Kurdish activist Emin Bayman will begin serving his prison sentence at Konstanz Prison – Singen branch today. In May 2025, the 71-year-old was sentenced to one year and ten months in prison under §129b for alleged membership in the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The verdict has since become final.
The Stuttgart Higher Regional Court accused Bayman of having led several “PKK areas” in Baden-Württemberg between 2015 and 2021. Specifically, he was alleged to have organized events and demonstrations under the instructions of a superior “PKK regional responsible,” coordinated fundraising activities, sold magazines, and forwarded collected funds. As in most cases concerning alleged PKK membership, no individual criminal act was attributed to him.
Bayman: The verdict targets cultural engagement
Bayman told ANF that all legal appeals against the verdict had been unsuccessful. In his view, however, the sentence imposed on him is not related to criminal activity but rather targets his engagement for Kurdish culture and language. The activist also strongly criticized the timing of the verdict. It was announced on May 12, 2025 — the same day the PKK publicly declared its self-dissolution.
Bayman described the proceedings as politically motivated and said the court hearings resembled “a political theater rather than a rule-of-law trial.” He emphasized that his activities had always been within the cultural and social sphere. “As a Kurd, I have spent years working for the preservation of the Kurdish language, culture, and identity, and I have done so exclusively through democratic and peaceful means.”
Criticism of the criminalization of Kurdish organizations
Bayman said he finds it contradictory that he must now serve a prison sentence while discussions about a political solution to the Kurdish question are once again taking place. He called on the German authorities to reconsider their stance toward Kurdish political activities. In his view, the criminalization of Kurdish organizations and activists contradicts the principles of the rule of law.
Bayman also considers it problematic that he must serve his sentence in Singen, more than 200 kilometers from his home in Heilbronn. His family lives in a major city in northern Baden-Württemberg, and Bayman is currently undergoing psychological treatment. He has lived in Germany since 1994, after fleeing political repression in Turkey. In Heilbronn, he was involved for many years in Kurdish cultural associations.
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