well as a politician, a large number of investigations and criminal proceedings against Osman Baydemir was opened. According to a report by the beginning of 2004 the pressure on human rights activists were pending against Osman Baydemir to the 200 method. The daily radical announced on 11 July 2006 that there were 129 investigations against Osman Baydemir in the last two years.

Individual messages to procedure

• May 25, 2004: Acquittal for insulting a police officer
• May 31, 2006: charges of providing an ambulance for PKK militants killed in this process was Osman Baydemir acquitted in September 2006.
• June 24, 2006: prosecution for an interview in the magazine Tempo
• October 4, 2006: proceedings for speech at the funeral of a PKK militants

The petition to Anders Fogh Rasmussen

56 Mayor of the DTP, including Osman Baydemir, from cities of Southeast and East Anatolia have by petition to the Prime Minister of Denmark, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, asked not to close Roj TV. Subsequently, the prosecutor's office in Diyarbakir accused the pro-Kurdish mayors because Roj TV contacts with the PKK was assumed. Rasmussen expressed on 16 June 2006 in a radio interview and was very surprised that he had ever received a petition. He criticized the Turkish authorities, the accused the mayor because of a petition. The 5th chamber of the Great Criminal Court of Diyarbakir ( previously the second chamber of the Diyarbakir State Security Court ) sentenced 53 mayors ( including Osman Baydemir ) on 15 April 2008 under Article 215 of the Turkish Penal Code ( praising of an offender or a criminal offense ) to each 75 days imprisonment, which ( about 1000 euros ) was converted to a fine of 1875 YTL.

International Contacts

Osman Baydemir has participated in many international conferences, in particular to problems of local administration. In May 2004, he participated in the founding meeting of an umbrella organization for local government with the name of United Cities and Local Governments ( UCLG ) in Paris. According to a report in the Internet newspaper kent haber should it have been in May 2005. Baydemir had been elected to the board. The website of the Middle East and West Asian Section ( MEWA ) UCLG calls him Co-President.

In the years 2005 and 2006, Osman Baydemir took at least eight trips abroad, visiting among others Athens, Frankfurt, Cologne, Paris, Berlin and Stockholm. On 22 and 23 November 2004 in Brussels Baydemir took part in the conference " EU, Turkey and the Kurds " part. The conference took place in the years 2005 and 2006. With date of 20 September 2005, Osman Baydemir submitted a written contribution. Because of this contribution, the Home Office initiated an investigation and sent two Secretaries to Diyarbakir.

In a press release dated August 2005, Osman Baydemir complained that the city government will prevented in eight projects in mind to take the aid pledged by international bodies to complete. In the press release of August 12, 2005 Baydemir pointed out that support was granted 1.8 million euros within the financial cooperation between Turkey and the EU. Other projects had been impeded. This included a project on waste water treatment, which would support the Reconstruction Loan Corporation ( KfW), with half a million euros, a project for a tram, for which the German bank wanted to put 5 million euros. In April 2008, the KfW announced that the project of sanitation Diyarbakir was completed with a financial outlay of 50 million euros and the Tigris again swimming fish.

As part of the KCK processes Baydemir was 13 January 2010 prohibits Turkey to leave. The judgment was reversed in 2013, however, with a package of reforms in government.