A court in Diyarbakır has found a police officer not guilty of killing Kemal Kurkurt, a young man shot dead during the Nevruz celebrations in 2017. The Diyarbakır Seventh Heavy Penal Court acquitted the policeman, identified only by his initials Y.Ş., despite overwhelming evidence disputing the officer’s defence that he and his colleagues were trying […]
A Kurdish politician from Diyarbakır is aiming to change the law so schoolchildren can be educated in their native tongue. İmam Taşçıer, an MP for the Peoples’ Democratic Party (Halkların Demokratik Partisi, HDP), has submitted a draft bill to the Turkish Parliament for Kurmanji and Zazaki, the two languages commonly spoken by Turkey’s Kurdish population, […]
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been involved in a minor car crash this afternoon after a protestor ran in front of a vehicle he was in, just as his convoy was pulling out of the gates of Parliament. The Prime Minister was heading back to Downing Street after taking questions in Parliament. A middle […]
Restaurateur Ibrahim Dogus will contest the seat vacated by former Labour Party Deputy Leader Tom Watson. The founder of the British Kebab Awards is Labour’s candidate for West Bromwich East. Labour has a majority of 7,713 from the 2017 General Election, receiving 58% of all votes cast. Mr Watson had held the seat since 2001, […]
An East London councillor originally from Turkey has been selected to run as Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Enfield North in the upcoming General Election. Feryal Demirci Clark, a cabinet member in Hackney Council, could make history on 12 December in what is a relatively safe Labour seat by becoming the first female Member of Parliament […]
A woman of Turkish Kurdish heritage has been given a top job in Belgium’s new federal government. Zuhal Demir, the third of five children born to Alevi Kurdish parents from Turkey, was one of eight Flemish ministers sworn in during Parliament’s first session on 2 October, following the approval of the new government. Ms Demir, […]
Blessed with a heavenly voice, Olcay Bayır has been singing for as long as she can remember. She was born in Gaziantep to a Kurdish Alevi family steeped in the âşık (wandering minstrels) tradition, and her career as a classically-trained singer-songwriter is a perfect marriage of her roots and global music experiences following her move […]
A murder investigation has been launched following a fatal stabbing in Haringey. Barış Küçük was stabbed in the leg in the early hours of Saturday, 1 June, and sadly died of his injuries in hospital two days later. Police were called by the London Ambulance Service to attend the scene at just after 3am at […]
Olcay Bayır was named by the Guardian as “an impressive newcomer to London’s vibrant global music scene” for her first release in 2014. At the end of this month, she drops her long-awaited follow-up Rüya – Dream for Anatolia, produced by award-winning jazz outfit Kefaya. Members of this global collective of master musicians will line-up […]
A Turkish Kurdish lawyer and imam has created waves by attacking European mosques and clerics that are funded by foreign governments, including Turkey. Feminist Seyran Ateş, who founded the liberal Ibn Rushd-Goethe Mosque in Berlin in 2017 where men and women pray together, claims foreign influence drives Islamic extremism in Europe, and prevents a tolerant […]
