Kurdish politician Gültan Kışanak’s father laid to rest

Lütfi Özer, father of imprisoned Kurdish politician, Gültan Kışanak, died on Friday and was buried on Saturday in Elazığ.

Kışanak was taken to the funeral from Kandıra prison after a request from her lawyer was accepted. Before the funeral, a memorial service took place in the Alevi hall in the district of Fevzi Çakmak, attended not only the relatives but also numerous politicians from the Democratic Party of the Peoples (HDP), including MPs Feleknas Uca, Alican Önlü, Hişyar Özsoy, Fatma Kurtulan and Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit. Afterwards, Lütfi Özer was buried in the village of Sun.

In 2014, Gültan Kışanak was the first woman to be elected mayor of Amed. Before that, she was a member of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) in the Turkish parliament and co-chair of the party, which in 2014 changed its name to Democratic Regions Party (DBP). In 2016, Kışanak was removed from office and imprisoned.